Chapter One Dana Gerard’s pulse quickened as she scanned the horizon. The sky glowed the murky greenish-gray color of a bruise, and a menacing wall of clouds rolled in the distance. She knew a possibility of rain had been forecast, and she’d been hoping for a good, steady shower – the kind that sank in deeply, nourishing farmers’ crops, one that would wash away the dirty browns of winter and give life to the budding tulips and iris that had just begun to dot her neighborhood. But that scenario seemed unlikely now. These clouds carried an ominous threat. Pulling he ...continued...

Updates have been a tad delayed recently due to some crazy schedules experienced once we reached the pole. To be honest, the pole was literally just another point in the snow just like all the millions of other points we passed by the last few weeks. Due to the drifting ice and natural wobble of the earth, the point is very fleeting on any GPS, you have to chase the drift and wobble to remain on it. But for a moment, we were able to walk around the planet and experience every time zone. In a matter of moments I was in the past, present and future, the quickest pe ...continued...

Affirmations Morning thoughts are very important because it establishes our attitudes for the day. What do you think about when you first wake up. Are you irritated? Are you unmotivated? Do you hit the snooze over and over. Remember, the top don’t act like this. Neither do you. Nothing changes overnight, and for that matter over a week. Commit to the following exercise. What do you have to loose? The majority of people are not doing mental programming. The majority of people are not successful. As (??) said &ldquo ...continued...

I was born in London in 1952 to Irish born parents. They both came from Monkstown, a pretty village on Cork harbour about eight miles from Cork city. It was here that I spent my first twenty summers. This wonderful experience caused me to view Ireland through rose-tinted glasses for ever more. Before the opening of Cork airport, in 1961, our annual pilgrimage started on a train from Paddington Station, in London. It took us to Fishguard, a port on the Welsh coast. Then we boarded the Innisfallen ferry, which passed Monkstown on its way up the river Lee to the docks in Cork city. The first p ...continued...

I vividly remember writing a story about a Strawberry Queen, just before my 11+ exam (I had just read Alice in Wonderland). I was rather proud of my surreal composition but my headmistress, who for unkown reasons was taking our class, told me that if I wrote rubbish like that in the exam I didn't have a hope of passing. Beware of throwing me down a gauntlet! I was only one of two in my class who did pass the 11+. Not that it did me much good. With parents that never stayed in one place very long and this being during the period when w ...continued...

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Our cooking today is so much different from days gone by. When my granddaughter was three, she stood in front on my oven door where a whole chicken baked in a glass pan. With wide eyes she said, "Is that a chicken?" You see, her mother only bought chicken parts. She'd never seen a whole chicken. How different from when I was a child. Below is a recollection when I visited Grandma at about age five. I've included it in my cookbook Family Favorites from the Heartland. Fried Chicken-Grandma’s Style During the late 40s and e ...continued...

Thanks for reading my story... Here I am again continuing about my story... After the we try to get back our relationship there is so many changes... I dont trust him anymore and there is always a doubt when it comes to him... After that I tried to be a good lover to him but it our relationship didn't work anymore... I decided to break up on him... How many days I feel so missing him, but I continue forgeting the things that we use to do... I'm very thankful to the music that I want listen and because of that music i learn to let go everything about him... But when we see each other he ...continued...

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North Pole ...continued...

During my freshman year of college Mike and Bobby, two of the active members of my fraternity, invited me to accompany them on a night road hunt. I didn't have a clue what a night road hunt was but the older boys told me it would be great fun. Mike was the president of the fraternity I had recently pledged, and Bobby was the treasurer, so I figurered they must be trustworthy. I knew they were both well respected, both in our fraternity and on campus. I met the pair in the parking lot of the fraternity house after dark. Bobby was armed with a 12-guag ...continued...

My metamorphosis from English man to Irish man took place between the ages of 10 and 14. In the early 1960s, my father brought me to my first England v Ireland rugby match in London. I was then supporting England but I didn’t mind if Ireland won because I did not want my father to be unhappy. It was a magnificent experience, one which has left an indelible impression on me. Our seats, which were just in front of the touchline, were positioned a couple of feet below the level of the pitch; as a result, whenever play came near, the players seemed like giants, except for the English r ...continued...

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...

The One Legged Snake© Written By: Dewayne Knott I suppose it was the heat of the humid August day that started it all. Tom Trueblood and I were tossing rocks on the roof of the Boxholm School bus barn out behind our house and watching them roll down the corrugated roof. Don’t ask me why this activity was one of the favorite things to do on a summer day…it just was. Perhaps it was because it was too hot to walk do ...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...