Sandra Heska King

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First Words Friday: Week 1 – 2019

January 4, 2019 By Sandra Heska King




First Words Friday - house

I just discovered a Twitter hashtag. I don’t know how long #FirstLineFriday has been around, but I think I’ve been missing out. In keeping with my new resolution goal plan to write here on a more regular basis, I’ve decided to add a category to the list of categories I’ve up until now not been keeping up with.

On Fridays I’ll post my own version of #FirstLineFriday–maybe the first line or first paragraph of a chapter from a book. Maybe I’ve read the whole book–or not. It might be fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or antique. Maybe it will be the first line or paragraph from an essay or a blog. Or maybe the first line or verse of a poem.

This shouldn’t be too hard to keep up with, right?

Today I’m sharing from a book on my to-read shelf–the first paragraph of the Prologue to A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett.


We named the houses they put us in. We stayed in some for months at a time; other places, it was a few days or a few hours. There was the Bomb-Making House, then the Electric House. After that came the Escape House, a squat concrete building where we’d sometimes hear gunfire outside our windows and sometimes a mother singing nearby to her child, her voice low and sweet. After we escaped the Escape House, we were moved, somewhat frantically, to the Tacky House, into a bedroom with a flowery bedspread and a wooden dresser that held hair sprays and gels laid out in perfect rows, a place where, it was clear from the sound of the angry, put-upon woman jabbering in the kitchen, we were not supposed to be.

Page 1

Have you read this book?

Do you have some “first words” to share?

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Filed Under: Blog, First Words Friday, stories and reflections

Comments

  1. Martha J Orlando says

    January 5, 2019 at 1:19 pm

    I haven’t read this book, Sandra, but it sure sounds intriguing. So glad to see you back to blogging, my friend – you have been missed!!!
    Blessings!

    • Sandra Heska King says

      January 5, 2019 at 9:23 pm

      Awww… thanks, Martha. 🙂

  2. Martha J Orlando says

    January 5, 2019 at 9:38 pm

    Wishing you God’s love and peace in the New Year!

Trackbacks

  1. First Words Friday - Week 2 - 2019 - Sandra Heska King says:
    January 11, 2019 at 8:00 am

    […] Last week I shared some first words from A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett, a book on my to-read list.This week I’m sharing from one of my favorite books, one I’ve read and reread and occasionally slice through–An American Childhood by Annie Dillard. My word, that woman can write. From Amazon’s reviews: […]

  2. First Words Friday: Week 4 – 2019 – Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Sandra Heska King says:
    January 25, 2019 at 12:54 pm

    […] Here are some of her “first words.” […]

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Spent a couple hours this morning with friends fro Spent a couple hours this morning with friends from @spanishriverchurch picking up beach trash. Little bits of colored and clear plastic, big bits of plastic, bottle caps, broken glass, strings, ropes, straws, socks, fast food containers, paper, cigarette holders and filters—and a couple unmentionables. Took extra care around the turtle nests. Last count was about 70 pounds, but there were also some bigger things like an abandoned chair and a plastic tent. And a big piece of burlap or something with a fishing lure and giant hook attached. D found a Macy’s gift card that he almost tossed in his bucket. But we brought it home to check the balance—$24.60! We should be able to turn that into something useful for someone. 😊
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When I stepped out to release it (no bail), I was surprised by this brief bit of backyard beauty.
For most of us, knowledge of our world comes large For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?" ~ Rachel Carson in The Sense of Wonder
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