Tag: death
-
Waiting For All Hallow’s Eve IV: “Do Ghosts Dream in Black and White?”
I broke away from the other kayakers. They were intent on finding a trail that was obscured and hidden in a small cove. It was supposed to begin on a tiny stretch of sand and among the blueberry bushes. It led to a small body of water called Loon Pond (some called it Lost Pond).…
-
Waiting For All Hallow’s Eve: II “What Lies Beyond?”
If you walked this path. If you dared to enter this forest…who would you encounter? What would you encounter? Are there leaves on the branches, ever? Do wildflowers grow along the trail, ever? Was this photo taken at noon? at midnight? Are you dreaming? Having a nightmare? Or are you fully awake, your senses alert…
-
To Betty: An Alpha and Omega Life
On a Tuesday Betty sat in the passenger’s seat of her car in our driveway. Her husband, Bob, was behind the wheel. They took our Netflix DVD (we share an account) and drove home. On Wednesday, she became unresponsive at her kitchen table. She suffered a stroke. On Friday, she was in the ICU for…
-
Waving My Way Out Of Purgatory
I’m absolutely convinced that I’m going to Purgatory. I know for certain that I’m going to Purgatory. Even my high school girlfriend told me I was going to Purgatory. “Why am I going there?” I would ask her. “Because.” She would reply. “I saw the way you looked at me just now.” “But I didn’t…
-
Passports 7: Last Thoughts on Listening to “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Pere La Chaise Cemetery
I find Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody to be a sad song of life, mistakes, loss and death. Freddie Mercury was a beautiful man who died too young. His vocals are pure and haunting: Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? When you wander Paris and take time to look, really look around, you find…
-
Passports 3: Passing Through the Fields of Death
We left Paris on a crisp bright May morning. This was the only day-long excursion we booked in advance. We were going to visit Mont St. Michele in Brittany. The trip would take us four hours one way, in a northwest direction to this 850 year old Abbey mountain. Our route took us through the…
-
The Man Who Planned His Own Funeral
People plan for births, for retirements, proms, dates, Thanksgiving dinners and Oscar parties. So, it’s only logical that one plans their own funeral. This is not a new idea. The whole point is to take the burden of the eschatological events off the shoulders of those that remain behind. It’s my feeling that those who…
-
Alternate Endings 1
Sometimes film directors will shoot several endings to a movie. I’ve heard that Michael Curtiz had another conclusion set to go for Casablanca. In this version, Ilsa does not get on the plane with Victor Laszlo. One wonders. Yes, one wonders. Are sad endings better than happy endings? Personally, I feel strongly that the Janus…
-
These Haunted Mountains That I Love
Many of my blog posts tend toward the melancholy. The themes have often been about loss, grief, aloneness and death. That’s the way my mind works. I stare at the rain. I walk through the fog. I wander old and forgotten cemeteries, reading the names, dates and wondering about lives lived a century ago. It’s…
-
Worrying A Sheep To Death
I was an exchange teacher in England in the 1980’s. Part of my duties included chaperoning field trip of various grades to geographical and historical sites. On a mild and clear day in April, I helped out taking a group of fifth graders to a famous historical National Trust property in Dorset. The path around…
patrickjegan 