Category: History
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The No-Name Motel
[The motel with no name] Most of the time I can erect a fence to contain the images and imaginations from escaping my brain. Sometimes a little white picket fence with pink daisies in purple pots are enough to hold back the most innocent and decent imagery that my mind can create. Then, there are…
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A Sad Good-bye
[“Old Paint”. Now a part of history…ready for its final ride] The white Casier truck backed down our driveway. It was 10:30 on a muggy morning. Before ten minutes had passed, we had brand new chairs in our living room. The old L. L. Bean pair of overstuffed sofa-like seats were showing signs of aging.…
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The Box of Treasures
[A sampling of Mariam’s head shots] We have something over our heads, above the ceiling in the room where we binge watch Big Little Lies, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Doc Martin. Some people would call it an attic. Others might refer to it as a crawl space (one doesn’t need to crawl, really. You…
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Staring Down at 72
[A post card image from Inkognito.] As I write this post the weather here at Rainbow Lake is unsettled. Windy with thunder in the distance. I fell asleep in the screened-in porch last night listening to heavy rains falling. I’m staring at a calendar (The kitchen wall calendar…this year: Japanese prints). I see that I…
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Smoke and Paper
Everyone knows about the effect smoke can have on…well, nearly everything. Smoke damage can be responsible for the loss of furniture, art, clothes and so many other objects. Cigarette smoke is truly an evil presence. Before the smoking ban in pubs of NYC, I would come home stinking of the left-over Marlboros. It was disgusting…
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In The Land of Pooh, The Badger, King Arthur and Beyond: The Excursionist XIII Finale
magic (n) A mysterious quality of enchantment. England is a land of mystery, magic and myth. It is a land of legends of kings and villains of all sorts. Consider this quote: As one wakened suddenly from a beautiful dream, who struggles to recall it, and can recapture nothing but a dim sense of…
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The Glastonbury Tor Blog: The Excursionist XII
[The Tor at the start of our climb. St. Michael’s Tower crowns the hill] Glastonbury is an ancient town nestled on a broad plain near the Mendip Hills in the county of Somerset. It comes with a reputation, like that guy that sat in the last seat of your school bus. You can shop for…
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Barcelona To Bristol: The Excursionist IX
[On the approach to Bristol Airport] The rain wasn’t falling anywhere near us on the morning we boarded the EasyJet plane in Barcelona. I was stuck with a window seat (ok, I had a chance to move to the aisle but I chose to have a view). We soared out over the Mediterranean before making…
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The Enigma of Knowlton Church: The Excursionist VII
[Knowlton Church…front facade] In the middle of Cranborne Chase, a hilly and breezy open region in north Dorset, is the shell of a Norman church. Nothing special really. These churches are found in many villages and hamlets of Dorset. What is unusual is that it is built-in the middle of a Neolithic ritual henge (a…
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