Category: Grandson
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the four green fields blog5: a poet’s grave
[A roadside flower, ready to spread it’s seed. Co Sligo, Ireland. Photo is mine.] When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; ~~from When You are…
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Coal For Christmas
[Another year. Another Christmas. I republish this every holiday season with a tweak here and there. This story is true and I am passing it down to new readers and my two children and my grandson. Every story from our own lives or the lives of those we once loved…every story is worth telling. There…
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Ooh, Paddy: A Boy Sits In The Grass Near His Grandfather
[My grandfather, George Hotchko. Photo is from the early 1970’s. Credit: Daniel Egan.] Oh, I dunno, Paddy. Sometimes those stories keep me up at night. They make me uncomfortable. ~~Spoken to me by my grandfather, George Hotchko. When I was a little boy. 1950’s. Part 1-Meeting my grandfather… Yes, the title. Of course I’m the…
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Anemonia Keeps Me Awake
Recollection is the only paradise from which we cannot be turned out. ~~Richter [The Berlew Family Reunion. Orange, PA. September 6, 1926. Photo: Egan Family Archives.] I don’t think it rained that day. There are no clouds in the sky. I should know. I’ve crawled inside this photo more than once over the years. One…
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A Death in Northumberland & Beyond
“…our tree.” ~~ Anon. [Photo: Google search] I’ve never seen the tree. Several years ago, on a trip to Scotland and England, we drove along the eastern coast toward London. We passed Hadrian’s Wall. As usual, we were rushing to a hotel to make the check-in time. I didn’t realize then how close we were.…
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Bonding II: It Really Was a Labor of Love
Find something you love And do it forever… ~~Anon. It’s a beautiful Sunday morning. Mt. Rainier is like a distant vision of adventure, challenge and alpine serenity. But we weren’t taking in that view. No, we, my daughter, her husband, Mariam, me and Elias were looking with admiration at the project. It sat, begging for…
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How To Bond With Your Grandson Whilst Assembling a Leonardo da Vinci Ornithopter Kit
[The kit in question. Photo is mine.] As Mariam and I were sitting on our teal sectional in our comfortably down-sized apartment in New York City, we began planning for a trip. It seems like we just got back from two months in Europe, but this was a special trip indeed. Due to factors out…
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My 600th Blog: Lat. 24 N./Long. 81 W.
[Ernest Hemingway’s typewriter. Located at the Hemingway House Museum, Key West, Florida. Photo is mine.] Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. ~~Ernest Hemingway I am sitting in the air-conditioned Monroe Country Public Library (Key West Branch). It’s quiet, cool and has a WiFi that takes no prisoners. I…
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To Elias on His 10th Birthday
May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung And may you stay Forever Young ~~Bob Dylan Forever Young Dear Elias, You have been the very best grandson anyone could ask for. I remember when your mother called me with the news that she was expecting a child. It seems like…
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Coal For Christmas
[Another year. Another Christmas. I republish this every holiday season with a tweak here and there. This story is true and I am passing it down to new readers and my two children and my grandson. Every story from our own lives or the lives of those we once loved…every story is worth telling. There…
patrickjegan 