A Child's Garden

Early in our marriage, Orser put a lawn into the back yard of the home we were renting. There remained a bit of bare earth just to the left of the back door. I found a packet of seed labeled Children's Garden and asked him to put it in.  They came...
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1697 Views
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Signs of Spring

In springtime I step quietly as I stroll along the shores of the lake near my house. But it seems no matter how silent my step, the spring peepers know I’m there and stop peeping. If I am patient and stand still, however, soon enough they resume the chorus, a sure...
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Steer Toward The Runaway Truck Ramp

  Steer Toward The Runaway Truck Ramp   Seen at the bottom of page 31, Time Magazine issue of 24 March 2014:     •     Can you make the world better in 140 characters •     or less?  We asked online luminaries for their best ideas.  Tweet your...
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1798 Views
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Confessions of a Picky Eater

I have a confession to make: I am a picky eater. Now, this will come as no surprise to those who live with me, but grownups are supposed to act, well, grown up. And one of the things grownups are not supposed to do is be picky about food. It simply...
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2551 Views
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Big Wave - Capsized

Back in the '60s my mother's brothers Howard and Paul Webster owned a boating business that catered to people using the newly opened Smith Mountain Lake in Southern Virginia.  For the 4th of July holiday my cousin-by-marriage Jimmie Cooper was loaned one of the sailboats to take me, my sister-in-law Carolyn...
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My brother the tractor driver

My brother the tractor driver
We moved into the house that my dad built on Lake Serene when I was 7 years.  My dad bought the lot from my mothers parents.  It was a large lot, about 1 1/2 acres right on the waterfront.  It was beautiful!  My dad had designed the house and did most...
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2121 Views
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Up Close and Personal with Grandpa's Chevy

* Story Prompt: Write or record a story about a life-threatening accident, illness or encounter from which you narrowly escaped. * I'm not sure if this is technically life-threatening, but it certainly could have been had things gone a little differently. When I was about four- or five-years-old, I was playing...
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2095 Views
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Jacob Kautz Mary Ann (Walker) Kautz Their Story

Jacob Kautz Mary Ann (Walker) Kautz Their Story     Jacob Kautz was born in Ohio, in (1810-1890 ) no parents of record found.  There seemed to be several Kautz families in that area, and the older persons born in Germany. He married Mary Ann (Walker)[May 18,1817-July 19,1898] of Indiana in...
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2380 Views
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Mr. and Mrs. H.C. Bebermeyer Mr. and Mrs. C. Bebermeyer (Henry Conrad and Mary Lucy) (Conrad and Mary) Fred Bebermeyer Their Story

Mr. and Mrs. H.C. Bebermeyer  Mr. and Mrs. C. Bebermeyer (Henry Conrad and Mary Lucy) (Conrad and Mary) Fred Bebermeyer Their Story       Henry Conrad Bebermeyer is listed as being born in Warren County, Missouri on January 6,1851. His parents are listed as Conrad Bebermeyer(1815 Lippe-Daltmal, Germany-1890 Warrenton, Mo.)...
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2345 Views
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John Ernest “Johnnie” Bebermeyer His Story.

John Ernest “Johnnie” Bebermeyer His Story.        John Ernest Bebermeyer was born in Hamilton, Caldwell County Missouri to parents Henry Conrad and Mary Lucy (Ullmer) Bebermeyer on April 1, 1888. The family lived in Kingston, Caldwell County Missouri.  He was the fourth child of six born to Henry C....
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1883 Views
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George Edward Bebermeyer His Story

George  Edward Bebermeyer His Story        George Edward Bebermeyer was born to parents Henry Conrad Bebermeyer and Mary Lucy (Ullner) Bebermeyer on June 25,1883, in Missouri.  At this point the family was still residing in Warren County, Missouri. George was the oldest son, and third child born to this...
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1914 Views
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Flora E. Bebermeyer Her Story

Flora E. Bebermeyer Her Story       Flora E. Bebermeyer was born to parents Henry Conrad Bebermeyer and Lucy Mary (Ullner) Bebermeyer in 1878 in Missouri.  The family are living in Elkhorn, Warren Co. Missouri in the census of 1880.       In the census of 1900 the family ,Henry C. ,...
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1498 Views
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Ella Bebermeyer Her Story

Ella Bebermeyer Her Story        Ella Bebermeyer was born to parents Henry Conrad Bebermeyer and Lucy Mary (Ullmer) Bebermeyer in 1875-76 in Missouri.  She was the oldest of the children.  In the census of 1880 the family lived in Elkhorn, Warren Co., Missouri.  She has a sister named Flora age...
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1768 Views
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The Cherry Tree

The Old Cherry Tree             When I was eight years old we moved into the house that my father’s grandparents had built in 1882.  Many of the plants and trees they’d put in over the years were still thriving.  There was an abundance of hollyhocks, peonies, lily of the valley, tea...
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2396 Views
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Gardens

Today as I do almost every day, I stopped in my daughter's room to check the blossoms on her African Violet. They are huge, a rich purple and bloom frequently and fully.  They remind me of the luxury of walking behind my grandparents home and marveling at the carpet of wild...
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1593 Views
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Shades of Proust

Shades of Proust [Proost]             I bit into the store-bought apple and experienced an instant recall.  I was six years old, standing knee-deep in weeds and biting into the apple Grandpa Kunschke had pulled off of a tree. This wasn’t a déjà vu moment where one experiences a sudden feeling of...
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1815 Views
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On Ignorance

On Ignorance
On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   On Ignorance   This is likely to be the most personal, contentious, insulting, and embarrassing chronicle that the Footloose Forester has ever penned. It is all about my ignorance, your ignorance and the general ignorance that...
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1867 Views
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Recycle Trees, Too

Recycle Trees, Too
  On the road…. again!!! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Recycle Trees, Too   Not everyone gets to recycle a dying sugar maple tree and convert it into a magnificent scul pture like the one shown below. But we are happy that Ray Langer...
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1889 Views
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Trail Canyon Falls

Trail Canyon Falls
After our failed attempt to hike up to Trail Canyon Falls in the rain, we came back a week later and found our waterfall! We are on the right track. Still good! Still some crazy creek crossings. Stay away from me. We found the hill side trail and are on the...
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302 Views
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Newsletters from 2003 and 2004

Newsletters from 2003 and 2004
  On the road…. again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Newsletters from 2003 and 2004   Rather than viewing the past through the rose colored glasses of a selective set of fond and cherished memories,  the Footloose Forester chose to retrieve a few of...
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1682 Views
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