My Think Piece

Farmers and Anarchists When it rains at the Rains County Fair Why Grandpa Hated Doctors When I turn on the faucet, I hear Mozart The Peac ock Adventure My Poorly Scheduled Heart Attack I Just Wanted Water Chronicles of Me has its own website now!

  The feathers were shining. The feathers shimmered on the ground in the early morning sun like some exotic flower, and when I found one, I picked it up and hid it for future use. I found more and did the same. They were beautiful, but none of them were perfect like the ones that remained in the creature's magnificent display!  I had to have one of the perfect ones! My little 5-year-old mind formulated a rudimentary plan: I would corner the creature in the henhouse. Miraculously, my plan worked…but not completely! You see, the bird was as determined to keep its glorious plumage as I was to get one! I grabbed one as tightly as my little fingers could grip, and at that point, reality was altered! The creature became 12 feet tall and nearly as broad, and proceeded to drag me by the shoulders from the yardbird enclosure. The Peacock Adventure

When I turn on the faucet, I hear Mozart! The well, several yards from the creek, was at the bottom of a pretty steep hill. It was a long walk back to the house.  The construction of the well in that spot was strategic. The well was dug below the level of the creek, and the sand that existed between the creek and the bottom of the well served as a filter. It was a practical arrangement. I loved that creek and the woodland that it traveled through on its journey to the river!  There was a cistern at the end of the house, but it was not well suited for catching rainwater, and in the summer, when it was most needed, there was never sufficient rainfall to add significantly to the volume. There was an option to add to it by paying the local volunteer fire department to come out and partially fill it when conditions warranted. I don’t want to give the wrong impression, because I was never thirsty for long with no way to slake my thirst; it was just sometimes a little inconvenient. O...

  Leaving Carmel I had a girl on Mount Carmel, she served me the finest wine I had a girl on Mount Carmel, she served me the finest wine When I left Mount Carmel, I left it far behind. The mountains will drop sweet wine, and all the hills will melt The mountains will drip wine, and all the hills will melt When I walked away from Carmel, I walked away from myself!

 The trains will run on time He's rounding up the browns He’ll do away with crime  In the cities and the towns Sometimes it seems like up  But mostly upside down But the trains will run on time And he's rounding up the browns!

  Stuff I Need To Ignore! Getting lost in the form is bad form. Some stuff just needs to be ignored for the sake of the story and the message. Tempo: I can record or play at any tempo I like, and change tempo at any time I like. That is a tool of emphasis for the music! Studio or public appearances with other musicians are another thing! Form in poetry: I can meter and rhyme at any time and when and how I, please! The meaning is the thing, and sometimes wrecking some Iambic pentameter or adding a rhyme or meter in some places to evoke the mood can enhance the thought! Questionable grammar: I can use “bad” grammar as a literary tool! No offense to my old pals Strunk and White but the story is more important than being literarily proper!

Setting, Camping Out: I found a bean can, about a quart size that we had had for our dinner rinsed it out, and filled it with water on the campfire we had cooked dinner on. I watched it until it boiled for about 15 minutes on the fire and then moved it to my canteen. I restarted the whole process and did the same 3 times until both my canteens were full along with the bean can. I kept myself awake a few hours until the first batch was cool enough to drink, refilled, and finally went to sleep! The others were content to drink colas and sodas, but I had to have water! This happened several times in my life. When we came back from the fields sometimes Dad would stop at the station and ask if we wanted a cold drink. All I wanted was water. Dad said, just get a coke, someday soon they will figure out how to charge us for water!