On This Day

It is bright and sunny outside, and I am feeling good! Though I still have half a day left, I am happy that I will be going home to my husband soon.

Now, on the book front. First, I will mention a good friend of mine, who recently had his third book published on http://www.lulu.com/. I am extremely happy for him, and I am glad that he has found so much success on lulu. It makes me feel good that I recommended the site to him. I finished my copy of Sizzling Sixteen and have returned it to our library. I also checked out that book written by one of our patrons. Proofreading wise, I am on book 65, although the one I am currently reading is not one that I have written. (So, that brings my total down to 105.) This particular title was written by my great-grandmother (on my mother's side), Alwine Baurman, on her 1910 trip to Europe. Interestingly enough, her first entry is dated June 25, 1910, exactly one-hundred years ago today!

Alwine was a first generation American. Her father, Augustus Baurman, came over from Germany in 1866 and received his U.S. citizenship in the state of New York. (It is interesting to see how much our family has branched out over the decades.) She gave birth to my great-aunt, then my grandfather, who passed everything on to my mother. Now I am the proud carrier of our family heirlooms.

When I first read her memoir four years ago, I was completely captivated, and I had a difficult time putting the diary down. Though people often get on my nerves, and I feel that our world has gotten too fast-paced; it's nice being able to escape every one in a while. That's the purpose of any good book, whether or not its commercially known. That's what I eventually want my stuff to be, but it may take a while for my work to mature like that. Besides, once I am finished with these masochistic proofreading, I am taking a huge break from writing! (Except, for my blog, maybe...) I also have all those delicious books waiting for me back at home.

Anyway, back to the main subject at hand. It's amazing how our family has had this book in its possession for 100 years--about 50 yearswhich it has been with my grandparents. When they passed away nearly five years ago, my mother gave this book to me. It was a real treat not only to read the book, but I enjoyed transcribing it as well. Sure, I had a difficult time reading some of Alwine's handwriting, and I had to google the names of the places, just to make sure that they were the right locations and that I spelled the names correctly. I am also proud of the fact that Alwine Baurman is now searchable through any online search engine. Before I had transcribed and published her work on lulu, the Internet had not even heard of her. I hope that Alwine is in heaven, looking down with pride at what she has accomplished through me. I am proud to be a vessel, concerning this special period in her life.