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Monday Memories: Piano Recital

9/27/2021

I am still taking piano.

Hopefully, you are surprised. Hopefully, you are wondering why in the world I haven't been able to worm my way out of it. Hopefully, you are NOT assuming that I somehow managed to start liking it.

Well, there are more ways than one to skin that sucker. And, what I figured out was I could fake practicing. Yeah, that's what I did. I could play a bunch of chords, and my mom would come in and tell me how great I was doing.

I had discovered a new talent. And I embraced it like an Aggie embraces the word "Howdy" into their vocabulary.

This lovely solution cut my practice time to 15 minutes! Was I smart or what? YEEHAW!

It was all going so well. Until......

"Kara, we're putting a piano recital together. You're going to play in front of a bunch of people! On stage!"

I look at her excited face and think, "Oh, you gotta be kidding?!?!?"

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Monday Memories: The Day After

9/20/2021

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I remember the sky the most the day after we sat in the hallway and sang our hearts out.

It was red....but the air wasn't hot. The sun was as bright as I've ever seen it, but it didn't hurt to look at it. I couldn't understand why that could be, but I didn't question it because so much had happened while we had fun inside.

The land was littered with branches, pine needles, wood, glass, and various other elements of debris. The trees had been picked clean. Some had fallen and were lying across our street. Some people didn't have roofs. Some families had water in their house.

We were one of those families. When you walked along the carpet, wetness squished between your toes, and your footprints were left behind. It made this sloshing sound that, if you stepped correctly, could tap out rhythm to your favorite song.

We had to pull our carpet up, which left us with cement flooring and carpet tack. We had to be careful around those strips of wood for they had tiny nails sticking up.

It was a new world. A sudden devastation I didn't understand. And it had a name. I thought that was odd, but at least when grown-ups spoke about the event, I knew what they were talking about.

Hurricane Alicia.

She came without consideration for us. She came without mercy. She came without slowing.

And she taught me a very valuable lesson....

Your life is not always in your control. Bad things do happen, and they can happen to you. And sometimes, the world needs a cleansing to remind us of that.

After that event, I told God I understood. That life was fleeting. That all that mattered was loving your fellow man. And I hoped he would never send another Alicia again.

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Monday Memories: Rowin' A Boat (In The Hallway)

9/13/2021

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I wasn't allowed to go outside one particular summer day in August of 1983. I about had a heart attack.

But my mother consoled me by inviting every neighborhood kid over to our house. Imagine my elation at having a big party instead of having to play school with Maria and Wendy.

Don't mistake me, I adore my sisters, but sometimes they picked the stupidest things to play.

Anyway, my mother organized us in the hallway for some strange reason, but I didn't argue because it was a funny thing to do, and my friends didn't seem to mind.

We have this really long hallway. No windows, carpeted. I imagine there was about 20 of us sitting side by side. We were stretched all the way down. I thought this was the coolest, oddest, best concession for not being allowed outside.

My mother decided we should sing songs. The one I remember singing was "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". We sang it loud. We sang it soft. We sang it fast. We sang it slow. We sang it in cannon formation.

This was enjoyable even though I didn't understand the point. Usually, if I don't understand the point of doing something, I have a difficult time following through. Since I am an "almost third grader", I usually didn't do tasks I found irrelevant. (Like Math.)

But that day, I didn't question her, or fight her, or be generally stubborn.

I'm sure she was thankful.

Because the next day, when I was finally allowed outside, I discovered why I rowed that boat....

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Release Day: The Cowboy's Bride

9/8/2021

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THE COWBOY’S BRIDE is book 16 in the TEXAS BRIDES OF PIKE’S RUN series.

The hero in the story, James Davis, makes an appearance in several of the books leading up to his. He’s a trickster and a mischief-maker who hates rules and only obeys the ones his parents set for him. He’s caused problems for many shop owners, farmers and the Women’s Guild. He’s put frogs in shoes, tacks on chairs, used mirrors during mass to annoy Father O’Malley and spiked the punch at barn dances.

And his antics have come back to bite him.

James becomes a victim of a prank and finds himself hitched to the judge’s daughter because of it.

Boy howdy, did I have fun causing problems for James. He’s always thought himself in control. He’s always thought he knows everything. Well…..I shook up his world and didn’t even feel bad for him. (Maybe I did. A little.)

James has to learn how to eat crow and what love really is. It’s a sweet story, and I hope y’all enjoy it!

Pike’s Run, Texas, 1887
James Davis has plans -- work his family's ranch, get married, have a family. So, how does he end up in a hayloft with Liza Talbut, the judge's daughter, who is most definitely not the woman he loves?

Liza Talbut has plans -- cook, clean, and avoid all social engagements. So how, in Heaven's name, does she end up in a hayloft with James Davis, her long-time friend?

They are caught, but all is not lost. Liza doesn't have to marry James if nothing happened. And...nothing happened. But Liza wants a life out of her mother's home and to get away from her viperous sister. Liza knows she can be a good wife to James, and his kisses are too thrilling to lose.

So...she lies. And gets herself hitched.

And James finds himself with the bride he hadn't planned on...

BUY THE COWBOY'S BRIDE

EXCERPT: THE COWBOY'S BRIDE

“James!”

James shot up at the strident call, blinking rapidly.

“James!”

“Yeah?” he croaked out. What the hell? He was covered in hay. Had he fallen asleep in the loft? His head was pounding. He pressed the heel of his hand to his temple. “Damn,” he muttered.

“James.”

And the fury in the tone finally resonated. James looked up and found his father glaring down at him, along with the judge. “Pa?”

His father’s face was beet red with rage. The judge was clenching his hands into fists repeatedly. “What’s wrong?” James rasped.

The hay rustled beside him. He turned and met the gaze of Liza Talbut. Stunned, he reared back. “Oh, hell.”

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Monday Memories: Kickball

9/6/2021

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After Hide-And-Seek, kickball became my favorite game to play.

We didn't have enough people to make two teams, but who cares about that? Kirk and Scotty would play regardless. Maria, unfortunately, would only play when it wasn't hot.

UGH!!! So frustrating....

However, it forced me to find my favorite time of day....

Texas burns hot. It can singe your flesh and make you sweat in seconds. I didn't mind it. Maria did.

She frequently told me, "I don't sweat, I glisten."

I hated that statement. Abhorred it like any normal person abhors cooked spinach. (Maria also liked spinach.)

Thankfully, when the sun disappeared behind the pine trees the air grew cooler, the light was enough, and the lightning bugs didn't bite. This time of day was acceptable for kickball and passed Maria's test. Scotty and Kirk were always ready to play, so after supper we'd meet in my front yard.

We used the area in front of my parents' bedroom window as home, the spot where the corner of our sidewalk met the yard as first, the edge of our yard as second, and a newly planted Sweetgum tree as third. There were no outs (not yet), no winners, no losers. Just kickball.

I loved it.

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Kara O'Neal

An author who has too much to say is dangerous.

The subjects on this blog:

Monday Memories -- My Childhood

Wednesday Words -- Books!

To be a guest on my blog:

Contact: kara@karaoneal.com

Monday Memories: Cast

Kara -- Me
Maria -- sister
Wendy -- sister
Bill -- brother

M'Lynn -- mother
Drummond -- father

Grace -- mother's redheaded friend
Liam -- Grace's husband
Gorgeous (Georgie) -- oldest son and friend
Phillip -- middle son and friend
Andrew -- last child and friend

Jo -- mother's "big idea" friend
Noah -- Jo's husband who builds things
Jack -- oldest son and friend
Roxi -- middle daughter and friend
Lela -- last child and friend

Alex -- friend who travels the country and lives in Dallas
Blossom -- friend who lives in Dallas and sells houses

Miss Holly -- next door neighbor
Kirk -- middle son
Scotty -- youngest son

Lou -- uncle on my dad's side who likes baseball
Evaline -- my dad's sister who's crazy funny
Luke -- oldest son and my cousin
Han -- younger son and my cousin

Clark -- my mother's brother who bleeds maroon

Alexander -- my eldest cousin on my dad's side

Dawn -- cousin on my dad's side that is the same age as Maria