Category: Fables & Folklore
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The Troll Who Cried
I began my walk to the Barnum Brook Bridge carrying an emotional load that nearly broke my already painful back. It was a warm and very muggy afternoon. There were grey clouds in the hazy sky. There were grey clouds in my mind, my soul and my heart. I was not dreading the Bridge like…
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Ghosts? Who Am I To Judge?
To me, Halloween evokes memories of walking down Front Street in Owego, NY, kicking the piles of unraked leaves while dressed up in a throw-it-all-together costume. Clutching paper bags, my friends and I would go door to door seeking treats. There was a chill in the air, mixed with the rotting leaves that produced a…
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Some Awesome Suggestions for Awesome Summer Reading
If you’re smart you’ve been vaccinated and now, mask free. And it’s summer! Time to dust off your Speedo or your polka dot bikini and head for the nearest beach. The nearest beach to us is Lake Clear…about five miles away. Normally I would avoid going anywhere near water. This is the Adirondacks and the…
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Winter
Old Nan: Oh my sweet summer child, what do you know about fear? Fear is for winter, when the snows fall one hundred feet deep. Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides for years and children are born and live and die, all in darkness. That is the time for fear, my…
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Waiting A Year
The little child said to the giant reindeer: “You’ll always have a friend in me,” Bltzen. ” I’ll wait a year and we’ll meet again…right here.”
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Split Personalities
[Source: Instagram Search.] Don’t worry, this is not going to be a symposium on Multiple Personalities or a detailed peer-reviewed paper on Schizophrenia. Maybe it will. Many of you know that after I retired, I chose several ways to keep my sanity and be assured that boredom didn’t become an aspect of my life. I…
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Christopher Robin Held in Custody For Alleged Trophy Kill
SPECIAL NEWS ALERT [PICTURES AT 11:00.] [The alleged perp poses with his trophy kill. Robin is on the left.] The way I see it through my news-weary eyes is that Robin made the mistake of posting his kill on Facebook. A friend recognized him and using GPS coordinates pinpointed the exact location as somewhere in…
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The Mermaid
[Source: Google search.] I shall always remember how the peacocks’ tails shimmered when the moon rose amongst the tall trees, and on the shady bank the emerging mermaids gleamed fresh and silvery amongst the rocks… –Hermann Hesse The Journey To The East Once upon a time, I traveled to the Seven Seas…to take a swim…
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The Gift Of The Troll
[Source: google search.] I tried to be as quiet as a cat as I approached the Barnum Brook Bridge. I put my foot on the first plank and sure enough, my stealth was inadequate. Out from under the bridge, so fast I missed it because I had blinked, emerged the Troll, blocking my way. “Who…
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The Troll Of Barnum Brook Bridge
[The only known photo of the Barnum Brook Bridge Troll. Photo source: Google search.] I stood in my kitchen staring at my Costco weather monitor. Mariam was busy looking for a container of low-salt broth. For twenty-two minutes I glared at the humidity reading. It was our eighteenth day of self-isolation. Except for a small…
patrickjegan 