I would like to Introduce you to Patricia Brown of the blog “The English Professor At Large” found here: http://theenglishprofessoratlarge.com . Patricia’s bio is amazing: she has a Master’s degree in English (Language Arts) and taught writing, literature, and public speaking on the high school and university level for 25 years. Now we have the benefit of her expertise through her blog where she offers independent consultant services as well as online teaching, including Skype sessions, in the following areas for high school, university/college students, and adults:
•essay writing
•business writing
•speech writing and delivery
•English conversation
•mentoring for teachers
You can read her full, fascinating bio here: http://theenglishprofessor.net/qualifications.php
Patricia is also a kindred spirit who loves a good pageturner (Be sure your grammar is not a nightmare!) as well as poetry and photography. She and I met early in the life of my blog and she has encouraged and supported me since day one. Please read on to discover even more about Patricia, then be sure to hop over to her blog where she shares short stories, essays, poetry and more 🙂
TELL US ABOUT YOUR BLOG: My blog consists of posts about my experiences with people in the old Hollywood days, about traveling, about events in my life, and re-blogging of other people’s posts that catch my attention and evoke varied emotions.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Happy memories, my garden and its inhabitants of birds,bees, squirrels, and an occasional possum.
ABOUT WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO WRITE AND WHY? I like to write about people who influenced or delighted me,people I have loved in the past, travel to other countries giving me an appreciation for other cultures. Life is full of surprises and wonderful, interesting people who make me wonder and laugh, and I want to give them credit for their contributions to my life.
WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE THE MOST REWARDING PART OF BLOGGING? Other people’s blogs, so rich with creative ideas and philosophical thoughts and joys and worries and humor that give me a chance to know and appreciate their talents and lives on this journey called existence.
DO YOU HAVE A MESSAGE OR INSPIRATION YOU HOPE TO SHARE THROUGH YOUR BLOG/WRITING? I suppose the message is that no matter who you are or where you go, we are all on a journey on this planet together, all human beings trying to express ourselves and communicate what is in our hearts.
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN FIVE WORDS: I know I don’t know. (LOL this made me SMILE!)
TELL US ABOUT WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD: My childhood started in New York, where I lived most happily with my parent, grandparents, uncle and aunt, four of whom were involved in show business, until I was nine years old. I was four years old when they started taking me to Broadway shows, so I developed a love for the theater at an early age. When I was nine we moved to California to live on Harry Carey’s ranch where I learned to ride and love horses, a love that has continued to this day. We spent summers on Balboa Island, swimming, sailing, and biking. When I was twelve years old, we moved back to New York for another four years before again packing up for California. My teen age years were the years of World War 11, and, although it was a time of anxiety, curfews, air raid warnings, a shortage of many items, and boy friends becoming members of the Armed Services, I still had happy times with family and friends.
WHAT IS YOUR BEST MEMORY FROM THE TIME YOU WERE TEACHING? There are so many, it is hard to choose. I think one of the best was when I was teaching English at a university in Slovakia for the Peace Corps. My 3rd and 4th year university students had been raised in the Soviet teaching method—listen, take notes, don’t ask questions,and spit back the answers on tests. I was the only American teacher in the English Department, and my methods were a lot different. The first time I asked my my classes what they thought about an article we read and asked them to write an essay expressing those thoughts, they were uneasy and cautious. It was then I realized they had been raised all their lives under a government where to express their thoughts could lead to incarceration. After all, the Slovak Republic had just become a new county the year before I arrived. I assured them I would be the only one to read their essays. That was the breakthrough. For the rest of the semester we had more essays, debates, and group activities in which words just spilled from them in torrents. We also had a lot of laughter. At the end of the semester, they brought me flowers, and the spokesman for the class said, “We want to thank you for letting us think and for being so human with us.” That is a memory I shall always cherish.
IF YOU COULD INVITE FIVE PEOPLE FROM THE PAST OR PRESENT TO A DINNER PARTY, WHO WOULD YOU INVITE AND WHY? I would invite my deceased parents, plus Carl Jung , Ray Bradbury, and the living author John Irving. Naturally, I would like to talk to my parents again. I have long admired Carl Jung and benefitted from his incredible books. Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors with a fascinating mind. John Irving is another author with a strong creative, whimsical streak that I enjoy. I think they would have a wonderful time exchanging ideas, and I would soak it all up and store it away to re-live again and again.
WHAT IS YOUR MANTRA IN LIFE? Years ago, when I was doing a lot of acting In Little Theater, a director said to us one day,”Live the moment, not the results.” I have taken that as a Mantra in my life. We only have the now, the moment, and we need to use it to its fullest to live, love, and be of service. The results will take care of themselves.
Thank You Ever So Much Patricia for sharing your story with me/us and allowing us to get to know you a bit better. I truly do value your friendship and am so Happy you agreed to allow me to Shine The Lime Light on you 🙂
~Morgan~
Word Mongery and Musings 
Join the Discussion