What is great about Halloween is that it hits pretty much every phase of your life. Growing up in the Midwest, who doesn’t love a crisp day with swirling fall leaves? Every movie with a spooky backdrop pretty much looks like it was made down the street from us. I was watching “The Curse of […]
Maureen Klues
Author of this year’s ‘Big Read’ book says stories help people make sense of chaos, contradictions built into life
The cool thing about life storytelling is it often takes me in unexpected directions. I recently partnered with the Quincy Public Library for its “Big Read” event. One thousand copies of the book “Sitting Pretty,” written by Rebekah Taussig, are available for free to people living in the Quincy community. If you do not live […]
Klues: If we never struggle to obtain something or don’t allow our children to struggle, is the reward as rich and meaningful?
We took a vacation to Colorado this summer to visit family, packing in as much adventure as was humanly possible. We don’t have any little kids, so we were free to hit up excitement all day — no naps or strollers needed. Truly, this is a glorious phase to have left behind. I miss the […]
Klues: Are you ‘Quincy’? Or ‘Quincy Quincy?’ Find comfort in things you have in common with those in your community
For all my fellow Quincyans: Are you “Quincy” or are you “Quincy Quincy”? I am just “Quincy,” but my kids are “Quincy Quincy.” Stick with me on this one. I do have a point with this. Wherever you happen to live, you can apply this test. For example, if you are just “Quincy,” then you […]
Klues: Oh, to be Lazy Mayzie and enjoy the summer slowdown
“It’s work! How I hate it! I’d much rather play! I’d take a vacation, fly for a rest…” — Lazy Mayzie, before she abandoned her nest and took a permanent vacation to Palm Springs in “Horton Hatches an Egg” by Dr. Seuss. Oh, to be a lazy Mayzie bird this summer. The season has just begun, […]
Klues: Signs you might be middle aged, and why that’s a good thing
When interviewing people for life storytelling, I often break down story questions by childhood, young adult, older adult and then the big picture of life. I have rarely contemplated where I land in this distinction. Terms like “barely 40” or “a smidge over 40” are used since turning 40. “I’m just sticking my toe in […]
When you try to keep things the same, life keeps moving on around you — so ‘let’s go!’
I am usually a very decisive person. I follow my gut and that’s the end of it. Looking back to my early adulthood, this was a good and a bad thing. I would often tire of something quickly and think, that yep, the grass IS greener at a different college. Or, I have accomplished what […]
The secret of happiness: It’s OK to be happy, it’s OK to laugh, it’s OK to enjoy life
I have been on the fence with what to write lately. Like everyone else, I swing like a pendulum back and forth from diligently monitoring the world news until my anxiety ratchets up to a breaking point — then I completely tune it out. Then I feel guilty for turning a blind eye, and the […]
Each story in life is like a musical note, and all those notes make a beautiful song
In my storytelling role, I often compare the writing process to playing a song. Each life memory told is a musical note. The notes are sung to me one by one in no particular order, and then in the silence of just me and my keyboard the song slowly takes form as I reposition the […]
Quincy woman creating keepsake storybooks by telling stories of people’s lives and events
QUINCY — The story Maureen Klues never had the chance to tell gave her the inspiration to start her own storytelling business. Klues recently started Memoirs by Maureen in the Quincy area. She will capture the story of an event, a story of one’s life or create a tribute for a person and put it […]
