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Travels 5: Oh, Pioneers!
The great American Poet and Literary Goddess of the Prairie, Willa Cather, once said: “I was raised by a tooth-less bearded hag…I was schooled with a black strap across my back…but it’s alright now, in fact it’s a gas.” Hold on, I don’t think that was Willa Cather. No, after rechecking my sources, I find…
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Travels 4: Blue Highways
Someone I’ve been searching for appeared before my eyes today and it wasn’t very far from Herbert Hoover’s grave. We had just crossed the Mississippi River. The Mother of North America Rivers. Say what you want about the Hudson, Rio Grande or the Missouri; Big Muddy is what rivers are all about. Yes, the…
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Travels 3: The Rock Island Line is a Mighty Fine Line
I was heading down the road, trying to loosen my load… We were on our way to Rock Island. When you’re busy doing hard traveling, like me, you can get caught up in the “hypnosis of the highway”. I know I do. You watch the road ahead. All safety alerts are on, but your mind…
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Travels: Part 2 Stuck Inside of Stroudsburg With the Orting Blues Again
The question is quite simple. Were you ever stuck in a small Sunoco station in a town in Pennsylvania, after filling up the tank of a car that was drinking petrol like a politician during Prohibition, while pulling a trailer that you, for a moment forgot you were pulling, with only .8mm of space between…
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The Odyssey Westward: Travels Part 1
Go my sons, put away your books. Buy yourself stout shoes. Walk the hills, the mountains, the valleys and the deserts. In this way, and no other, can you learn of the world and its ways. –Paraphrased from a quote on a 3 x 5 index card clipped to the dashboard of a ’60s VW…
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The Return of the Good Neighbors
I’m sitting back in my favorite Adirondack chair on our deck. Every so often, a kayak or canoe paddles past our dock. I can hear them but can just barely see them. I have to do some trimming to clear the view to the water. I thought about doing this a few weeks ago, when…
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A Tunnel of Love
There is a Tunnel of Love that is known only to the residents (and friends) of my hometown. It has a long history, but my life only intersected with this minor landmark for a short period of time. I can only present and reflect a snapshot in the epic movie of life that is Owego,…
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Alternate Endings II
Sometimes life is like a box of chocolates, You just never know what you’re gonna get. –Forrest Gump ACT 1–Mary arrived in Chicago and settled in with her sister, Gladys. Gladys had never married but she was often in the company of a girlfriend, Monica. Very few men were present in the world of Gladys. This…
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Alternate Endings 1
Sometimes film directors will shoot several endings to a movie. I’ve heard that Michael Curtiz had another conclusion set to go for Casablanca. In this version, Ilsa does not get on the plane with Victor Laszlo. One wonders. Yes, one wonders. Are sad endings better than happy endings? Personally, I feel strongly that the Janus…
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patrickjegan 