There are several scenes in Leaving Ordinary, which are set in St. Paul, Minnesota. One of my St. Paul research topics was boardinghouses in the 1920s. A secondary information source said Romanian-Americans owned many of the city’s boardinghouses. I wove that historical nuance into the novel.
During the Spring of 2016, I road tripped from Arizona to California, with the big prize being a visit to Joshua Tree National Park. Along the way, we drove to and stopped for an overnight next to the Pacific Ocean. In Oceanside, California, we went looking for lodging—preferably on or near the beach. I entered a teal painted, multi-story hotel and inquired about room availability, off-season rates, and amenities. Check-in shortly followed.
Joshua Tree National Park & Oceanside, California beach
I don’t recall precisely how the next part entered the conversation, but I learned that the front desk clerk had immigrated from Romania when her husband had accepted a job transfer to the U.S. I asked the woman if there was a Romanian wedding blessing. She said, “Casa de Piatra.” The loose translation is ‘May your marriage be a stone house.’ Again, serendipity snuck up and surprised me. I’d been given another Leaving Ordinary gift. Plus, Louise and Leo could use such a blessing during the Dust Bowl.