Irene Ziegler

Please let me know if you're looking for a wri...

2012-01-07T02:08:56.560-05:00

Please let me know if you're looking for a writer for your blog. You have some really good articles and I think I would be a good asset.Thanks for info.

Holy crap, Ireney. I'm so glad you're okay...

2012-01-06T14:18:38.558-05:00

Holy crap, Ireney. I'm so glad you're okay, and I'm so glad you're such a great writer. Only you can tell a story like this and make me laugh! I hope The Dawgs get caught. Judging from your story, they should look into a line of work for which they have agreater aptitude.

I just read this post, and I can't even imagin...

2012-01-04T23:01:02.209-05:00

I just read this post, and I can't even imagine what that must have been like. I'm glad that you can find some humor in all of it. As for the dog thing, I could point you in the direction of some wonderfully trained protection dogs (either Schutzhund or Protection Sports of America) if you're interested. They're some pretty fierce creatures. Anyway, just ask Lynn West or my husband, Hans Paul, for my info if you're interested. Otherwise, Lynn's right, most any dog will be enough to scare away potential threats. My neighborhood is scared of my Labradoodle, but people will jump fences for my mom's German Shepherd. It's kind of funny to watch. Oh, and if anyone I don't know asks: Yes. All the dogs in my house are vicious and will bite as soon as look at you. :)

Oh my dear. You are such a good writer that I'...

2011-12-29T17:24:46.506-05:00

Oh my dear. You are such a good writer that I'm laughing while thinking OMG this is terrifying. Big hugs.

My dog is only a 59 pound border collie/lab mix, b...

2011-12-29T17:05:21.728-05:00

My dog is only a 59 pound border collie/lab mix, but when I am home alone and dozing on the couch and anyone comes near the house that is NOT Joe...the sounds that come out of him are CUJO ON CRACK. And this is one sweet, sweet loving animal. But he looks after his own peeps. So I think Lynn is right, you don't necessarily need an aggressive breed. You want a dog that can love AND protect you, not just a scary dog. Keep feeling better. And seriously, what stupid motherfuckers. Nobody carries cash anymore. NOBODY. Dawg and Dawg are going to be caught and get a fine legal ass whuppin. You are loved Irene, call anytime if you feel small. xoxo

Yes, got your emails, Emmy. Thanks. When I'm r...

2011-12-29T13:52:06.246-05:00

Yes, got your emails, Emmy. Thanks. When I'm ready, I'll get to all the leads my wonderful friends are offering. Is there a breed that shoots grenades from its ass?

Love this Irenie! It will make a good play one da...

2011-12-29T11:31:15.399-05:00

Love this Irenie! It will make a good play one day, right now it keeps making me cry... laughter and all, but one day it will be an amazing play! Did you get the multiple Petfinder lists... German Shepherds, Pretty Pitties, American Bulldogs... I was going for the 100lbs. + :) Love you! x

SO love this! I'm thinking you don't actu...

2011-12-29T09:59:42.660-05:00

SO love this! I'm thinking you don't actually need a big dog unless you really love them. Any breed will be extremely protective once you are his/her person. Valerie Paul could help you find just the right one.

Irene, what an horrifying event! I am so so sorry ...

2011-12-27T18:56:43.240-05:00

Irene, what an horrifying event! I am so so sorry you had to suffer through it. It's almost unbelievable? During those four hours you were bound, it must have seemed unbelievable to you as well.

But "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger," and you'll turn this into a great piece of fiction, I know.

Just one thing: two practical thoughts jumped out at me when I read your story:

(1) Why do you have a gun on your bedside table?
(2) Why don't you have a phone in your bedroom? I'm a believer in corded phones, and since cordless phones have come into vogue, I've added a couple, but I've still kept the original corded phones in every bedroom plus my breakfast room. Think about (re-installing) some.

Much love,

Laura

I don't know, Irene. I'll be 50 next month...

2011-10-05T17:42:05.697-04:00

I don't know, Irene. I'll be 50 next month, and I suddenly (and nearly inexplicably) find myself the parent of a five year old. And while I may have a little more money and wisdom than I did when I was 25, I don't have a fraction of the energy. On the flip side, it's been a boon for my local wine shop.

I think it's great! Has a coupla probs, thoug...

2011-10-02T00:45:53.316-04:00

I think it's great! Has a coupla probs, though. Eg. men don't say "ooghing me out."

You wrote a musical?! (my ears - okay eyes - perke...

2011-09-15T09:54:57.790-04:00

You wrote a musical?! (my ears - okay eyes - perked up)

this post should have come with a spew alert! the ...

2011-09-05T09:40:50.085-04:00

this post should have come with a spew alert! the spewing out was not as bad as the tea up the nose...

I'm seeing your mom June 27 for lunch. Looking...

2011-06-21T17:13:41.606-04:00

I'm seeing your mom June 27 for lunch. Looking forward to it.

Re your comment, is "shanked" better?

I'm hooked, and I want to read more! (Loved i...

2011-06-21T06:34:20.692-04:00

I'm hooked, and I want to read more!

(Loved it all, with one exception: I'd urge you to reconsider the 'probably raped' line. It could suck the air out of the room.)

You're seeing my mother today? (Yesterday, tomorrow?) Great! Let me know how she's doing. I left DeLand a few hours after my father's memorial service (thank you again for coming) and have been 'stuck' in Europe ever since.

You need to chat with Anna-Marie Epps in the Barks...

2011-05-29T13:54:03.821-04:00

You need to chat with Anna-Marie Epps in the Barksdale box office. She can give you an earful!!

First grade report card: straight As, except for a...

2011-04-29T16:39:16.887-04:00

First grade report card: straight As, except for a C in penmanship. So instead of playing outside after school, my mother had me in the house practicing my letters. Next report card - straight As. (p.s. My mother also made me take typing instead of chorus my freshman year of high school. I thank her to this day.)

Great monologue, congratulations.

2011-04-28T08:49:54.621-04:00

Great monologue, congratulations.

Fabulous monologue. I'm so happy for you that ...

2011-04-27T23:32:48.574-04:00

Fabulous monologue. I'm so happy for you that it was chosen and now lots of people will get to hear it. Yay! Wish I were there, too. Oh, and MY mom did the same bangs on me. hmmm.

"i think penmanship speaks to the part of us ...

2011-04-27T21:49:26.373-04:00

"i think penmanship speaks to the part of us that technology is taking away - the willingness to work hard at something even if it takes along time just for the beauty instead of taking the technological easy way out." That's it. That's it, exactly. Thanks, Nanci.

Learned cursive in 3rd grade from a horrible teach...

2011-04-27T20:19:52.196-04:00

Learned cursive in 3rd grade from a horrible teacher named Mrs. bruce - she was a desk dumper too and I was a messy desk student - but thats another story. Anyway, i had awful penmenshp with cursive the letters just never looked pretty and when I moved on to jr high ( 7th grade) i asked all teachers if I could print and I never wrote in cursive again. the only thing in cursive is my signature and that is only 7 letters, my 1st initial and last name. My mom had beautiful handwriting and I am always a little jealous of beautiful handwriting. In this day and age i think penmanship speaks to the part of us that technology is taking away - the willingness to work hard at something even if it takes along time just for the beauty instead of taking the technological easy way out. PS - congrats on the monologue. -

Thanks, Emily. Not too late at all. You remind me ...

2011-04-27T19:44:55.629-04:00

Thanks, Emily. Not too late at all. You remind me to include D'Nealian in my rant. Grandma Katie had teachers who spent 45 minutes every day on handwriting. Penmanship was associated with character back then. Now teachers spend 10 minutes at most. OUr national handwriting is in severe decline and headed toward extinction. As you say, c'est la vie.

I'm a bit tardy but had to comment! When I wa...

2011-04-27T17:30:28.053-04:00

I'm a bit tardy but had to comment!

When I was in elementary school, we learned "D'Nealian" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Nealian). I always hated it and wanted to learn how to write the way my parents wrote, in 'fancy' cursive. My mom always commented on what beautiful handwriting my Grandma Katie had, with her flourished capitals and flowing lower case letters. Naturally, because my mom said it was beautiful, I also determined it to be beautiful. So, I did the required classroom penmanship exercises to a 'T' but the rest of my homework exemplified my rebellion against D'Nealian, with unnecessary squiggles and hooks and loops. Over the years, my handwriting evolved from bubble-dotted-i's to long, slanty sans-serif wisps; from script to printing then back again. Can I attribute my handwriting fickleness to D'Nealian? Maybe. Or, more likely, it was my search to creatively express myself that caused me to experiment ad nauseum. I think it has only been in the last 10 years or so that my handwriting has remained relatively consistent, which I would classify as 'scrinting' -- half script, half printing, usually vertical with normal-sized letters and only an occasional flourish. The kind my Grandma Katie hated. C'est la vie.

Thanks, everyone, for these wonderful comments. La...

2011-04-18T09:05:03.586-04:00

Thanks, everyone, for these wonderful comments. Laura, the Palmer method indeed requires hours and hours of circle making before tackling any letters; the arm and shoulder movement was key. "Rapid movement writing," Mr. Palmer called it. Once students put letters together, they were oddly juxtaposed, like "rz" or "yl" because words were not the point. The holy letter was all. And I remember Pam Talton's handwriting! We were in the same English class in high school. She was the first person I met who visibly swooned over Shakespeare.

Ah, cursive handwriting! [We learned it just a few...

2011-04-18T01:08:32.415-04:00

Ah, cursive handwriting! [We learned it just a few hundred yards away from one another, Irene, although St Peters apparently did a significantly better job than did Dempsie Brewster School. I wrote you earlier about my father's M.A. student who compared handwriting samples from your school and mine as part of her thesis. Your school won!]

Anyway, I remember how *excited* I was to finally be able to learn to write in cursive. I was looking forward to it all summer. So imagine my disappointment one the first day of third grade, when Mrs. Jackson told us that we wouldn't be starting to learn cursive until WEDNESDAY.

Finally the day came, and Mrs. Jackson demonstrated for us the small letter c. Then how to close up the c on the right side: that made an a. Then how to extend that right-side line: that made a d. Put them all together: that spells "cad"! I remember Mrs. Jackson telling us, "It's not a very nice word." But aside from "dad" and "add", she was stuck

I had no "Bonnie Paul" in my class: my memory is that after we'd mastered the entire alphabet, all our handwriting looked pretty much the same -- so much so that one time, when I noticed that Mrs. Jackson had put some examples of "best handwriting" on the wall, I thought that one of them was mine. But it belonged to Pamela Talton.

Fast forward to 8th grade. I looked at a paper Pam had written, and I was amazed to discover that her handwriting didn't resemble mine at all anymore. Funny how our genes (?) shape our handwriting.

Epilogue: my father was very disappointed in my handwriting as I was growing up. He had beautiful handwriting himself -- extremely fluid, with a gorgeous signature. His handwritten notes are a pleasure to read. He told me that when he learned to write in cursive, around 1927, I suppose, the teacher made them spend pages and pages just making circles on the paper *before* they were allowed to compose any letters at all. The point was to get the hand to move with ease.

Postscript: I write so infrequently now that my handwriting has degenerated far below what it was when I was a teenager. Yet (I just checked) I still possess a slight bump on the upper part of my middle finger that testifies to all those years my hand did hold a pen.