Yikes!!
 
The Virginia vote is a major step and there are many more that will prove as difficult. 
​
Just last month, three attorneys general filed a lawsuit to prevent the ERA from becoming the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. They are all men: 
 
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, and 
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.
 
Interestingly, Alabama and Louisiana did not ratify the amendment and South Dakota rescinded its ratification in 1979. I guess this is their way of saying they don’t like the process outlined in the US Constitution, so they’re filing suit.
 
The next step is to work on eliminating the timeframe for ratification in Congress.  Our divided congress must eliminate the ratification timeline that ran out in 1982. Stick with me. This could work. S.J.Res.6—A senate joint resolution removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment was filed in January, 2019 by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, Dem, of Maryland. It was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. There it sits. 
 
In this divided congress, it requires a democratic majority in the Senate to get the dealine eliminated. The next step is to jump into the election process by volunteering, contributing funds and whatever it takes to elect democratic candidates. 
 
Please let me know your ideas. You can comment by clicking the comments button below.  ​

​Onward, Elizabeth

 
The Provincetown Series is finished. You can read "Another Way to Travel—Part 3" here. https://medium.com/@ekilcoyne10/another-way-to-travel-part-3-d1e3e90e3aa2
 
The three Provincetown essays and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) essay, “Thank you, Virginia,” are located under Published Works (next page.)
 
We’re close on the ERA, but we’ve been close before. Please call you Massachusetts Senators and ask them to sponsor Senate Joint Resolution 6 which removes the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
This will allow the Virginia ratification to be accepted when it passes, hopefully in January 2020. Also, please send this email to your friends in other states, so they can contact their senators. There is another hoop to get through, but let’s wait until we have all 38 states ratified. 
 
One thing I confirmed about myself  living in Provincetown for a month is, I like to slow down, and just be…  It’s good for thinking and observing. 
 
This week the Newburyport Writer’s Group had a "share your work" event. I read the punting scene on the Thames River from "Getting to Oxford." It got a great response! 
 
My friend Pat is reading "Redemption" at her book group in December. 
 
You’ve probably noticed that I have started publishing on Medium.com. Online writing gives access to many more people these days. Medium was launched in 2012 and it’s free for readers for a limited number of articles per month. For $5 a month you can read as many articles as you desire. There are articles on every subject from traveling, to improving your daily productivity, to understanding art. I usually start my day with a Medium story. It’s motivating!
 
Happy Thanksgiving, Elizabeth

  
It’s been awhile. There is a good excuse.  Memorial Day Weekend, I fell off my bike and broke my collar bone!   Twelve weeks later, I am heavy into PT and the future is looking brighter. So many people have tales about collar bone breaks.  Most from bike accidents. There must be a story here.
 
My 6 year old grandson came to visit me for two weeks in late June.  He was not at all concerned that my dominant arm was in a sling, and I couldn’t drive. Between Denis, my sister Martha and my friend Pat, our adventures mostly included water in the form of lakes, the Atlantic ocean and splash pads. We even rode the bus and an Uber to round out our journey. 
 
Yes, I’ve been writing as well. Finished the green stamp story.  Titled it “Redemption.” If you want an advance copy, email me ekilcoyne7@gmail.com. It will appear in the September issue of the Adelaide Literary Magazine. 
 
My next adventure is to research the status of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). There are many similarities to the 19th Amendment’s journey. Full ratification requires one more state. Then on to the legal battles of expired time and states that have rescinded their vote. 
 
Some say we don’t need the ERA anymore. Tell that to the US Women’s Soccer team that won the World Cup last month. Their earnings are a few million dollars behind the men’s team that had a disappointing year. Will women’s soccer be the new champion of the ERA? 
 
“A Stone in My Pocket” was published yesterday in L’Éphémère Review. Check it out ​www.ephemerereview.com/dulcet. 
 
I’d love to hear from you. Just click comments below. 
 
Happy reading, Elizabeth

​

​A friend shared a quasi-obituary with me today. James Hagerty is an obituary writer for the Wall Street Journal, and he wrote his own obit. (He's still quite alive) James is encouraging us all to write our own obit and emphasize what we want people to know about us. “What were we trying to do? Why? And how did it work out?” What influenced our journey? 
 
It seems unnatural to write your own obit when you're still alive, but I am curious how it will read.  Legacy has been interesting to me lately, so here goes. James talks about the names we are given vs. what people call us. 
 
I was born Elizabeth Anne Kilcoyne. My most popular name was Beth. Mom called me Bethy, and those who wanted to take their life in their hands called me Liz! At age twenty-eight, I moved to Ipswich, MA and introduced myself as Elizabeth. Everyone followed suit, including mom.  Now when a new person asks, “What do your friends call you?” I say, “Elizabeth." A final thought on names. I have a European passport by virtue of my grandparents being born in Ireland. So much documentation to gather for this passport. When I requested my birth certificate, looking at a microfiche copy, I said, "This is wrong. I don't have an "e" at the end of Anne." The clerk replied with some attitude, "It's an exact copy of your birth certificate." I called my mom and asked if there was an 'e' at the end of Anne. Without hesitation, she said, "Yes."
 
I lived a long time actually mourning no 'e.' I got my first passport when I was twenty-one, and it didn't have an 'e,' so that was my proof. At that time, birth certificates were typed on a typewriter, and the person made a mistake. Go figure.
 
At this rate, my obituary will be longer than my life, and I haven’t even mentioned catholic school yet, or when I gave up my virginity. 
 
What would your story be if you could write it yourself? 
 
Please click "comments" below and leave your thoughts today.  
 
Happy Mother's Day!

​I have been enjoying talking to my siblings about my next family story:  Do You Remember S&H Green Stamps or My S&H Tea Service. 
 
The memory can be uncertain and problematic. We’re talking about events that happened in 1963 and 1964. My two older brothers remember licking S&H Green Stamps and pasting them carefully into books, but that’s it.  My younger sister remembers collecting the stamps and the tea service, but I’m the only one that remembers the Tea Party! I intend to use all their memories as an illustration of the memory conundrum, and still tell the story as I remember it.  My mother will be the last to interview, which was scheduled for today, but she dislocated her shoulder in a fall yesterday, so that will have to wait.  
 
My mom has some difficulty with words now, but she will recall the details of the events which will help my memory. 
 
When I was at a reception recently and asked what I was writing about, I said green stamps. Two people immediately had stories. One shared that her aunt gave her books of green stamps as a wedding present and she got new towels at the redemption store.
 
Another told of a church that had a theme for each month. Last month it was redemption, and when one of the members was asked what redemption meant to her, she said, “When I was a little girl, I went to the S&H Redemption Store with my mother.”
 
My brother said, “I didn’t know you could buy redemption at a store. Are there any of those left?”
 
Share your stories about S&H Green Stamps.