I Don't Know What I Is For

I'm doing the A-to-Z Blog Challenge.

Today is for I, and I is a tricky letter.  I struggled to settle on a specific "I" word.

I thought about writing about ice, especially since I'd spent so many mornings commuting on solid sheets of it this past winter.

But I don't want to think about the cold anymore than I have to.

Thoughts about ice led to the consideration of ice cream as a blog topic. My husband is a connoisseur of frozen confections of that sort. But, seriously, I gain weight just thinking about sweets, and my clothes are already pleading with me.

For godsakes, woman! Why can't you consider a salad once in awhile?

Hmmm...iceberg lettuce? Nope. Sorry. Too boring.

Then I thought about making "I" as a pronoun the topic of this post. You know how some people try to make themselves sound all grammarly but end up sound like a goofus because they should've used "me" instead?

Funny story: Someone once tried to correct I for doing that. (Yes, that was intentional.)

I opted not to blog about the misuse of pronouns, though, because some people already consider me a grammar nazi.

So last week, I got what I thought was brilliant idea. I'll blog about Ionia, Nebraska's volcano.

A few years ago, I wrote a story about it for the newspaper for which I work.

A town by the same name once existed there. A swing and a cemetery on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River are the only things that now remain.

I wanted to write about how a staff photographer and I took a trip up to the remote location to check it out but didn't know about Ionia's dark history until after we'd returned.  According to Native American legend, human sacrifice was a regular occurrence at the site. That was long before the first settlers arrived.

Being the superstitious girl I am, I wondered if anyone had ever reported any paranormal activity they could trace to the dark history.

By chance, I began talking to an historian at the local author fair on Saturday about the place. I hadn't had a chance to mention my curiosity about the paranormal when this fellow began offering tidbits of information about the "snakebit" land around the Ionia cemetery.

I asked him what he meant (mostly because I don't like snakes). He told me there have been some serious instances of bad luck and even a suicide on that spot in recent years.

That was enough for me. I've decided to leave Ionia alone.

So I might have to skip blogging about the letter I.

It's kind of a boring letter anyway.

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Kathryn Harris is an award-winning journalist and author of the contemporary novel THE LONG ROAD TO HEAVEN. All royalties she receives from April 2016's online sales of The Long Road to Heaven will be donated in memory of the late Caylee Hoehne to the United Way for use with the Court Appointed Special Advocates program for abused and neglected children. Please consider helping this worthwhile cause.