READER FEEDBACK EXPANDS THE BOOK

The doll pictured with this Blog Post belonged to my mother.  She called her “Bilo Baby.”  Had she lived, in September, Mom would have been 100 years old so how old is the doll, I wonder?  The doll’s China round baby face with blue eyes and lids that open and close is connected to a rough cloth stuffed body filled with something I’d call “husk.”  At my house, the doll rests in a wooden cradle made by my grandfather Glenn for my aunt Charlotte, my father’s sister.  I’m sure these childhood toys date back to at least the 1920s.

     I have been pleasantly surprised to find readers of my book sending feedback through written notes, emails or comments left on amazon.com.  As a teacher of memoir writing, I especially enjoy those who are inspired to share their own stories. 

     One question appropriate to Veterans’ Day came regarding Dad’s service as ship’s doctor (1945 to 46) on the U.S.S. NATOMA BAY aircraft carrier.  Dad barely completed medical school at The University of Illinois in Chicago, when The U.S. Navy sent him to San Diego to await his sea orders.  Mom joined him and they fell in love with California during their stay there.  Once his orders arrived, Dad took Mom, then pregnant with me, back to Chicago by train to live with her parents. 

     The U.S.S. NATOMA BAY had been damaged during fighting in Japan but was repaired by the time Dad got on board.  Then the ship sailed to the Philippines to recover damaged Japanese aircraft and bring them back to the U.S. for study.  The war ended and the ship returned through the Panama Canal to Norfolk, Virginia, where Dad reunited with Mom and me. (See Mom and Dad’s letters at the end of my book.)

     More recently the U.S.S. NATOMA BAY became the topic of a fascinating book Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot. The book is written by Bruce and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross, (Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group, NY, 2009),  about their son who remembered his fighter pilot experiences in a previous life. This book is also listed in the Bibliography of my book, Parsing the Dragon: A Memoir.

     Other important references to be noted in my book relate to Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment where I’ve been a student since 1997.  Under the subtitle “The Story of The Tree” I tell my parents the story of how a tree dreams in winter what it will look like in spring.  Mike Wright of JZK, Inc., provided more references for the origins of this story as well as the basis for some of the healing techniques I speak of when Dad is in intensive care.  See below:

A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Reality, Third Edition by Ramtha, JZK Publishing, September 2004.  (book)

CD:  Realizing the Dream of Winter in Spring, CD0410, JZK Publishing, April 2013

To learn more about Ramtha and the school, I also recommend a few of my favorites:

Love Yourself Into Life: The Magic Book, JZK Publishing, Yelm, WA, 1983, 2013

The Mystery of Birth and Death: Redefining Self, JZK Publishing, Yelm, WA, 2000

RAMTHA: The White Book, JZK Publishing, Yelm, WA, Fourth Edition, 2007

These can be found at amazon.com. and at JZ-Rose.com in Yelm, WA

These are also now included in the Acknowledgments section of my book.

Parsing the Dragon: A Memoir, in addition to amazon.com., can now be found at:

Brilliant Moon Bookstore in Shelton, WA

Shelton Timberland Library (William G. Reed Public Library), Shelton, WA

Orcas Island Public Library, Eastsound, WA

Thanks also to Steve Klein who posted news of my book launch on Yelm Community Blog and the RSE Newsletter.

More to come! 

Mom’s Bilo Baby