“My Thoughts Exactly, Maeve!”
View from Ashford Castle, Cong, Ireland
Today I thought I would post something for my favorite author ever, Maeve Binchy. She was the most popular Irish woman writer of all time and wrote books about the interactions of everyday people; just real people in real life. Maeve had advice about writing that I never forgot. Maeve passed away on July 30, 2012, but every year on St Patrick’s Day I write her a little something.
Maeve’s advice on writing.
Write like you talk, it is your voice.
She also wrote scenes in her books that were conversations she had overheard. One day she was so engulfed in a conversation by two women on a bus that she actually got off the bus, where they did, and followed them so she could hear the end of the conversation!
She was an excellent listener.
I have been going through my emails and letters to file for family history and came across this email I sent to my sister on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 5:31pm. I thought Maeve would enjoy it too.
J, the November date is good. Will you be here a week?
This weekend I made hamburger and hotdog buns, because we grilled out, cooked 21 servings of chili to put up and made two batches of pizza dough, because we ate pizza on Monday, and put up 20 more pounds of tomatoes. I am trying to get ready for winter.
I slaved over the chili, soaking beans all night before hand and I have come to the conclusion that I don’t know beans about beans. After soaking all night they were still hard, but I thought no problem because the six pounds of meat, with onions, green peppers, chili powder, paprika, tomato sauce and tomatoes will all cook down in the pressure cooker and the beans will soften up too. Wrong, I pressured the chili and it smelled so good, then when that was done I added the beans and just cooked them down like the recipe said. For some reason because of the gas from the beans the recipe stated NOT to put them in the pressure cooker with the other ingredients. The chili cooked down to nothing and those beans were as hard as ever. SO then SB and I spent the rest of the day picking 3 pounds of cooked hard beans out of the chili!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess from now on I will use CANNED BEANS. BUMMER!!!!!!,
The news of the day: Ghost hunters every year on the anniversary of a train accident in the 1860’s near Statesville, NC meet up at 430am on the train trestle where the train went over the trestle and killed 35 people. Supposedly after the train accident a train conductor could be found on the track at this time of morning on the anniversary day, waving his lantern looking for the derailed train. So ghost hunters have been showing up for years to see the train’s conductor.
This year was no exception. A group of ghost hunters started walking the track one day last week at 430am. Suddenly a real train came around the bend and since there is not a stop or anything else there, the conductor did not blow a whistle that the train was coming, nor was he looking for people on the track. The ghost hunters were caught off guard and were running for their lives on the trestle. Several jumped off the trestle when the train caught up to them and one man was run over by the train. He pushed his girlfriend off the trestle telling her “he loved her” and then was ran over. The others that jumped from the trestle are in intensive care with critical injuries, including the girl. Now for several days there have been stories in the newspaper about how this episode will now become one of the ghost hunters legends too and they will be looking for the guy that got ran over. Can you believe it? !!!!!!!!!
The book for our book club meeting this month is “Serena” and I have never read a book that from the first page git-go, I disliked the main character. A new first!
The relationship among the characters is not believable either. I am learning about the Smoky Mountain National Park developers versus the timber industry. The mountain families were run off their land or became lumber jacks making little to no money to timber the trees. The depression was going on and they lived horrible lives because they could so easily be replaced. I hope it gets better, although I am half way through it and so far I am not impressed. It is a chore to read and I have to have it read by next Wednesday.
How is K feeling? S’s wrist/arm has held up in the cast. Today was the back surgery on SB’s mom. She is in intensive care and in pain, following the surgery and he is on his way to see her. HMMMM….. If you are in pain in intensive care when you are so doped up I say you are in a pickle. Just my two cents worth. More later. c
Well Maeve, I hope this email has given you a good laugh and something to write about today, because I know you are still writing and the stories up there might be a little too goodie-two-shoes for you! And, you might have a buzz in your head trying to strain to hear all the conversations down here! So I am making it easy for you!
PS I also am sending you a photo I took at Ashford Castle in Cong, Ireland. It is still the greenest country in the world!
Sincerely, Cady
The Travel Lady In Her Shoes 
4 Responses to ““My Thoughts Exactly, Maeve!””
I enjoyed this post so much! Firstly because it reminded me of Maeve Binchy. My mother in law and I used to read all her books as they came out, passing them between each other. They were a great read. I wonder if I should try them again. Secondly, I loved your letter – what a great idea keeping them for future generations to read. I don’t think I have any of those. We have our Christmas letters of course, but they are just full of general news not rambling details that are so interesting. I have been there with trying to cook real beans too and always use the tinned variety now. Can’t believe that story about the ghost hunters – how stupid some people are.
Thanks Annette! I am taking that genealogy course from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow now and we were to start putting all our family histories together and get them organized if you had them. I have oodles to work on! Came across the emails that I have written to my sister over the years and thought may as well put those in my family history too! I have read every MB book! Bought my first one on trip to Canada because it was featured on an end counter and I thought what an unusual name, who is she? Was hooked after that!
Interesting. I have written proper letters to an older friend every Christmas now for over thirty years. I wish I had a copy of them – they would be so interesting to reread. Maybe she has kept some of them – I must ask her.
Yes ask her!