While I was buzzing down a back road five days before Christmas heading for Littleton, I saw an object on the road surface ahead of me. I swerved around it glancing over to check it out. It was the head of a deer! It appeared to have a small rack but I was driving too fast to know for certain. No body was to be seen, no bones either.
I immediately thought of The Godfather by Mario Puzo and the scene where movie producer Jack Woltz refuses a request of Don Corleone. The next morning he wakes up to find his prize $600,000 thoroughbred racehorse’s head lying next to him on his bed. Ugh! Shivers ran down my back. (That scene and Alfred Hitchcock’s shower scene are imbedded in many minds forever!)
I’ve heard of some creeps killing a deer and taking the head or the rack for a trophy, wasting the rest instead of using it for food. I’ve never heard of taking the body and leaving the head. Does anyone have any idea why someone would do this?
Friday, December 28, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas Dinner
Setting the table in holiday dinner mood, I selected a ruby-red damask tablecloth, lacy white napkins, the good flatware and fine wine glasses. We’re conserving water in respect to the drought North Carolina has been experiencing this year. Our rosemary Christmas tree adorned the center. The rosemary spices the air with its aroma. No candlelight this year. Brother Al is on oxygen. Christmas carols played softly in the background to enhance conversation, not over power it.
I opened the DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nuveau before dinner to drink with appetizers (little fingers of anchovies in a potato and flour dough.) The bouquet was rich and fruity, more full-bodied than the one we opened in Nov. It was perfect before dinner. To drink with the standing rib roast I opened a Torre Spina Valpolicella again it was just right.
In memory of Charles Dickens, et.al. I made Yorkshire Pudding for the first time, ever. It was quite different than I expected. Not something I would eat more than once a year-it’s made from the fat of the roast. It finishes like a puffy bread crust. Tasty. In memory of good health I made fresh spinach cooked with pine nuts, raisins, garlic and olive oil. In memory of all my good friends, we toasted to their health, wealth and happiness.
I opened the DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nuveau before dinner to drink with appetizers (little fingers of anchovies in a potato and flour dough.) The bouquet was rich and fruity, more full-bodied than the one we opened in Nov. It was perfect before dinner. To drink with the standing rib roast I opened a Torre Spina Valpolicella again it was just right.
In memory of Charles Dickens, et.al. I made Yorkshire Pudding for the first time, ever. It was quite different than I expected. Not something I would eat more than once a year-it’s made from the fat of the roast. It finishes like a puffy bread crust. Tasty. In memory of good health I made fresh spinach cooked with pine nuts, raisins, garlic and olive oil. In memory of all my good friends, we toasted to their health, wealth and happiness.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wife Needed
When reading a book I sometimes get more out of it than I expected. I’m referring to ‘The Red Rose Girls’ An Uncommon Story of Art and Love by Alice A. Carter. I was reading intensely when I found the answer to my biggest problem in life. I’ve always been the wife instead of having one. Darn it!
It quotes an article from Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine “The chief obstacle to a woman’s success is that she can never have a wife. Just reflect what a wife does for an artist: Darns his stockings, (this is an old magazine) keeps his house, writes his letters, Visits his benefits, Wards off intruders, etc. Always an encouraging and partial critic, etc. A husband would be quite useless. He would never do any of these disagreeable things.”
It quotes an article from Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine “The chief obstacle to a woman’s success is that she can never have a wife. Just reflect what a wife does for an artist: Darns his stockings, (this is an old magazine) keeps his house, writes his letters, Visits his benefits, Wards off intruders, etc. Always an encouraging and partial critic, etc. A husband would be quite useless. He would never do any of these disagreeable things.”
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Bread Crumbs
As I learn about a person and they of me, usually bit-by-bit over a period of time, it’s determined whether we will become casual friends, life-long friends or just acquaintances.
I find it’s the same in the place I live. It’s important to learn about today’s every day life. Soon to follow is researching and learning the history of where I live. What happened in earlier times, how the folks responded to events, often forms the character of the people living here now.
The histories of Warren County and the rest of North Carolina are impressive from the first settlers, to those that carried on with bravery, willingness to contribute and the intelligence to learn new ways as became necessary.
It makes a difference knowing the character of my neighbors and the folks in the community where I socialize, volunteer and make friends. Hopefully, life-long friends. Now that I’ve lived here for two years I feel my instinct led me here like the breadcrumbs of Hansel and Gretel leading them home. Fortunately for me, no birds swooped down to eat the crumbs and I found the right place to settle.
I find it’s the same in the place I live. It’s important to learn about today’s every day life. Soon to follow is researching and learning the history of where I live. What happened in earlier times, how the folks responded to events, often forms the character of the people living here now.
The histories of Warren County and the rest of North Carolina are impressive from the first settlers, to those that carried on with bravery, willingness to contribute and the intelligence to learn new ways as became necessary.
It makes a difference knowing the character of my neighbors and the folks in the community where I socialize, volunteer and make friends. Hopefully, life-long friends. Now that I’ve lived here for two years I feel my instinct led me here like the breadcrumbs of Hansel and Gretel leading them home. Fortunately for me, no birds swooped down to eat the crumbs and I found the right place to settle.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Christmas Cards
I love sending and receiving Christmas cards! I search early in the season to find just the right cards that reflect my personality. Size is not important. I want the receivers to say to themselves, “Ah, this is just like her.” Or “Only Arlene would send this card.” I want a smile from them even if I can’t see it.
I start by loading up the CD player with some favorite Christmas songs, filling the wineglass half-full so I can have seconds without feeling piggy and to soften the mood so the sentiments will flow easily.
Next I think about what I want to say. Writing a personal note takes time. Some notes are longer than others but they’re all meaningful. The more often I fill the glass, the longer the note.
Now that I don’t see many of my friends from New Jersey often, the card is a connective thread saying, “even though we’re not in close proximity I still think of you and still consider you my friend.” As I write I think of them and the memories we’ve enjoyed together. Good memories should not be forgotten just because of physical distance. Hmm. Actually memories become more important then.
I start by loading up the CD player with some favorite Christmas songs, filling the wineglass half-full so I can have seconds without feeling piggy and to soften the mood so the sentiments will flow easily.
Next I think about what I want to say. Writing a personal note takes time. Some notes are longer than others but they’re all meaningful. The more often I fill the glass, the longer the note.
Now that I don’t see many of my friends from New Jersey often, the card is a connective thread saying, “even though we’re not in close proximity I still think of you and still consider you my friend.” As I write I think of them and the memories we’ve enjoyed together. Good memories should not be forgotten just because of physical distance. Hmm. Actually memories become more important then.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Warren County, North Carolina Ghosts
When something is meant to be, it can just drop in front of you like a squirrel dropping an acorn from a tree. That’s what happened in Oakley Hall Antique Shop in Warrenton, North Carolina a few months ago.
I was talking to owner Don Arnold; he was asking, “Are you retired or what do you do?”
“Not retired, I’m still writing. My latest book “Haunted Bordentown’ is being published by Schiffer.”
“Gee, I wish someone would write about the ghosts of Warren County.”
Another manuscript was born in that moment. Since that conversation I’ve interviewed several folks about their experiences with the ‘after-life’ population. One story has cast a thread that leads me to another………. and another.
If you live in Warren County or have brought a ghost story or a psychic experience with you, email me and we’ll record it to educate others about life-after-life.
I was talking to owner Don Arnold; he was asking, “Are you retired or what do you do?”
“Not retired, I’m still writing. My latest book “Haunted Bordentown’ is being published by Schiffer.”
“Gee, I wish someone would write about the ghosts of Warren County.”
Another manuscript was born in that moment. Since that conversation I’ve interviewed several folks about their experiences with the ‘after-life’ population. One story has cast a thread that leads me to another………. and another.
If you live in Warren County or have brought a ghost story or a psychic experience with you, email me and we’ll record it to educate others about life-after-life.
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