Once upon a time a family was given a wonderful elixir that would cure every disease of mankind. They bottled it in plain brown bottles and offered it for sale to others. The price was very high and it didn't taste very good, but it worked. As time went on the descendants of this family … Continue reading What’s in the bottle?
Chapter 4 – Scenes from my childhood
I was three and a half years old the first time my parents moved. In the house we were leaving there was a telephone at the bottom of the stairs near the front door. It was on a party line rural phone system and I believe I had been frightened by this box on the … Continue reading Chapter 4 – Scenes from my childhood
Second thoughts and scattered thoughts
Upon reading my last post, about my father, after I had posted it, I realize that it is an even rougher first draft than I had thought. It does altogether too much telling and not enough showing. It needs a serious rewrite, but I won't post the rewrite. Everything I post here will need to … Continue reading Second thoughts and scattered thoughts
Chapter 3 – My father
The time has come for me to write about my father, but I don’t want to. I’m afraid that I’m going to make him sound like an ogre, and he really wasn’t. Most of the time he was a pretty decent sort, but I grew up living in dread of the times when his internal … Continue reading Chapter 3 – My father
Chapter 2 – Alphabet blocks
I found the wooden alphabet block with the letter N and added it to the row that was beginning to spell my name — R O B E R T G O O D N . . . Now I needed one more O. I carefully rotated each of the blocks I had not used, … Continue reading Chapter 2 – Alphabet blocks
Chapter 1 – Why couldn’t I be the healthy one?
My cousin Dennis has often been a friend in time of need, knowing just when to show up. He came over the morning after my father’s funeral and we sat around a table with my mother, reliving bygone days with the help of her old photographs. There were photos of my father breaking land, of … Continue reading Chapter 1 – Why couldn’t I be the healthy one?
Preface
Half a century ago a drunken young man announced to a couple of friends that one day he would be a Mennonite and wear a beard. His friends dismissed this as babbling inspired by the booze he had consumed. The young man himself was bewildered. The few Mennonites he had met, from his mother’s side … Continue reading Preface
Succotash
Today is Thanksgiving in Canada and for some reason my mind drifted back to a meal we were served many years ago at a family reunion in Massachusetts. Succotash was served at the first Thanksgiving meal at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was prepared by people of the Narragansett tribe, from native North American vegetables that had … Continue reading Succotash
How much do cats really know?
I took Angus to the vet this morning; Angus being the middle of our three cats, officially described as domestic short hair, but mostly Siamese in temperament. He knows what's in store when the cat carrier appears and did not enter it willingly. Once the car was moving he commenced a deep-voiced mournful wail that … Continue reading How much do cats really know?
Living stones of Zion
Only living stones can strengthen the walls of Zion. Other stones do not bond and will be pushed out of place. A block of wood, a bale of hay or straw, will fill a gap in the wall, They do not bond, they offer a route for vermin to enter Zion. When the fiery darts … Continue reading Living stones of Zion
Flatlander Faith 