Ja-Ja's Journals
WELCOME TO JA-JA'S JOURNALS
WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT
With this blog I'll be taking a nostalgic journey through the yellowing pages of my numerous journals, noting my observations, and creating stories based on the memories of what I find there. ​I'm inviting you to travel beside me as I steer through the 1940's, 50's, 60's, all the way to present day.
​I'm excited to share with my reader, the smooth lanes and potholes of my ride, and the stories they inspire.
Perhaps my observations will be reminiscent of your own and will brighten your day...or maybe you'll just enjoy reading my stories.
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To the young adult readers who might be startled by the point of view held
during the times depicted in some of my stories...let me say that we've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go and that will be your story to tell.
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ALL ABOUT ME
FRONT PORCH REPORTER
My pseudo career as a writer began in 1950 on the front porch of our row house in Philadelphia. I was nine years old churning out stories for The Montague Street Gazette. My younger sister Ronnie worked as lone support staff, distributing my handwritten cliff hangers to the neighborhood kids. Ronnie is also the one who gave me the nickname Ja-Ja.
MY ROLES
It's been 73 years since I left behind that front porch and my childhood stories. During the many years that followed, I have filled the roles of wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. I have worked as an administrative assistant in both the educational and medical fields. I retired from the work force at age 75.
THE SPIRIT OF THINGS
I am a Reiki Master Practitioner. I've studied and still practice meditation. I've taken fun courses in astrology, hypnotism, Tai Chi and Qi Gong, and a not so successful class in carpentry. I've had the privilege of officiating the weddings of my grandchildren. I've even been a candle stick maker, creating and running a successful candle and gift basket business in the late 1990's, after losing a job of 16 years. Everything for a reason.
EVERYONE CAN'T BE A KARDASHIAN
In my 40's, I sang and tested my tenuous dancing skills in musical stage productions. One time, unexpectedly landing on my rump on stage when my character, Ernestina Money sat on a table's edge at Harmonia Gardens. Perhaps "edged" on by "Ernestina's" mishap, I decided to become a weight loss guru and organize a group of neighborhood women for weekly meetings. I don't think we lost much weight, but we certainly did laugh as we shared our well-deserved snack rewards after seven long days of dieting. I am happy to say that those diet days ended when I turned 80. With age comes a certain freedom and I decided to love my fluffy little self exactly as I am.
FEEDING THE PUPPY
With all of that, the passion for writing that took root at age 9, never left and has followed me through my entire life like a homeless puppy begging to be fed. During the Covid isolation, I began to revisit my journals and found myself laughing and tearing up at the stories I found there. I believe that the time has come for me to feed that pesky puppy and share my stories. I hope that you will enjoy reading them as much as I 'll enjoy writing them. I welcome comments, so please feel free to leave yours.
Journal Stories
