The First Last Dance – At Last
her life she lived by choice to live humbly within the hills and hollows of the only place ever she called home a life lived long and a long life lived upon the land she labored and the home she made with such love and though life at times was not so kind in kind …
G-Men Pride – We Wear It Still
We came from Across the Tracks and Between the Bridges. Places with names like Springville, Falls Mills, Sedgewood, West Graham and Pine Hill Park. We came from in town and out in the country and we gathered at the Double Gates. Why? To become men. To become G-Men. The day the dream began. Some of …
Ali
Like him or not, agree or disagree, his words and his actions made us think, and for that we are better. Greater perhaps.
Sergeant Riley’s Absence
Windswept leaves dance across the Wild Meadow Cemetery in a random swirl and suddenly all is calm. Perhaps the end was that sudden nearly seventy-two years ago when Sergeant Mark Herman Riley breathed his last breath on a battlefield in New Guinea. It was July 1944. Little is known of that fateful day. A letter …
In The Shadows of Angels
Reflections of the MS Weekend Escape – Brian Mason Respite Camp at Smith Mountain Lake In the shadows of angels there is a spirit and that spirit longs to dance. That spirit stirs restlessly within us all. A spirit born in our childhood that ran and played free of care, unaware that the world might …
The List
It had rained earlier and the table top was still wet. Heavy fog held the moisture and warmth in the air but it was a perfect afternoon to sit outside the café and drink my coffee. With the extra napkins, I cleared a spot for my journal and began writing. It seemed odd to …
To Choreograph Perfection
Perfection is perhaps Impossible To choreograph First It must season For many Many years Until The precise blend Of circumstance Aligns Amidst the glorious Backdrop of autumn The scene A special place We called home There are smiles And hugs Laughter and maybe Tears And memories born So many autumns Prior With friends to last …
From Within, With Wynn
Illustrations by MWR Frackelton (Mary-Wynn Rogers Frackelton’s first painting, 11 months old) For Mary-Wynn, My Goddaughter, Impressions of Her Art From within This cage They call it pack-n-play And it seems to be Everywhere we go The towering walls Of green Have gotten smaller And as I peer Over The world is within My view …
The Runaway Horse
May 19, 2015 Bedtime Conversations: The Runaway Horse Jayde sits on my lap as we rock, still wanting to be that little girl. Jayde: Daddy will you tell me a story? Me: Ok, what kind of story would you like? (Hoping for some divine inspiration) Jayde: I don’t know (long contemplative pause)… …
This Land, Her Land – A Day with Mom
This Land, Her Land – A Day With Mom by Joe Cundiff The narrow pass weaves a glorious trail through the steep mountain ridges, steeped in a history of family and community so rich it would be impossible to measure the depths. Endless stories flow fluidly as waters rolling across the rocks of time, seamless, …