Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jan 21, 2012, 9:33 am
This post is dedicated to my Mother, Ruth Thompson, a World-Class Birder. Here at my father’s atop the bluffs above the River Road the eagles get up-close-and-personal. Sometimes they fly so close above my windshield as I climb our big hill to the Big Brown House that I feel I should duck. Our ar...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jan 16, 2012, 9:55 am
Recently I encountered a man with a talent for asking questions. In addition to standard first date questions, he asked stuff in a new way that provoked new responses. I've re-constructed these in a Q & A format starting with the standard questions and moving on from there. Trust me, I asked my own ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Dec 31, 2011, 3:15 pm
Ernest Dempsey and I met in 2007 when he reviewed my book "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary" on TCM Reviews--Tami Brady's review site. Since then we've become writing friends across the waves. On Riehlife I've often referred to him as "Our Man in Pakistan." Have some fun reviewing the Riehlife archives th...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Dec 25, 2011, 1:44 pm
Ernest Dempsey and I met in 2007 when he reviewed my book "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary" on TCM Reviews--Tami Brady's review site. Since then we've become writing friends across the waves. On Riehlife I've often referred to him as "Our Man in Pakistan." Have some fun reviewing the Riehlife archives t...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Dec 24, 2011, 12:51 pm
I'm wearing my flamingo Airstream trailer pajamas as I write this. They're aqua with puff of snow, red scarves flying from the pink flamingo's while lights outline the Airstream's door and windows. When I was a girl, our Christmas--like everything else in our family life--was do-it-ourselves from ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Dec 9, 2011, 7:48 pm
My father Erwin Thompson--musician and raconteur-- tells this true story of old-fashioned square-dance music--when it was just music. Janet __________ There was this fiddler back some years ago who was learning. He had one piece that he played quite well, but it was a struggle for him to learn. ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Nov 7, 2011, 4:25 pm
Gordon Parks Robert Hale--international photographer and journalist--exhibit "Intimate Encounters: The African-Americans" is featured by Portfolio Gallery and Education Center as part of the American Art Experience: St. Louis. The exhibit runs through November 30th. Hale's "Intimate Encounters: Th...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Nov 1, 2011, 9:31 pm
From left to right: Gordon Parks, Rosa Parks, Esther Rolle PORTFOLIO GALLERY AND EDUCATION CENTER PRESENTS: Robert Hale, photographer/journalist, as part of the American Arts Experience: St. Louis WHERE: Portfolio Gallery in Grand Center 3514 Delmar Boulevard, 63103. WHEN: Exhibit runs thro...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Oct 28, 2011, 2:00 am
Khadijah Lacina is a regular guest columnist for Riehlife on Creative Parenting. This post is number three in the series. Khadijah and I met through Story Circle Network. She lives in Yemen where she facilitates a writing circle. In her series of articles on Riehlife, Khadijah shares how she stays...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Oct 21, 2011, 5:09 pm
Our most vital repetition is the breath and the heart beat. All art practice is based on repetition as we attain mastery. It's practice, right? Music, dance, theater, visual art, and writing. These are called "disciplines" of course, because they require discipline. Repetition is how we get there....
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Oct 14, 2011, 2:00 am
Khadijah Lacina is a regular guest columnist for Riehlife. Her previous post was "Creative Parenting: My Head Is Full of Poems." This post is number two in the series. We met through Story Circle Network. In her series of articles, Khadijah shares how she stays sane by encouraging and nurturing cr...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Oct 10, 2011, 2:00 am
Damaria Senne is one of my closest Blogging Buddies. When I visited South Africa in 2008 she hosted me at her home in Johannesburg and in her home village where I stayed with her family. Her warmth, intelligence, talent, and humor are qualities I cherish in our friendship. Damaria is a writer based...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Oct 6, 2011, 3:01 pm
I've been writing a series on Creative Enemies for my Creative Catalyst column on Telling Her Stories--the blog for Story Circle Network. I took on the topic of believing we have the power to know and the power to look inside for the answers. Three of my merry band of creative friends (Hal Manogue...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Sep 24, 2011, 11:03 am
Hal Manogue is a long-time blogging buddy. We met in Nashville when I laid down the tracks for my audio book "Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry and Music." His new book"Living Behind the Beauty Shop" has been embraced by the Down syndrome community and homeless advocate groups. I'm happy t...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Sep 14, 2011, 9:08 am
Here's an informal review of of the suspense/thriller/animation film "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," by my friend Judy Tart. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area. --Janet *** *** *** "Rise of Planet of the Apes," --the prequel" to "Planet of the Apes"--is far more than what one might think...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Sep 2, 2011, 9:36 am
Khadijah Lacina is a transplant from Wisconsin's Kickapoo Valley, who has lived in Yemen for almost nine years with her husband and eight children. In this series of articles, she will show you how she stays sane by encouraging and nurturing creativity in herself and her children. Read about her li...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Aug 23, 2011, 2:25 pm
Read Part 1 of "Sometimes It Pays to Be Generous," by my father Erwin A. Thompson. Another prime example of generosity paying off is my relationship with the men from the water company. Our work often overlapped. Sometimes when we dug a hole for a gas leak we found a water leak, also. And vice ve...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Aug 22, 2011, 12:53 pm
This is the first of a two-part article by my father Erwin A. Thompson on the theme of generosity. Read Part 2 of "Sometimes It Pays to Be Generous" on Riehlife. --Janet *** *** *** Sometimes it pays to be generous. (And as a personal reward, it is a pleasant way to live) I have often seemed to ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Aug 18, 2011, 4:02 pm
Janean Baird, my niece, is the oldest child of my brother Gary Thompson and his wife Patty. She's an artist, writer, and a younger woman of wisdom. You can read more of her work at her blog Turquoise Tangles. Here's a funny family story about my older sister Julia. This is the first time I'm hearing...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Aug 16, 2011, 12:54 pm
My sister--Julia Ann Thompson--died on August 16, 2004 in a nasty car accidernt. She was younger than I am now...even though until her death she was always six years older. That's one of the hardest things for me to get used to. That I could now be older than my older sister. So, doing the math, th...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Aug 9, 2011, 3:47 pm
Looking back at my drafts from the past, I found these encouraging comments from Susan Tweit, noted author, blogger, and friend. We met through Women Writing the West and Story Circle Network. Susan Tweit writes: Riehlife nurtures connections. I think of Riehlife as a tapestry woven of the many ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Aug 1, 2011, 2:00 am
Another tale from the Riehlife series: Pop on Mondays. --Janet "On time, by God! Nine O'clock Sunday School" by Erwin A. Thompson I was born in 1915. When I was seven years old, we started going to the Melville Congregational Church. The "we" being my Uncle George Gibbens, his wife, Emma Riehl G...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jul 25, 2011, 2:00 am
In past generations...way back in the day...families made it their business to hand down their lineage and heritage--whether planting tomatoes in manure-rich dirt, singing together in the car or around the piano, or recounting a treasure trove of family stories. My mother, as matriarch, was part of...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jul 18, 2011, 11:34 am
A Riehl Family Sunday (at Evergreen Heights) by Erwin A. Thompson The Bible sets Sunday, the seventh day of the week, as a day of rest and worship. Through the years, we humans have tampered with this rule, adapting the day tour own uses and choice. Big machinery that costs money to shut down and ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jul 11, 2011, 11:44 am
Here's another in the Riehlife series "Pop on Mondays" From girlhood I knew what a section of land was--because my father told me--as he told me so many things. Here's a story of the nickname for a section: "a country block." Now, here's Pop. --Janet, his youngest daughter ________________________...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jul 7, 2011, 11:29 pm
I've lived so many places in my life that long term friends are precious.They hold the thread of my life. They knew me when and they know me now. Thus it is with Alan and Mary Brody. We met in 1973 in Ghana, West Africa when we were all young. The Brody's went on to travel the globe working with U...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jun 24, 2011, 9:32 am
I write fiction and love dance whether dressage for horses or ballet, belly dancing, break dancing, or modern dance. As a creative artist, it’s been my goal to recover my old connection to the arts with poetry, film, exhibitions at some of our super local museums. I’m lucky. The American Dance ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jun 20, 2011, 9:37 am
This story written by my father Erwin A. Thompson--now 95--is a continuation of my POP ON MONDAY series. It tells the story of what my father calls "Big Men"--that is men of great character. In the normal round of a day in Army life, should they protect a good seargent and risk their own positions? ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jun 17, 2011, 3:58 am
I met Dave Scotese a few years back through our mutual friend Ernest Dempsey. Dave created Litmocracy a place that nurtures writers and ideas. In yet another innovative move, Dave proposes an internet business model to debate social and political ideas. His main idea is to bring people together by ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jun 13, 2011, 1:16 pm
I never bore biological children, but there's never been a time in my life when I didn't have a close relationship with a child or young adult. No kids of my own, then, but godchildren, nieces and nephews, neighbors, friend's children, and upstairs neighbors. It's a path not taken that's no doubt fo...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Jun 6, 2011, 6:08 pm
Today is D-day. And, my parent's 69th wedding anniversary if my mother had lived to see this day. My father's story of "The Hardest Decision I Ever Had to Make," did not happen on D-Day, but it seems right to post it today as we remember those dark days of World War II and the soldiers who died in t...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - May 30, 2011, 9:27 am
Sitting around talking one day...as we do...Pop recalled seeing two movies that reflected his views and experience with the govermental policy of Emminent Domain. He could recall the gist of each, but not the specifics. After some extensive Google research I found them: "Wild River," and "Fire on th...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - May 25, 2011, 9:03 am
Coco Louco Brasil 512 North Euclid St. Louis 63108, in the Central West End. For reservations or questions Call (314) 367-1600 www.cocoloucobrasil.com For previous post about Coco Louco Brasil's first anniversary party in 2010. My neighbor Craig Meyers played the laments of the "Choro Guys" led ...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - May 23, 2011, 11:01 am
Last night Pop and I made the scene at two premiere Alton social events of the Spring Season. We field-tested the new rig inherited from my sister-in-law Patty's mother, who passed away last winter. It's a sort of combo walker/seat, and has a little pouch to easily take along his portable oxygen. We...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - May 16, 2011, 2:00 am
Noun 1. plutocrat - someone who exercises power by virtue of wealth have, rich person, wealthy person - a person who possesses great material wealth. (from Free online dictionary) Our family is made up of just folks. There's a joke in our family that whenever we feel we've stumbled into some unexp...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - May 13, 2011, 10:01 am
POSTSCRIPT at the beginning. Please read Grace Mkombozi's comment below and my response. Grace shows us that we cannot know the truth--especially looking in from the outside. Even in documentaries what is documented can be very different than what we see on the screen. I have done enough community d...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - May 10, 2011, 3:00 am
Make sure to read Part 1 of Pop's International Music stories! This set of stories written by my father Erwin A. Thompson is part of the ongoing Riehlife series "Mondays with Pop." At 95, he continues to be a masterful storyteller who loves history, music, and culture. He was a reluctant traveler c...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - May 9, 2011, 3:00 am
This set of stories written by my father Erwin A. Thompson is part of the ongoing Riehlife series "Mondays with Pop." At 95, he continues to be a masterful storyteller who loves history, music, and culture. He was a reluctant traveler compared to my mother (Ruth Thompson). But, once launched, he eng...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Apr 29, 2011, 2:00 am
Read related posts on Mississippi Floods written by Erwin A. Thompson. In this season of floods and tornadoes, our hearts go out to those who have suffered such terrible damages and even lost their lives. At Evergreen Heights we are safe, but all anxiously watch as the waters of the Mississippi cr...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Apr 18, 2011, 3:00 am
This is the story of the power of connection. Perhaps coincidences are are incidents that coincide. Shelly Raber wrote to ask if I could connect her to Maryanne Rafael. She had a book titled "Linotte: The Early Diary Diary of Anais Nin 1914-1920". There was an inscription written in red marker tha...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Apr 11, 2011, 3:00 am
Lisa Shoreland's guest post today illuminates my mission to create connections across cultures. Lisa has crossed cultures in three ways--through her Japanese mother and American father. Through growing up in Japan, and then going to college in America. And through her travels to Italy and Vietnam. S...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Apr 8, 2011, 3:00 am
Maryanne Raphael sent me this poignant story. Her story of how she met Anais Nin appeared earlier on Riehlife. --JGR ________________________ When I took a course in the psychology of women at Los Angeles City College, I wrote about the Anais Nin I knew. My professor Dr. Eve Jones told me, "If yo...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Apr 4, 2011, 5:46 pm
As the last post in Women's MemoirWomen of Inspiration s Women's History Month question of what women inspire us, I wrote about the Women of Inspiration in my life. It honors eight women who give me hope in becoming the kind of old woman I want to be. All six are in their 80's and 90's. Scoot on ov...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Apr 3, 2011, 11:33 pm
Facebook as a tool for micro blogging makes an interesting research project. Which status updates (posts) will evoke response? Recently I was completely overtaken by surprise when I shared this recipe for Sweet Collard Greens that I stumbled upon that afternoon right at my stove. Since everyone agre...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Mar 29, 2011, 5:17 pm
This is the 100th birthday year for Tennessee Williams (March 26, 1911-February 25, 1983). His childhood in St. Louis shaped his writing career, so let's celebrate! Lana Pepper directs and produces an hour-long tribute. Six actors perform scenes from: A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roo...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Mar 28, 2011, 3:00 am
Selena Wolff is a recent Blogging Buddy. Her site is Solitary Words: Finding Spirit Through Writing. It’s exactly what it says! Selena contributed a guest post to Riehl Life on “Finding Your Voice.” From blog comments to emails to guest post to telephone conversation, gradually our connec...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Mar 26, 2011, 12:13 pm
I call a friend for a Skype chat. He doesn't have a camera on his home computer. He can see me. I can't see him. Does it matter? Yup. Turns out it does. "You feel vulnerable," my friend says. "There's an imbalance of power." Power? Hmmm... Okay, that's part of it. I feel uncomfortable, exposed,...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Mar 14, 2011, 4:29 pm
Prose? Poetry? Who knows? My collaborator Stephanie Farrow and I have discussed this topic endlessly. Where is the line between poetry and prose? Is a story poem just prose with line breaks? Does a poem have to be obscure to qualify as art? I've explored these questions and many others with partici...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Mar 14, 2011, 4:10 pm
Awhile back I funded an annual program that provided monthly guest presenters to talk to students in the creative writing class at Alton Senior High School. There was a fine line-up, including a presentation on the Kwansaba form developed by the Eugene Redmond writing club. The St. Louis Poetry Soci...
Comment - Like

Janet R. posted an article on Riehl Life - Mar 14, 2011, 3:49 pm
At our weekly Sunday brunch we looked at nuts my niece and her children had gathered on our place. My great grandfather was a premier nut grower and grafted new varieties. I wondered if these nuts were Hickons (a cross between hickory and pecan). My niece said: "I think these are just pecans--pecan...
Comment - Like