A Flute, A Silent Film Star And A Wooden Leg

Published on Monday, May 17, 2010 by Katherine

Hey, you…. yes, you! You are unique and wonderful and could surely tell stories that would have us all captivated. For you bloggers, that is why I love reading everything you post!

I know a lot about many of you because of your blogs. And for my friends and family, it is the day to day conversations that make us familiar. Then there are some of you that I don’t know at all – let’s change that!

There are big stories and small, funny things and serious. I would like to begin exploring all of these and am creating a category for this very topic. Your Story. Beginning NOW.

My inspiration? A wooden leg.

I have known a particular person for almost 20 years. We are simple acquaintances, but she has shared several personal things with me over time. Today I heard through someone else that she has a wooden leg. WHAT?! REALLY??? She was telling someone all about it today. It isn’t private, it isn’t a big deal. It just never came up.

Everyone has a story. I’ve heard that from three people alone this week. So I plan to spend some time throughout the year finding out what your story is.

Today I want to know three things about you that I may not know. Nothing particularly brilliant, nothing horribly sad – just something about you or your life that people might not know.

I’ll start.

My Dad was Navy, so I have lived in several places. California (born in San Diego), Texas, California, Rhode Island, Virginia Beach VA, Vienna VA, Virginia Beach again. My parents drove across country PRE DVD AND GAMEBOY with two children, a Dalmatian and a full fish tank. I can’t begin to imagine how they did it.
I played the flute from elementary school through college. I can still kill the chromatic scale and sound pretty decent after a little bit of warm-up.
My grandmother’s cousin was Alice Joyce, a silent film star often called the “Madonna of the Screen.” As children, the cousins would climb an apple tree on the family farm and drop down on to a horse that another one was leading. I have always been fascinated with Alice Joyce. I’ve purchased pictures and cards from eBay and cherish every picture and letter that has been handed down through the family of Alice.