Oh give me strength!

Whenever I feel sad and weary I remind myself just WHO is “in charge” of my life.  I am!!! ###

Oh to wonder what might have been!

Today Levi would have started his senior year at Valley High School.  I wonder… Would he still be pursuing his interest in Marine Biology? Where would his talents on the violin and piano have taken him? How many nights would he have spent watching the moon and stars with his telescope? What I don’t wonder

If you love what you do it will show!!!

Have a great year TEACHERS!!! Our children are counting on you!!! Today’s students are the   “face of our future!”  They need YOU!! ###

Fun being a storyteller! And.. my mom.. my role model!!

My mother’s philosophy about life was what I called her “l f t’s.”  It was her “look forward to’s.”  It didn’t have to be something big…usually something quite simple and ordinary..like when she was confined to a wheelchair it might be to take a ride in my car and stop at McDonald’s for a burger

Cultivating corn!

Included in my “growing up in Iowa” story will be my summer of cultivating corn for $1 hour on my father’s farm!!  Remember this was the 50s…no AC on the tractor…just an umbrella for shade on those HOT summer days!  ### facebook.com/joyce-knock-author-1066/0968/4674/8396 http://www.amzn.com/1934333468

1st job!

My “growing up in Iowa” story to be told at the Iowa State Fair will include trapping gophers as a money making venture.  Especially if you are only 10 years old!  ###      

Work shopping my story!

I have been meeting with Courtney Crowder, Des Moines Register reporter, and she has been work shopping my story.   She has been asking “just the right questions” and “making so many helpful comments”” which  have  helped me improve and hone my story telling skills. Basics  as a story teller  I am  to consider: 8-10 minutes of narrative. A

Isn’t life just one big story?

I have been invited by Courtney Cowder, a feature reporter   at the Des Moines Register,  to share my “growing up in  Iowa experience ” at the Iowa State Fair.  Several  Iowans will be sharing their stories at the Mid American building on August 20th. It has been a fun learning experience for me as Courtney has