Category: Holding onto the Past
-
A Young Boy’s Walk
[Source: Google Search.] My first eight years of formal education was at St. Patrick’s School in Owego, NY. Many former students of many Catholic schools will complain about horrid nuns with rulers and black straps. I had no such issues with the Sisters of Mercy who ran our school. Most knew our parents personally. I…
-
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…
-
Two Men On A Rock
And I need to be there when the world gets too heavy and the shadows cross my mind. Like brave mountaineers, we were never bothered much by time. —Gordon Lightfoot. [The author, left (in blue) and climbing partner, Greg Stella on the trail of Big Slide Mountain. circa 1972.] Once upon a time, two…
-
Casper “The Friendly Ghost” Reported Dead
I It seems impossible. It seems beyond belief, but the news channels are reporting that Casper (aka The Friendly Ghost) has apparently been killed by an amateur Ghost Buster team operating out of Canarsie, Brooklyn. This unlicensed group called YOU FIND ‘M WE’LL SUCK ‘EM OUT OF HERE. LLC, apparently mistook Casper for a…
-
It’s Not Easy
[Elias has to choose. It’s very important what to consider.] [DEDICATED TO ELIAS MUIR GOLDSTEIN, MY GRANDSON] It’s not an easy life being a child. No, the easy part of life is being a grown-up. They can go to bed when they want, they can watch any TV show on the cable…like The Bachelor in…
-
Good-bye Rosie
[Rosie. Photo is mine.] My mother passed away in her sleep on a quiet Easter Sunday morning in 1992. A sad event indeed. Just days before on Holy Thursday, she sat in the living room of our home and told the priest that she was tired and was prepared. She was ready. She also told…
-
Sometimes Losing is Winning
[Friends Seminary. [Photo credit: Google Search.] I spent New Years Eve, 1990 alone in a bar in Binghamton.The only kiss I got was from the off-duty bartender who had started celebrating early. He kissed the top of my head and said: “I love you, man,” and then fell backwards onto a table. I was at…
-
A Cemetery With a View
[The grave of Sa Sa Na Loft. Evergreen Cemetery, Owego, NY. Photo credit is my own.] I’m back in my home town of Owego, NY for a reason. I have no one to visit. Nothing to purchase (I did buy two books at River Row Book Store), but I was there on an early September…
-
To Say Happy Words…and Sad
[Teri Bramlett} I’m preparing to travel back to my hometown, Owego, NY. I’m going to attend a memorial service for a long-time friend. It will be held at the Hickories Park. I hope it doesn’t rain. I hope my words are funny, complimentary, joyful …and sad. Because that is what you feel when when a…
-
A Tale of Three Rings
[Antique wedding ring. Price? About $5600. European Cut. Source: Google search.] Eileen, a colleague of Mariam, wanted to meet us for a drink. We were in New York City for the usual doctors appointments, meetings and our yearly Yankee game. The three of us sat at the bar of Brendens Irish Pub on W. 35th…
patrickjegan 