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Stranger in a Strange Land

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When I was a child, racial tension in my small hometown did not exist.  There was no them, only us.  Everybody was white.  The caste system was in effect, to be sure, from the apex of the Caucasian ladder to the depths of the pale trash heap; but [...]

January 16th, 2012 | Category: Americana, Audio Bit, Cowboy, Family, Folks, Friends, Home, Indians, Religion, Spirituality | 8 comments

Catholic Fish

Playing God

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A young woman and I were visiting the other day and she confessed to me that she was a Catholic.  While I subscribe to no particular religion myself, I certainly begrudge no one else his or her faith, but she seemed apologetic at her confession, saying that [...]

January 2nd, 2012 | Category: Americana, Animals, Audio Bit, Fish, Religion, Spirituality | 2 comments

Home for Christmas

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About 10 years ago, for the first time in quite a while, I went home for Christmas.  Well, that’s not exactly true.  Home is where my wife and I live.  I returned to where I spent my childhood, where I walked the river, hunted pheasants, stalked the elusive [...]

December 12th, 2011 | Category: Americana, Animals, Audio Bit, Christmas, Dogs, Family, Folks, Food, Friends, Holidays, Home, Religion, Spirituality | Leave a comment

Bethany

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Her name is Bethany and she is the niece of a friend.  I first met the young woman when she was about 8 years old – a loud, angular, elbowy girl.  She was below average in looks, not superior in intellect, and seemed to have trouble relating to adults.  [...]

December 5th, 2011 | Category: Americana, Audio Bit, Christmas, Family, Folks, Food, Holidays, Home, Religion, Spirituality | Leave a comment

Kid

Those Less Fortunate

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I never saw him wearing anything except a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and the ubiquitous boy’s footwear of the time – black and white Keds tennis shoes.  He was a year or so older than I, but pale and smaller, with a shock of floppy blond hair.  [...]

November 28th, 2011 | Category: Americana, Animals, Audio Bit, Dogs, Family, Folks, Friends, Home, Spirituality | 4 comments

Marthanetics

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Ah, yes – the holiday season.  Most retailers and some consumers believe it starts in mid-September and continues through January 15. We are besieged by The Great Pumpkin, regaled with stories of The Pilgrims, who were, incidentally, not The Pilgrims but only pilgrims, beaten over the head by [...]

November 21st, 2011 | Category: Americana, Animals, Audio Bit, Christmas, Dogs, Family, Folks, Food, Holidays, Rant, Religion, Spirituality | Leave a comment

The Hunt

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Amos Beals was an immense man, at least to my little kid eyes.  Distantly related to my grandfather, Amos lived out in the country on a hardscrabble farm and was perpetually clothed in a railroad engineer’s cap, bib overalls – or “biblicals” as he called them – and [...]

November 14th, 2011 | Category: Americana, Animals, Audio Bit, Dogs, Family, Folks, Food, Friends, Holidays, Home, Horses, Religion | One comment