Author Archives: severin2721

Who’s Writing Now?

It was inevitable that there would be artificial intelligence programs capable of creating essays, novels, and all sorts of written material. Robots can vacuum your floors and drive a car. I’m still holding my breath for that hover car they had in the Jetsons. But I decided it was time to test drive ChatGPT, anContinue reading “Who’s Writing Now?”

Social Media in the 1890s

Homesteading in Nebraska social media group posts: Bill Johnson-2 days ago-What was at the corner of Apple and First Streets before the blacksmith moved in? Post a drawing if you have one. Even if the post is just a hitching post. LOL. Mavis Johnson-1 day ago-Bill, stop writing nonsense to that Homesteading mailbox. You knowContinue reading “Social Media in the 1890s”

Toby, Elaine, and the Lord

This story starts out being about me. Facebook reminded me this morning that it had been five years since my brother, Clay, and I went to visit the Art Institute of Chicago. It was quite inspiring for me, and probably more so for Clay, an artist who paints with oils. One of my favorite paintingsContinue reading “Toby, Elaine, and the Lord”

Are We There Yet?

It’s been two long years. We thought 2020 was cursed. Everyone wanted it to just end. But 2021 was not much better. The Covid nightmare went on and on. I feel like we are finally back to business as usual. But not normal, unless you call it the new normal. People are still testing positiveContinue reading “Are We There Yet?”

1968 is calling…

I’ve been writing a series of books set beginning in the late 1960s. The first, Catch It Spinning, was published recently. One of the fun things for me in writing in this era is to remember some of the ways that world was different than the one we now inhabit. In 1968, in the middleContinue reading “1968 is calling…”

The Boy, the Painting & the Heirloom

The boy sat on a low iron stool, the youngest in the family portrait taken in 1909.  Clifford Landon McCracken had six sisters, and two brothers living at the time of the photograph. His oldest sister was thirty. He was four years old: a little tow-headed tyke wearing a big collared two piece “wash suit”Continue reading “The Boy, the Painting & the Heirloom”

The Day After Infamy

December 8, 1941 Lincoln, Nebraska      Maryellen McCracken woke up early on her twentieth birthday so she could have breakfast with her brother and sister. As was their tradition, she had candle on her pancake, and there was a rush of activity. Her sister, June, age sixteen, was headed to Lincoln High School, while her youngerContinue reading “The Day After Infamy”

The Era of the E.R.A.

I didn’t expect to like Mrs. America, the new miniseries on Hulu. What I remember about Phyllis Schlafly was that she was a thorn in the side of feminism. Honestly, I didn’t know much about her. But why would an actress of Cate Blanchett’s panache want to glorify her? So far, in the first fiveContinue reading “The Era of the E.R.A.”