by B.L. Unkel | Jul 15, 2023 | Baking
As I’ve mentioned in previous DYKs, almost everything—animals, occupations, food, etc.—can have a national day. Some even get their own month. Thanks to President Ronald Reagan, ice cream has both. In 1984, he designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third...
by B.L. Unkel | Jul 1, 2023 | Travel
Recently, several of my critique partners and I gathered in Tyler, TX, for a mini-writing retreat. On the way home, we stopped at a historic site/rest stop on the north side of Jacksonville. If you haven’t yet visited it, make plans to do so next time you’re in the...
by B.L. Unkel | Jun 3, 2023 | Writing
Since the dawn of mankind, oral storytelling has been used to pass stories from one generation to the next. With the invention of the written word and, over time, the increased availability of affordable books, the tradition of oral storytelling almost disappeared....
by B.L. Unkel | May 27, 2023 | Baking
If you’ve lived in Texas for any length of time, you’ve probably cooked or eaten beef brisket, and tomorrow, May 28, is National Brisket Day. (Yes, there is such a holiday.) The Meat Brisket is one of nine primal cuts of beef, meaning it’s one of those first...
by B.L. Unkel | May 6, 2023 | History
I love history, and one of the best ways to learn more about it is to talk to someone who experienced it. Their first-hand accounts often add details, absent in historical texts. The Wish In her early nineties, my paternal grandmother wished to see her paternal...
