Precerpt from In with the East Wind: A Mary Poppins KInd of Life (Leaver) - Acton: The Biting Season
Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir, In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver
Acton: The Biting Season
Acton summers weren’t blistering, but they were sticky—humid enough that your shirt clung to your back before breakfast. The air felt close, like it was pressing in, and the flies thrived in it. Black flies and deer flies didn’t just bite—they hunted. Our cows and steer wore them like living blankets, and we, the kids, were next in line. Milking and yoking became tactical maneuvers: one hand on the task, the other swatting at whatever had just landed behind your ear.
The flies didn’t discriminate. They flew from cowhide to kid skin, drawn by sweat and movement. We learned to move fast and swat energetically. Still, they found the soft spots—wrists, necks, ankles. By midday, we were welted and itchy, pin-cushioned by persistence.
Evenings brought a different ritual. The kitchen ceiling became a fly hostel, speckled with overnight guests. Ma had a system: one chair per kid, one newspaper apiece. Our job was to stand, stretch, and swat until the ceiling was clear. But being kids, we turned it into a game. When Ma wasn’t looking, we’d hop chairs—like musical chairs, except no chair ever disappeared and the music was the slap of newsprint against plaster.
The smell of fly guts and old paper lingered. We counted kills like trophies. And when Ma gave the nod, we scattered—itchy, victorious, and just a little proud.
To this day, the memory of those flies keeps me from romanticizing Acton. It wasn’t just the bites—it was the relentlessness. The way they made you feel like prey. My visits are planned for after the flies have died.
ry.
Book Description:
From the barefoot freedom of rural Maine to the diplomatic halls of Central Asia, from rescuing a dying child in Siberia to training astronauts in Houston and Star City, In with the East Wind traces an extraordinary life lived in service, not strategy.
Unlike those who chase opportunity, the author responded to it—boarding planes, crossing borders, and stepping into urgent roles she never sought but never declined. Over 75 years and 26 countries, she worked as a teacher, soldier, linguist, professor, diplomat, and cultural ambassador. Whether guiding Turkmen diplomats, mentoring Russian scholars, or founding academic programs in unlikely places, her journey unfolded through a steady stream of voices asking: Can you come help us?
Told through an alphabetical journey across places that shaped her—from Acton, Maine to Uzbekistan—this memoir is rich with insight, adventure, and deep humanity. At its heart lies the quiet power of answering the call to serve, wherever it may lead.
Like Mary Poppins, she drifted in with the East Wind—bringing what was needed, staying just long enough, and leaving behind transformation. Then she returned home, until the next wind called.
From the forthcoming book:
In with the East Wind...A Mary Poppins Kind of Life
Volume 1: ABC Lands
by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver
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