Category: winter

• The worm in my cellar

  [Source: Google search.] Check the worm. ~~My father commenting to my older brother, Chris on any given winter evening in the 1950s and 70s. For many years I lived with a worm in the cellar of my family home. But I feel confident that it’s not the kind of worm that you are imagining, my…

  patrickjegan

  September 26, 2026

  brothers, Childhood, Family, Memories, North Country Life, owego ny, parents, winter

  #coalandclimate, #coalbinsofthe1950s, #coalfurnacesofyesterday, #coalheat, family, fiction, life, short-story, writing

• Is Our Destiny Foretold?

  [Is this the world we want? Image source: Google search.] We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change. ~~Sheryl Sandberg A year has passed and here I am once again laying in bed with my heavily bandaged right foot propped on a dark red…

  patrickjegan

  February 23, 2025

  Childhood, In Search of Lost Time, LGBT, Melancholy Thoughts, Real Personal History, Religious Intolerance, Silent Political Protest, winter

  #february28economicblackout, #footsurgery, #postopmusingswhilelyinginbed, blogging, books, life, politics, writing

• 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

  December 21, 2024

  A Christmas Eve story, Childhood, Family, grandparents, Grandson, History, Home, ice, Melancholy Thoughts, Memories, non-fiction, Real Personal History, son, winter

  #ChristmaseveStory, #christmasinpennsylvania, #christmasstory, #memoriesofchristmas, #myfatherschristmasstory, A Father's tale, Christmas Eve Story, My Childhood, writing

• On A Warm Halloween, Here’s Something For You

  [The author at Highgate Cemetery, September, 2024. London. Photo is mine.] When I was a child, I was afraid of ghosts. When I grew up, I realized people are more scary. ~~Anon Once more, another year, another Halloween and another opportunity for me to share something spooky with you. No ghost photos this year. Not…

  patrickjegan

  October 30, 2024

  death, Dreams, Fables & Folklore, Ghost Story, Ghosts, Holding onto the Past, marriage, Melancholy Thoughts, moon, owego ny, Short Fiction, Spring Season, terminal cancer, winter

  #evergreencemeteryowegony, #originalghoststory, #TheWormMoon, death, nature, owego ny, poetry, winter, writing

• The Last Quarter Moon Gives A Pale Wintry Light/Late Night Thoughts Following Spinal Surgery

  {Author’s Note: This blog post contains a photograph of an x-ray of my lower back taken six days after my spinal fusion. If the image of hardware screwing together two of my vertebra is irksome to you, my gentle readers, then feel free to search for another fine read. I have 645 in the bank.…

  patrickjegan

  February 16, 2024

  Blogging, death, Holding onto the Past, In Search of Lost Time, Medical Center, medicine, Melancholy Thoughts, Memories, music, New York City, owego ny, Premonitions, Real Personal History, seniors, Time, winter

  #lumbarsurgery, #melancholoythoughtsatnight, #nancigriffth, #newyorkcitylatenightthoughts, #painandinsomnia, #patioatnight, #postsurgerypain, #sarahjaroaz, #waltwhitman, life, love, poetry, short-story, sleep

• The Gravity of Manhattan: Three Worlds

  [Upper East Side Buildings. Photo is mine.] Do you know what the sounds of this city are? Screams. All those buildings are gray with sadness. ~~ Soji Shimada As I walked down the street from Broadway, I paused to listen… When I secured a teaching position in New York City in the very early 1990s,…

  patrickjegan

  January 26, 2024

  evolution, Home, In Search of Lost Time, Melancholy Thoughts, Memories, New York City, Night Sounds of the City, non-fiction, winter

  #listeningtothenight, #lonelycities, #nightsoundsofnewyork, #winterinthecity, New York City, new-york, NYC, winter

• Twelve Days With A Sad Little Tree

  Ho ho the mistletoe Is hung where you can see Somebody waits for you Kiss her once for me… ~~Burl Ives (Lyrics by Johnny Marks) [The sad tree. Photo is mine.] Once upon a time, I was sitting in a small inexpensive apartment in a city quite far from where I’m writing this, and I…

  patrickjegan

  December 1, 2023

  Dreams and Goals, Friendship, Love, Melancholy Thoughts, Short Fiction, winter

  #Christmas Tree Miracle, #Holiday Blues, #NooneshouldbelonelyatChristmas, #Valueoffriendshipatholidaytime, Christmas story, Sad to Happy Christmas Story

• 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

  December 25, 2022

  A Christmas Eve story, Childhood, Family, grandparents, Grandson, History, Home, ice, Melancholy Thoughts, Memories, non-fiction, Real Personal History, son, winter

  #ChristmaseveStory, #christmasinpennsylvania, #christmasstory, #memoriesofchristmas, #myfatherschristmasstory, A Father's tale, Christmas Eve Story, My Childhood

• Dan & Daughter At Rest

  My father is hidden behind everything I am. –Adrienne Egan “Danny Boy” (From a high school essay) I have long dreaded what was about to take place. As I approached the shore of Long Pond, the memories began to weigh heavy on my heart. How often had I stood in the sand since the early…

  patrickjegan

  September 1, 2022

  Adirondacks, brotherly love,, brothers, Cremation, death, Family, History, Holding onto the Past, Home, ice, Love, Melancholy Thoughts, Memories, moon, Mountains and Memories, Nature, non-fiction, North Country Life, parents, Real Personal History, son, summer, winter

  Adirondacks, death, Dorset, Long Pond, memorial service, memories, winter

• Out Of The Woods

  Goodbye’s too good a word, babe So I’ll just say “Fare thee well” –Bob Dylan “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” Look close. It’s hard to see. If you’re reading this post on a laptop, you’re out of luck. On a mobile device you can use your fingers to enlarge the photo. See the sign…

  patrickjegan

  July 14, 2022

  Adirondacks, Blogging, Childhood, daughter, Family, Grandson, Holding onto the Past, Home, Memories, Mountains and Memories, Nature, New York City, North Country Life, seniors, Starting a new life, Time, winter

  Adirondacks, New York City, NYC, winter