Another thing I used to do quite often was to get a can of beans, some crackers and hike out to Julien Dubuque's grave. When there was a slow moving freight train going by, we would hop on and get off at Catfish Creek or town, depending which way we were going. I don't recall Mary ever doing this, but she could have. At Catfish, there is a small cave where we would warm up our beans and with the crackers have our lunch. We would always go up the path alongside the cliff to the grave. Now they have it blocked off because it is so dangerous which is OK a ...continued...

It must have been the wet rainy day that drove me to my cleaning frenzy. “Time to clean out the closets”, I thought to myself. After all, the holidays are quickly approaching and the house will be full of out of town guests! Little did I know that my cluttered closets would open the doors to so many memories tucked away. Amidst the boxes of papers and old framed pictures was a box of various trinkets, cards and perfumes from my mother. Sighing, I remembered this would be the ninth winter without her. I picked up the nearly dried ...continued...

Start Writing! THE BRIDGE TO CARACAS http://thebridgetocaracas.com <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: ...continued...

Driving down the road on a beautiful pre-Autumn day, the large red sign catches my eye. "Estate Sale 50% Off"…. I am torn, yet curiosity draws my car to the curb. As an avid garage sale seeker, I often enjoy the victory of the bargains I find while rummaging through items no longer wanted by the owner. But the items of my garage sale victories are most often found outside on the hard cement driveway or garage…unattached to story, emotion or the life that shared its journey. This Autumn day I find myself entering the E ...continued...

I believe the answer to this question is “people” – human beings. People can often be at their funniest when they’re not trying to be funny at all. Most people believe they are unique. There’s some truth in that thought but others go much further and believe that they are the only sane person on the planet. “All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer.” Robert Owen (Welsh philosopher and philanthropist 1771-1858) Some people think that the world revolves around only them. The British nation used to feel like that. Back then, in days gone by, th ...continued...

The title of my life story is "I Started Out As A Small Boy". Most readers will wonder "What is up with this dude choosing a stupid title such as this?" Well, I have to admit that it is hardly a unique beginning. I suspect that of the approximate 7 billion people people inhabiting planet earth at this moment, about 3.5 billion of them may have started out the same way. But then again, every story must start somewhere and I am convinced that mine started on April 29, 1937 in the Larned Kansas "Hospital". I put Hospital in qu ...continued...

Our story Our family is a small and new family, whom has been thru a lot. Mother: Kelly, Son: Tony, and Father: Val. Family's Past history. Kelly and Val meet years ago. And moved onto a Tiny boat together 50sq ft trimaran. As time went on they lived on a number of small boats trying to find something that fit them. Presented with a job offer and good life in HI they moved onto a 75' yatch, that was well equipped for the trip to HI. Then Kelly got pregnant, when she was about 6 months along during the move, About 150 miles out to sea the frame of the boat started to brake due to poor ...continued...

We generally spend 10 hours (give or take a few hours) on the move each day. This means we spend the rest of the day in camp. Now when I say this I don't mean that we are sitting around a warm fire having drinks and kicking our feet up. We are generally unpacking the sled, taking the dogs off the lead, setting up tents, setting up the stove, or making water while huddled around a tiny blue flame that makes a shred of warmth that ekes around the edges of the tea kettle full of melting snow. We do have some downtime, such as now, where the tent is reasonably warm, meaning we can take our ...continued...

~As he made his way down Columbus Avenue in the city of Middleton, Dr. Jameson was sure she was following him, hiding in the shadows, waiting patiently before making her move. The restaurant, his destination, wasn’t much further. Dr. Jameson wondered if maybe he should have phoned for that taxi, but it was a warm September evening and the walk would do him good. He could turn back; he was only a block from home, but he pressed on despite his uneasy feeling. The disturbing quiet of a usually busy city rattled him. It was as though he was the last survivor on the planet. A noise s ...continued...

I'm disabled and live on a low monthly fixed income!Life has never been easy for me as it still isn't!I do the best i can with what little i have!In 2006 was the worst year of my life because i was thrown from the back of a truck and in the hospital for 3 months in a coma with several broke bones,punctured lungs,heart stopped twice,given 6 pints of blood,lip was ripped off and jaw crushed,i had to have reconstruction of my face!I had to learn to eat,walk,and talk again.Leaving the hospital i asked where my youngest brother was and was told that he was locked up facing a death penalty for murde ...continued...

On a beutiful sunny day in March 1978, my husband, Charlie Gordon, left the RAF and we returned with two young daughters to his home town on the Northumberland coast, dominated by a large caravan site, local people so nice and friendly. The sun would soon go behind the gather storm clouds &nb ...continued...

Orcs hate Elves with a passion. (from Lord of the Rings by J. R.R. Tolkien) “Home home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play” According to the Center for Biological Diversity, Wildlife Services, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has killed, through gassing, poisoning and strangulation by snare, 27 million native animals since 1996, including more than 1 million in 2014. The animals have included prairie dogs, gray wolves, mountain lions, black bears, foxes, coyotes and even bald eagles, and possibly a few domestic cats. ...continued...

One summer afternoon when i was about (10) years old, I sat on the bank of the farm pond, daydreaming and listening to a red winged blackbird sing. While Dad fixed the door of the corncrib the wind had torn off, Sunny, our Australian Shepard, plunged into the water in front of me. Barking and biting at the sparkling droplets that splashed in front of his face, he swam toward a flock of Canada geese, herding them along as they honked and flapped their wings. About twenty feet from the bank, the geese seemed to realize they had Sunny outnumbered. They did an about-face, honking loudly with th ...continued...

The name my parents chose for me was Marcia Ann Haag. I was born August 29, 1944. At I begin to write about my life I am 68 years. I can't say old, because as we age our body changes, but in many ways our thinking and feelings seem as young as ever. I hope you can get a peak into who your mother is and how I came to be this way. My plan for this book is that Dad and I will both write in each section. I will write first and his will be the second part of each chapter. The format we will be using is question and answer. Y ...continued...

THE VICKER’S YESTERDAYS His collar was turned up against the wind because it WAS a dark and stormy night. The gale pushed against his body and tore at his cape pulling at the only clasp till it gave way. Father Roy grabbed at the cover between his now chilled body and the fierce storm. “Why couldn’t the church find its way clear to pay the contractor to add another button or two on these things.” he muttered. Father Roy had been in his study enjoying his third toddy when Sister Olivia called. She n ...continued...