Walter Boomsma
ALLi Author Member
Location: United States of America
Genres: Mind Body Spirit, Self-Help/Personal Development, Advice & How To
As a grade school student I took great pleasure in writing letters to my grandmother–and found I enjoyed the act of putting words on paper. I recall one piece I wrote in junior high regarding how to set up an aquarium. The basis was all of the mistakes one would make in the process. The teacher loved it. I remember her love of it more than I remember the actual piece. I was fortunate to have a number of teachers who encouraged my craft–and some who didn’t. Also during junior high I remember one teacher’s comment on an essay I wrote. She was horribly upset that I’d misspelled the word “truly” several times. Her concern was the repetition of the mistake. I wanted to note that if I thought I’d spelled it right the first time, why would I question it the next time? And why didn’t she criticize me for overusing the word? I confess, however, that I learned how simple errors can detract from the message. I also never spelled truly wrong again. During high school, Mr. Russo put an edge on my writing. I recall many of his scribbles in the margin… often accusing me of dysentery of the pen and advising me to put my head “squarely on the chopping block” when I took a controversial position. I do owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Bailey who gave an assignment that was profoundly simple. He made us keep a journal. We had to write a paragraph every day. The big disappointment was that he never collected it. A number of years passed before I fully appreciated the magic of the assignment. I think it was in part, “Better to write for oneself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self.” In 1985 I began working as an independent consultant in individual and organizational development. It was perhaps providential that I learned at least one powerful lesson about problem solving from a first grader. Unfortunately, I never followed through with the idea. We could learn management concepts by watching kids play. Kids tend to make things simple and direct. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a team of kids that I could take on the road with me. When I semi-retired in 2002, I moved to Maine to find some of that simplicity kids understand. I somewhat accidentally (or perhaps “fatefully”) found myself working on a volunteer basis with kids. Now, a decade later, I’ve effectively started a new career as an elementary school substitute teacher (K-6). The kids haven’t run out of things to teach me. They may be small people, but they really do have big brains.
Walter Boomsma's books
Genres: Essays, Memoir, Self-Help/Personal Development
Formats: E-Book, Paperback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
Memorials, Monuments, and Memories is a collection of personal essays and reflections spanning more than a decade of Memorial Days, Veterans Days, and moments of quiet civic remembrance. Drawing on childhood memories of small-town parades, a father's honor guard, and the family cemetery plot, author Walter Boomsma weaves together the personal and the universal — exploring what it truly means to honor the fallen, keep faith with the past, and celebrate our shared humanity. From the red poppies of Flanders Fields to a weathered "Baby" gravestone in rural Maine, these pages remind us that remembrance is not about loss — it is about love, legacy, and the living obligation we carry forward.
Genres: Essays, General Nonfiction, Self-Help/Personal Development
In “Small People – Big Brains” the author shares some of his experiences with kids over the past decade as a volunteer and, most recently, substitute elementary school teacher. Many of these short stories will make you laugh. Some will make you cry. All will make you think. In the pages of this “collection of stories about simplicity, exploration and wonder,” you’ll meet a second grader who becomes quite certain Mr. Boomsma is ignorant of the basic facts of life. How the young student handles this delicate situation is a lesson in tact that many adults should learn. You’ll also encounter a nine-year-old who thinks he’s “an excellent reader and extremely smart ” until he’s forced to consider that being smart is about knowing what he doesn’t know. The title of the book comes from an encounter with a young fellow who was firmly convinced that his difficulties at school...
Genres: History, Narrative Nonfiction, Self-Help/Personal Development
“These essays by Walter Boomsma unpack the teachings of the Grange and relate them to today’s world and our everyday lives,” writes Betsy Huber, National Master (President) of the Grange. Many people, including Grange members themselves, seem to be wondering about the relevance of this 150-year-old organization in modern society. They may find some answers in Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life, a series of essays encouraging readers to understand the basis of Grange ritual and tradition. This is not a “guide to the Grange,” it truly is an exploration of some of the words and actions found in the Grange ritual and tradition. Included are the Grange Mission Statement and Declaration of purposes, allowing readers to take away from the book a new and deeper understanding of the Grange—not merely as a historical organization, but also an organization that teaches a way of life that aligns us with...