Blog Posts by Susan Egner
Inspirations, thoughts by Minnesota author and flight attendant
My father was born in 1909 and was in a military school from 1914 until 1921. During that time, with no parents to encourage or explain, such things as the Spanish flu, World War I, prohibition, and the Great Depression occurred. Can you imagine? But then I started thinking about my own life, born at the end of World War II, lived through the Korean War, the Viet Nam War, multiple wars in the Middle East, the recession of 2008, and now the Covid19 pandemic. But, also the invention of television, the first landings on the moon, the invention of television, computers, and all the Internet stuff. It’s an interesting parallel.
In researching information to build one of my characters in “North Star Tribe,” I stumbled across the subject of mycology and a fascinating scientist by the name of Paul Stamets. You may have seen characters named after him in the current television series of “Star Trek” and “Hannibal.” He has a movie on Netflix called “Fantastic Fungi.https://www.google.com/search?he studyq=fantastic+fungi+netflix&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS732US732&oq=fntastic+gungi%3D&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i13i30l9“
Watch it. You’ll be amazed. For those who are not familiar with the word mycology, it’s the study of fungi which includes, yeast, mold, truffles, and mushrooms. There are many more ways to use mushrooms besides sauteed on a steak.
I’ve read that three hundred and fifty ships rest on the bottom of the Great Lakes, fifty in Minnesota. Unlike in southern climates where the bodies bloat and float, the waters of the Great Lakes remain cold enough year-round to keep its bodies in place, perhaps waiting for the ship to reach port. The myth says that the Witch of November creates such storms, waving her wand to spike fifteen-foot waves, twirling her body to rev up gale-force winds, and blinding the faces of sailors with lashing rain. As true of the other Great Lakes, Lake Superior is large enough to create its own weather system. Or is it created by the Witch of November? You might want to listen to the song about the Edmund Fitzgerald for answers.
Check out this link. https://nationalpost.com/opinion/mark-bourrie-the-witch-of-november