Posts by Saloma Furlong
That Elusive and Important First Line…
I don’t have time to write a long post, but I have a question for you, my dear readers. In re-writing the beginning of my memoir, I am trying to decide on a first line. Will you let me know which of the following lines you find more compelling? A light rain fell as the…
Read MoreAn Interlude
A memorial service was held for Marie yesterday morning at the church she’d been part of for more than 50 years, which David and I attended. Neither of us felt like the service quite fit Marie, but we don’t know why that was. Normally when I attend a funeral or memorial service, there is a…
Read MoreWhen the Sun Sets on a Life Well-Lived
These past few weeks have been life-changing for me. It is hard for me to know where to start, so I’ll guess I’ll start at the beginning. Several years ago, David and I began attending church services at the Congregational Church in South Amherst. One day, someone introduced me to Marie Houle, one of the…
Read MoreAbout the “Crossing the Line” Conference at Eastern Mennonite University
I returned home this past Sunday evening from the conference I mentioned I would be attending. It was fabulous! What a weekend of inspiration and renewal… I hardly know where to begin. I stayed with a kindred spirit, Violet Dutcher, who is a professor of rhetoric and composition at Eastern Mennonite University. It was like…
Read MoreA Time for Reflection and Renewal
This morning David kissed me awake and wished me a happy birthday. Yesterday was his, and we took the day off from working so hard to reflect on the new beginnings on our horizon and to have dinner at a nearby restaurant. A few minutes later when I really awoke, I was hit with the…
Read MoreAn Anabaptist Ecumenical Hymn Sing
This morning it came to my attention in three different ways of the article in Lancaster Online article about the recent hymn sing in which different Anabaptist groups sang their songs. You can hear songs from all of the groups: The Amish, The Old Order River Brethren, Groffdale Mennonite Conference, Weaverland Mennonite Conference, and the…
Read MoreEnergy Efficient Home for Sale in Sunderland, Massachusetts
David and I have been busily preparing our home for sale. Yesterday was the big day… our open house. In the last few weeks, we (mostly David) finished installing and painting the woodwork in the back entrance, scraped the side of the garage of lead paint and repainted it, put up part of the siding…
Read MoreAbuse Among the Amish: And what about the Innocent Victims?
Ever since I exposed the sexual abuse I endured as a child by publishing my book, Why I Left the Amish, I have been asked repeatedly, “how prevalent is abuse among the Amish?” I’ve always answered that there is no way to know. One would have to be a fly on the wall in every…
Read MoreFlowers are Blooming!
Spring has finally arrived in all its glory in the Northeast: trees are leafing out, flowers are blooming, the temperatures are spring-like, and best of all, there is no snow in sight! Hooray, Hurrah, Hooray! Last week, our crocuses bloomed, while there was still a big, dirty pile of snow across the street in the…
Read MoreDispelling the Winter Blahs
Because of our extended winter here in the Northeast, I’ve been coming up with ways of surviving until Spring finally shows her beautiful face. Over the years I’ve come up with different strategies for getting through the month of March. This year, David and I have been playing a lot of “Settlers of Catan.” In…
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