Tis the season, so don't get caught with coal in your stocking!   Santa lights his Christmas lights with Nuclear Power. 

Ho Ho Ho... 

Nutcracker Publishing Company

Pink Pumpkins: How My Children Celebrated Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Once upon a time a long time ago, (my daughter used to insist all stories must begin like this) there was no Tickles Tabitha character.  Pumpkins were orange and talking to young children about cancer was more frightening then a Halloween without candy.

Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer and October has not been the same since. At our house it became Pink Pumpkin Month and I spent it promoting cancer awareness and marketing Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy, my children’s picture book about cancer.

My kids did not just pick out and carve up traditional orange pumpkins. We were purchasing cans of hot pink spray paint, dollar store trick or treat sacks we filled with a pink ribbon craft activity, and making scarecrow hats that looked like Tickles Tabitha.

One year our kitchen was the laboratory where a giant plastic pumpkin head was padded, molded, and turned into a larger than life-sized Tickles Tabitha’s head.  The top section of the Tickles Tabitha costume character my children volunteered to dress up as (I'm doing what my kids call my evil laugh here) and that helped introduced my cancer awareness school program.   

I was reflecting on all that has changed during my recent appearance at the Barnes & Noble Walk With Sally Book Fair.  When my own children were small, talking to them about my cancer raised eyebrows and talking to other peoples children about it was unimaginable. 

So much has changed and much of it due to October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Today cans of pink spray paint are not necessary, you can  purchase pink pumpkin jack-o lanterns at the local super market. 

It's a good thing, since the kids that helped me are now young adults and what I recall as fond memories of Octobers past are now reasons for my son Jordan to complain about his childhood, and affirmations as to why his sister, the "real" Tabitha, graduated summa cum laude with a psych degree. According to the two of them, it's going to come in handy! 

Happy Pink Pumpkin Month!

Here we are before Jordan left for college...

...and here's Jordan now.

 Probably due to inhaling that pink spray paint.

Celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Don't Get Too Comfortable!

Amelia Frahm, Author
Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous  Mommy

One thing about breast cancer is you can never get too comfortable. I kicked off October with a trip to the doctor's office. A bug had flown into my ear and I wanted to make sure it was out.  All of it!

My doctor assured me the bug was long gone and nothing to worry about, but when I asked her to take a look at a lump near a lymph node she immediately made me an appointment with an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist.               

                                              

After the ENT guy examined my nodes, mentioned scheduling a full body cat scan, vaporized my perpetual hunger, and told me that he felt better about the one node because the one on the other side was about the same size,  I directed him to the node I was worried about.

As it turned out that node was not a lymph node, but an enlarged cyst.  If it gets infected or any larger it will need to be removed, he told me. Or he could go ahead and  remove it  "NOW"  and prevent me a possible return trip.  

I thought about it for a nano second.  What I thought was, unless he put me under and combined a cosmetic procedure with that needle and knife he would be wielding, I would take my chances. 

So far my odds have been pretty good, at least when it comes to breast cancer.  Eighteen years of remission  and counting...   Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month!  

Sharing my story with  young fans at the
B&N  Walk With Sally Book Fair in  Manhattan Beach, CA.

Walk with Sally's   

Barnes & Noble Bookfair

      The Literary Showcase, Sept. 1, 2012.

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 Helping Children Feel Smart!

Kieran 

"My daughter Kieran said reading your book made her feel smart!" The child within me wanted to simultaneously jump for joy and break into tears. 
However, since the adult me was sitting at a coffee shop in Victoria, Texas, meeting Kathleen Grones, a reporter for the Victoria Advocate, I squelched that notion and went on pretending to be the grown-up author she was supposed to be interviewing.


Kieran's comment resonated in me in a way that only an adult who was made to feel "not smart” as a child would understand. As a five year old first grade student I was made to feel dumb by a teacher.  Her opinion labeled me in my own mind, and in the minds of other children and teachers, and shaded my entire school experience. 

It was not until college that I realized I was not a dunce. My first clue came in the mail. It was an acceptance letter to the University of Florida, from which I graduated with a PR degree. Not bad for a girl whose first grade teacher assigned her a "D" in citizenship, and who was placed in the slow reading group.

  Suzy Hobbs Baker,Executive Director of
        PopAtomic Studios, the parent organization
for the Nuclear Literacy Project. 

Recently, I received an e-mail from Suzanne Hobbs Baker, Executive Director at PopAtomic Studios, informing me that Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power Plant ReallyWorks! had been listed as recommended reading on the premier posting of the Nuclear Literacy Project's website. Needless to say, it felt good.

There was the so-called "dumb" girl's book right alongside books written by some really smart authors and nuclear experts, including Gwyneth Cravens' The Power to Save the World, and Terrestrial Energy by William Tucker.  

Although being victimized by education bullies did not make my life easy, it has made life interesting and infused a passion within me that might not otherwise exist.

This is why I have a deep appreciation for professionals and educators who provide information in a format that even us "dummies" will understand.

That is what the folks at the Nuclear Literacy Project are doing. This past year, the nuclear industry took the heat for the devastation and destruction caused by horrible natural events that led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. 

After the incident, anything nuclear - including my children's book - became an easy target for anti-nuclear bullies predicting doom and assigning blame.

My Facebook page was bombarded with photos and comments intended to make me appear irresponsible for writing a children's book on nuclear power. Once again, I felt like that first grade child who had received a "D" in citizenship, until members of the Nuclear Literacy Project came to my rescue.

The organization is composed of a diverse group of thinkers from a variety of backgrounds who recognize the gaps in nuclear education and are striving to bridge them.

They shared accurate and factual information on my Facebook pages that helped distinguish fact from fiction and they did it in a way that my non-technical audience could understand. That is the genius of the Nuclear Literacy Project. It strives to provide education without humiliation or condemnation.  It is with much admiration and appreciation for the Nuclear Literacy Project that I say thank you for what you are doing and congratulations on your website:  Nuclearliteracy.org. 


May you continue to make children of all ages feel smart!

The Nutcracker Publishing Company is pleased to be associated with The Nuclear Literacy Project and would like to thank them for supporting our efforts to educate young children about nuclear power plants. To learn more about The Nuclear Literacy Project and their history of successful outreach please go to Nutcracker Publishing Company/The Nuclear Literacy Project.

Nuclear Literacy for Dumb People

With Neill Holmes at the Crabtree Valley Marriott in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I was guest speaker for the Crabtree Rotary.

My presentation was titled: Nuclear Literacy for Dumb People. I talked about nuclear literacy and gave them a preview of my elementary school program.

There were NO dumb people in my audience, instead I was surrounded by one of the friendliest and most intelligent groups I have had the pleasure of meeting.

Taking Nuclear Power on the Road to South Alabama

My parent's backyard. 

Below are highlights of my author road trip to South Alabama.  I visited schools in Baldwin County and Escambia County, Alabama.  I grew up across the state line in Escambia County, Florida, on a farm in the Walnut Hill community.  So when I was not visiting schools, I got to visit family and childhood friends I have not seen in years. The thing I love about Walnut Hill is the people who always welcome me back, like it was only yesterday, and not 30 years ago since I moved away.  

My first school was Daphne East Elementary, not to be confused with Daphne Elementary.  Daphne, Alabama is a beautiful town near the Gulf Coast, which meant I skipped the school cafeteria food and opted for Gulf Coast seafood.

 Daphne East Elementary students and media specialist Rhonda Campbell, who set up my visit and made sure it went without a hitch. I spoke to approximately 700 students and their teachers.

The winner of our Chubby door prize was Miss Jennifer Nelson's 4th grade class.  Miss Nelson was out that day and I'm pictured with Ms Linda McCann.



The next day I visited Daphne Elementary.  I'm pictured with their librarian, Mrs. Elizabeth Davis.











I think the entire school turned out. I'll always remember this visit as the reason I finally purchased my own set of speakers for my laptop! I had difficulty using their equipment and could not get the audio to broadcast for my video. Daphne Elementary thought me receiving a science and technology award was hilarious.

More about my visits to Baldwin County Schools can be found here: Daphne Kids Power Up: Author teaches about nuclear power, fear of the unknown. Thank you Jessica Jones for including my story.




I completed my first week of author presentations visiting Escambia Academy in Canoe, Alabama. It is a small private school that still goes K-12th grade.  It is also where my brother John Solomon graduated high school.

The kids were excited to have an author visit and each class asked to have their photo taken with me.  I shared both of my books including Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy.  Sadly, it's a topic the children were familiar with.





I owe a debt of gratitude to Tri City Ledger reporter Janet Little Cooper. Despite the hectic schedule of a news reporter, she attended my presentation at Escambia Academy.  You can find her article on my FB page here: EA students learn about nuclear power.

Not all my time was spent doing author school visits, and for the first time in at least 25 years I got to enjoy spending Mother's Day with my mother.

Amelia Solomon Frahm and her mother, Amelia Patricia Solomon.

 The last school I visited was W.J. Carroll Intermediate where I spoke back-to-back to three classes of 150 students.  These were older kids who were looking forward to the end of the year in about six days, yet they were attentive and interested in nuclear power and writing.

Children today learn very little about nuclear power in school which perhaps explains why none of the sixth graders thought my book was too juvenile.

One young man told me he was already working on his own book!

I am back home, alone with my laptop.  It's a beautiful day in North Carolina, but I am missing you Alabama people!

Don't Let the Dog Out!

Author Amelia Frahm with Gloria Cooper on WTZT-11, Athens, Alabama.

On my way to South Alabama, where I have several author school visits scheduled, by way of North Alabama, where my husband Randy works full-time and lives part-time.  Randy and I have a commuter marriage. A 3-M plant in Decatur, Alabama has been his work base for the past six years and he commutes between his job there and our home in North Carolina. 

Now that our kids are grown, I join him whenever possible.  It was during one of my visits that I discovered a" local and loving it" show called Cooper & Company that airs on WTZT -11 in Athen's, Alabama.  ZTV-11 as it's known is owned, operated, hosted, and produced by Gloria and Jamie Cooper. 

Although Gloria interviewed me, she and her husband Jamie, remembered by many as the Country Rover, could and should write their own book.  

Zoro & Gloria Cooper

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being a guest on ZTV-11,  meeting the Cooper's, their staff, and their dog! 

Anyone watching the show heard Jamie yell, "don't let the dog out!" He was talking to me!  When I opened the door to enter the station I was met by  Zoro.   

As always, it's the dogs I meet that make my author road trips most interesting!

Please let us know how you like "Nuclear Power - How a Nuclear Power Plant Really Works" by writing a review on askDavid.com

This year we got our Easter Eggs from Nukie Nuclear Power Plant!

I was welcomed home to North Carolina by the IRS, garden weeds, birthdays and an Easter Egg Hunt to plan. Hello Spring!  I hit the ground hopping.

Fortunately, the Apex Chamber of Commerce was en route to the bakery where I had ordered party foods and birthday cake.  I picked up my copy of the Apex Magazine.  I am so appreciative to my hometown Apex Chamber of Commerce for featuring my story in this year’s edition of the Magazine. 

When I see this photo, what I remember is that I had a bald spot on the top of my head at the time (which, fortunately, is not visible due to the angle of the camera). I had been diagnosed with stress related alopecia.  A lot has happened since that photo… for one thing my hair grew back!

My Dimple Dumpling & his dad.

This March, the Dimple Dumpling, mentioned on the dedication page of my children’s book about nuclear power, turned 20 years old.  He still has the dimples, but my son Jordan is no longer a dumpling.  On Easter, my daughter Tabitha, who along with her brother inspired Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy  turned 22 years old. I am now the mother of two adult children.  I don’t feel near as old as their birthdays make me.


Even the neighbor kids have grown up on me.  I was stunned to discover two of my Cancer Dancers will be heading to high school next year!

For those grown up kids, and as a tribute to my book about nuclear power, this year we got our Easter Eggs from Nukie Nuclear Power Plant and put on a glow-in-the-dark Easter Egg Hunt.  It was the brilliant and bright idea of my daughter, who recruited her brother and her boyfriend, and even some unsuspecting adults, to help stuff 600 plus eggs with glow in the dark items.  

Nuclear Easter Eggs.

The results were awesome!  Wish we had more photos, but what took hours to plan took the kids a few minutes to find. 

Taxes, Easter and birthdays are now sweet memories. My media moments are archived on audio and print, and behind the scenes I am getting ready to head to Alabama for my next author school visit.


This time last year, my daughter, Tabitha, and I were loading mousetraps with orange Ping-Pong balls and filming the video explaining what makes a nuclear plant nuclear. 

Tabitha & our neighbor Deven Robtoy.

My neighbor called to ask where we crouched when the tornado that devastated parts of our region of North Carolina swept through.  She and her children had been in the bathroom.  Tabitha and I had been happily preoccupied and clueless about the weather. I think of that day every time I play the video to a school group.

I never imagined then all the schools I would visit and the laughter that video would provide to so many elementary students or the behind the scenes story I would tell them about it.

Pinning the tail on the bunny.

While on the road during my last school visit I was interviewed, along with athlete Brian Jordan and educator Mindy Keller, by Neil Haley, host of the Total Education Network. Neil airs an educational talk show seven days a week that focuses on local and national education news.  Neil has been in education for years, but a children’s book about nuclear power?  That got his attention.  You can check out my interview here:

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Charleston Chew the Easter Pug.

Mousetraps and Ping-Pong Balls: Explaining Nuclear Power to the Media

With Suzie Wiley and Derrick Shull, after my appearance on Talk of the Town  at WYAM TV-51, in Decatur, Alabama.  As always, they made me feel so welcome.  On the show we talked about Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power Plant Really Works!  I explained how mousetraps and Ping-Pong balls factor into my school presentations.

I had the honor of being a guest on the show several years ago to discuss my children’s picture book about cancer.  After today’s show Derrick shared with me how he had given his mother a breast cancer survivor, a copy of  Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had read it to her students so they would understand what she went through.  He was so appreciative.  It's moments like this that keep me motivated!

I’ve had a lot of “moments like this” this week.  Check out:

Call to Action: Educate and Encourage Students about Nuclear Science posted on the ANS Nuclear Cafe,  by Bethany Cargle, Marketing Specialist for RCS Nuclear Corporation.

Our latest press release:

Educating Students about Nuclear Science: Mousetraps and Ping-Pong Balls

Apex, NC, March 20, 2012 —“Do power plants really use mouse traps and Ping-Pong balls?” Just one of the questions students who celebrated National Engineers Week got answered by attending the school presentation of  Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power Plant Really Works! sponsored by RCS Nuclear Corporation.

Amelia Frahm, author of the children’s picture book, described a fission chain reaction using a metaphor of Ping-Pong balls and mouse traps in order to help children understand how energy is produced in a nuclear power plant. RCS Nuclear donated Frahm’s book to Charlotte, North Carolina elementary schools and sponsored the author reading.

As a supplier of nuclear and related engineering personnel, RCS Nuclear likes to encourage young students to become engineers. “These students are the future for industries we supply engineers to, and it is the company’s responsibility to prepare them now,” said Carlos Garcia, founder of RCS Nuclear.

Since its release in December, Frahm’s children’s book explaining nuclear power plants and the related school presentation she has implemented have been used by corporations like RCS Nuclear to focus attention on National Engineers Week, and by schools like Van Vleck Elementary in Van Vleck, Texas who used the program to kick off National Nuclear Science Week. Frahm’s school presentations helped celebrate in a manner that grasped the attention of elementary and intermediate students.

“I try to engage children using concepts they understand and find entertaining, like when I ask what Chubby does on his day off, he goes fission,” said Frahm.

In attendance at Frahm’s Steele Creek Elementary book reading in Charlotte were five sessions of 50 students; in total, approximately 250 fourth and fifth graders. Prior to the reading, the students were asked if they knew what nuclear engineers did or how nuclear energy was created. Students could not give an answer; however, they listened carefully as they learned how a nuclear plant works from the point of view of a lab rat, a blue bird, and a fat cat, who are characters in the book. Then they laughed as they enjoyed a video created by the author, which demonstrated the mouse trap and Ping-Pong ball fission chain reaction.

More information about Frahm's school program and contact information to schedule an author book reading may be found on the link School Programs at NutcrackerPublishing.com.

Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power Plant Really Works! costs $9.95 and is available from the publisher,  Barnes & Noble bookstores, online at Amazon.com, and at other bookstores.

About RCS Nuclear Corporation

RCS Nuclear is a Trade Name for RCS Corporation. Ranked the #1 Fastest Growing New Small Business in America by Entrepreneurmagazine, Since 1994, RCS Corporation has provides Professional Staffing Services to the Nuclear and Energy Industries throughout the United States and Internationally.

About Nutcracker Publishing Company

Nutcracker Publishing Company was founded in 2001. The company publishes children's books that educate, entertain, and make it easier to establish a dialogue between children and adults about difficult subjects such as cancer and nuclear power. Information on educational programs for schools and other organizations can be found at the company’s website. Nutcracker Publishing Company is based in North Carolina.

Fukushima One Year Later: My Children's Picture Book.

Not even the great Zoltar could have predicted my career in children's books or the world events that would affect it.  

In the aftermath of Fukushima’s nuclear disaster most people are surprised to discover I almost did not publish Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power Plant Really Works!, but prior to the Fukushima incident my book's topic evoked more bored yawns than invitations to visit elementary schools.

So much attention has been placed on what went wrong at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant due to natural disasters most of us have forgotten that the Nuclear Industry had and continues to have an unsurpassed safety record.

That record is what made my book a tough sell to the general public and even some in the nuclear industry. I was contemplating paying off my illustrator and just placing my children’s book about nuclear power plants on hold when the tsunami hit Japan.    

If ever I have received a “sign” to do something, that appeared to be it.

 Nuclear Power: How aNuclear Power Plant Really Works! was released December 29, 2011. 

I no longer worry about my book’s topic being considered boring.  If anything, boredom has been replaced with irrational fear.  

Children’s picture books are never as simple and easy to write as they appear. My “Nuke Book” is a creative look at a factual subject and it had to be technically accurate.

None of the professionals I market my book to or parents who purchase my book would expect anything less than for me to have sought out the opinions and critiques of the nuclear industry.  People who have worked within the industry and understand what they are talking about. 

Unfortunately, during the aftermath of Fukushima’s nuclear disaster these industry leaders and experts have often been by-passed in favor of commentators with more sensationalized points of view.

People I would have never considered a legitimate source for even a fictional children’s picture book about nuclear power have been considered expert sources on the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Fukushima changed everything, including my mind about publishing a children’s book about nuclear power.  Public perception of nuclear power plants remains an issue for the nuclear industry and even my children’s picture book about it.  The bored yawns I encountered have been replaced by raised eyebrows, genuine interest and sometimes irrational fear.  

I am in the returning lane of my author school visits/ marketing road trip. I have lit up the roads from North Carolina to Texas with stops along the way in both Florida and Alabama.  Most educators tend to read a book before critiquing it, and these past few months I have had the privilege of meeting with many of them.  As they have pointed out, nothing eliminates fear like education. 

What better way to educate a classroom full of elementary children about nuclear energy than a book about it? 

Amelia Frahm with Bethany Cargle, Marketing Specialist for RCS Corp. and students at Steele Creek Elem. School, Charlotte, NC.  RCS donated my book  to area schools and arranged my visit to celebrate National Engineers Week.

Lennie Roberts Elementary

Back home, and back to work in North Carolina, but I am still feeling the glow, after visiting schools in Matagorda County, Texas,  and helping kick off National Nuclear Science Week by sharing 

Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power Plant Really Works!

I am happy to be home, but I am missing the friendly, attentive, and well-behaved students I encountered during my visit to Texas schools.  

Celebrating with some of my "Team" from the left-my husband, Randy, me, my cousin Lora , her husband Dickie Thompson, my sister-in-law, Denise & brother, Michael Solomon, and cousin Brittany, & her husband Cary Orsak. 

I usually work at home and alone, but in Texas, it felt like I had my own personal PR Team. In a way I did, I still have close personal friends and family members that reside in Matagorda County, Texas.  They helped toot my horn, whenever possible came to my events, and let me know how happy and proud they were for me.  

Adrriana Acosta

It wasn't just friends and family that made me feel welcome, but the movers and shakers of Matagorda County's professional community as well.   I had so much fun working with Sheryl Langstrom and the staff at Happy Radio.

I am so  appreciative to Adriana Acosta, of the Matagorda Advocate for covering my school tour. She came out and took photos during my visit at Cherry Elementary and wrote the following article: All about Nuclear Energy.

Cherry Elementary, Bay City, TX 

Everyone from the school superintendent's office to the students themselves made me feel welcome, and told me how proud they were I wrote a children's book about nuclear power plants based on experiences I had while working at the STP Nuclear Plant.

 Nutcracker Publishing is dedicated to the memory of my friend, Laura Bouldin Karlman who died of Leukemia at age 39, October, 2000.  Laura and I met when I lived in Bay City, Texas. Before husbands, children, and as I like to say, respectability.  The only thing that could have made my visit to Texas, more perfect would have been Laura's presence.  However, I did get to do the next best thing! Laura's sister, Cindy Tomek, and I got together for lunch. I enjoyed hearing about Laura's family, especially Laura's children who like my own are all grown up now.

Matagorda Beach Elementary 

This January it has been 18 years since I was given the breast cancer diagnosis that changed my life, inspired me to write Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy, and motivated me to establish a career writing children's picture books.  I have been a very lucky woman!

Celebrating National Nuclear Science Week by Nuking Texas

Nuking Texas?  Well not the way one of my children’s book critics implied, but I am nuking them with information.

I am in South Texas, visiting local schools where I’ve been reading Mom's Choice Award Recipient, Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power PlantReally Works! to students and giving them a head start on celebrating National Nuclear Science Week. 

National Nuclear Science Week is Monday, January 23 -27, 2012, and is designed to recognize the contributions of the nuclear science industry and those who work in it every day.

I felt honored when Principal Sarah Roper, at Van Vleck Elementary School, Van Vleck, Texas, told me I was helping them kick off their Nuclear Science Week celebration.

Amelia Frahm with students at Van Vleck Elementary School.

After twenty-three years I have come home to South Texas. The warm and welcoming reception I have received has made me wonder how I could ever leave.  Okay, It did not hurt one bit that the cute young man at a local restaurant said, “Mam, whereever you’re going you  shore look nice,”  that the state trooper who pulled me over let me off with a warning and not a ticket, or that my cousin’s ten-year old son actually wanted his classmates to KNOW we’re related.  Yep, I love Texas and Texans.

Van Vleck Elementary School , Van Vleck, TX

Here are a few of the highlights of my visit:

Visiting Van Vleck Elementary School where my Aunt Loretta Cox, taught school back in the days I lived in South Texas.  My aunt is deceased now and visiting her school brought back wonderful memories

At Holy Cross Catholic School where my cousin Brittany Orsak's  step-

son, Joshua  Orsak, is a fifth grader.  I got to see Lesley and Kayley Hoffman,  who attended my December Booksigning Event in Bay City, Texas,  again as well  They're students at Holy Cross.  After my presentation was over the little girls I'm pictured with above came up and gave me hugs!  

Long before Congressman Ron Paul became a Republican presidential candidate I sought out pro-nuclear politicians. His office responded and while in Texas, it was my privilege to meet Tracee Tollett, who works for Congressman Paul, in person. 

I had the honor of presenting Tracee the finished book. FYI: That pic I'm holding is proof to my kids that I don't make these things up. It's a picture of the cattle drive I used to get stuck in when I worked at the STP nuclear plant! 

Blessing Elementary School in Blessing, Texas.  A small community school that looks just as you would picture a Texas Elementary School should look.

The story goes that the founder was so thankful to finally get a train stop so he could ship his cattle he wanted to call the town,  Thank God.  That name was rejected. 

Here I am pictured with students at Blessing Elementary.

 My audience of children at Blessing Elementary.  

I could not go to Blessing without visiting the Blessing Hotel. Back in the day I worked at the nuclear plant we would take our tour groups to the hotel for lunch. Built in 1906 the hotel is still in operation today.

It was past lunch time when I arrived, but I was happy to discover that

Helen Feldhousen is still the proprietor of  the hotel's dining room known today as the Hotel Blessing Coffee Shop.

I'll post more of my Texas author visit later.  Today I'm on my way to 

Matagorda Elementary School at Matagorda Beach.  The very beach I had in mine when I penned the words,"... so hot fish jumped out of the ocean already fried..."

For a list of school’s I’m visiting while in Texas please go to Author Events.

If you would like to talk to me about visiting your school please Contact Us.