The Lost Art of Oral History

We all may or may not be blessed with grandchildren. I, however, am blessed with a collection of fantastic ones. Isaac, my inquisitive 12-year old, had an assignment in which he was required to interview someone over 30 years of age and ask them to discuss compelling historical events in Read more

Beatrice Bailey

Beatrice Bailey was born and raised in Davenport, Iowa to a Baptist minister father and a mother who was a gospel recording artist. She has three sisters and one brother. She attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a BA in Psychology from California State University, Sacramento. Retired since 2004 from management positions with both the Xerox Corporation and the State of California, Bea now conducts customized seminars on “Budgeting for the Not So Rich and Famous”, “Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together…The Ultimate Balancing Act,” as well as interview techniques entitled, “Selling the Sizzle and Not the Steak.” In addition, she is an active member of St. Paul Baptist Church in Sacramento, CA, where she is an Adult Sunday School teacher. Bea has been a Head Feature Writer for Senior Magazine of Northern California. She also writes a monthly newspaper column entitled, “Uniquely Bea” Currently, she has authored a best-selling book, entitled, "Farewell, My Friend” and is conducting presentations and book signings throughout the United States and Mexico. "Radio Luz,” a Spanish Speaking Christian Radio Station, has interviewed her multiple times. Bea also was selected to be included in a book by The Author’s Show, as one of the "50 Outstanding Writers You Should Be Reading”. Bea has produced and hosted a new innovative television show, “A-Z with Bea”, which aired in November 2009 on RCCTV, Sacramento, CA. Bea is active at St. Paul Baptist Church and is an Adult Sunday school Teacher, and a Small Accountability Group Leader. She is a member of Kaiser’s Bio-Ethics Committee and on the Board of Advisors for the East Lawn Corporation. Recently, she has been asked to participate as a speaker with the Black Health Today national organization. To relax, Bea likes to work out at the gym, walk, knit, paint, sew, cook, garden, and read. Traveling within the United States, Mexico, Asia, the Caribbean, South America and Europe is one of Bea’s true passions. She has two adult children, one “bonus son”, five wonderful grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She resides in Northern California.

Memories

Memories Handwritten letters Each tell the story of our lives. Once with fresh ink, Now dried and faded Some to be kept folded in our pockets While Others are locked away in a keepsake box Friendships Love and heartache Loss and grief Sorrow and hope All tucked away, creases marking Read more

M.L. Flickinger

Aside from writing, Melissa is an advocate for mental health and wellness - fighting against the stigma of mental illness. Focusing on mindfulness, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, eating disorders, ADHD, addiction, PTSD, emotional abuse, domestic violence, trauma, and recovery. She has a slight (okay, huge) obsession with coffee and all things pumpkin.

Genetically Speaking, Who Am I?

My obsession to trace my family’s genealogical roots began when I was a little kid. I sat wide-eyed and all ears on the floor next to my Grandad Willard’s (my father’s father) chair, eagerly lapping up every story he told about his youth. Born in 1908, he had quite a few Read more

Julie Anderson

Julie Anderson is the Creator and Publisher of Feminine Collective. Julie was inspired to create this safe place for women to share their secrets, desires, triumphs and pain as the antithesis of what mainstream media offers women today. In her column Pursuit of Perfection, she explores the importance of rectifying the balance of inner and outer beauty through essays, poems and articles on self-esteem, shame, family, and self- acceptance.

The Real Amelia Earhart

When Amelia Earhart disappeared near Howland Island in 1937, she had no way of knowing that her legacy would be her disappearance and not her life. We have celebrated the wrong Earhart, a woman who disappeared at sea when we should have been celebrating who she truly was: a woman Read more

Erin Davis

After flying her uncle’s Cessna 172 as a little girl Erin Davis realized she had no other choice but to walk around Everett, Washington staring in the sky watching airplanes until she was older and could become a pilot. Thankfully, after years of successfully avoiding peril while walking in such manner, the 20-year-old young woman now studies in the Aviation Sciences program at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. She uses her private pilot license to artfully dodge marriage proposals and to plan on becoming the youngest female to circumnavigate the globe. Erin Davis, Aviator can be found on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you would like to contribute to her historic flight around the world you can do so at her CrowdRise.