Category: Holding onto the Past
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Where Are The Castles In The Sky?
When I was a young boy, my mother would walk with me down through our backyard and toward the river. There was a decline on the property that, in very old times, was the bank of our river. Now, it was simply a gentle slope down to a lawn that took my father decades to…
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Gathering Dust
I was dusting some items in our home the other day. If you find that unusual, you should see the amount of dust that can accumulate in a house that was empty for almost six months. We weren’t even here. So, where did it come from? And, it’s not that we keep an unclean home.…
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The Snow Moon Over The Mojave
Last night the Snow Moon rose over the Coxcomb Mountains of the Mojave Desert. It’s the fifth full moon we have watched since our journey began There will be one more to witness before we are home again. Will we see the Warm Moon from where ever we will be in the third week of…
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I Heard The Secrets Of The Grackle’s Song
[Image: Google search] A short time ago, perhaps a week, maybe more, I spent a few days in Austin, Texas. We were visiting with a gentleman, William, that I had met during a writers workshop in Westport, New York in October, 2012. He has been a good friend and faithful follower of my blogs since…
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At The Alamo: All The History I Needed Was On My Pajamas
[Source: Google search] I grew up in a time when kids had heroes. Mythic heroes. These days, it seems like anyone who performs his or her duties is a “hero”. It’s fair to say that most children, throughout history, had their own heroes. The ancient Greek boys had their Spartans and the Irish youth had…
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A Silent Eulogy: Late But Heartfelt
Is it possible that a eulogy can take forty-one years to deliver? The dreaded answer is yes. I know because I spoke that eulogy…silently, silently so that only I heard the words. It was a rambling prayer over a heart-breaking death. I knew the young man who had died. In truth, I was with him…
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Coal For Christmas
I am a grandfather now, feeling every ache and sadness of my sixty-eighth year. The stories that my father told me about his father have taken on new meanings. I’m the old one now. I am the carrier of the family history. When a recollection of a family event comes to mind, be it a…
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The Scent Of Christmas Caught Me By Surprise
There is a chain of markets in Florida called Publix. It’s employee-owned and from what I read in the local paper, Wal-Mart hates them. But that’s another story. I was browsing the aisles in my local Publix for some fruit to put in my cereal. I found blueberries but they’re from Peru. Don’t they grow…
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Holiday Time In Fort Myers/Mais ou sont les neiges d’antan?*
“I don’t know Doc, I just seem a little disoriented lately. Maybe it’s the time of year? Maybe I should stay away from the egg nog…” –Notation in the files of Dr. Hugh Roebottom, Psychiatrist, on the recent session with Patrick Egan. It’s a pretty Christmas wreath. I’m looking a one of the prettiest plastic…
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