"The Meaning Behind Memorial Day"

"Our flag does not fly because the wind

blows it; It flies with the last breath

of every soldier who died defending it."

Memorial Day is not about cookouts or pool parties, fireworks or parades.

People and Buildings, Faces and Places: Why I'm Failing at Telling Their Stories

Some people may see a photo; this was a great opportunity to speak with this fire chief and his father, both of the Hurlock Fire Company in Dorchester County, MD

A few months ago I was driving down Old Ocean City Road in Wicomico County, Maryland when I passed the Parsonsburg fire department. It was a pretty day to take a few shots and of course, once I got involved looking at the building and researching their history, I wanted to know more. And that's where I run into trouble; I love these local sources of history and stories and legends of unselfishness. I want to find out the details behind the bricks and the logos of our local fire companies, and yet I'm struggling to find even one that genuinely has an interest in saving their memories - and hiring me. There's a post here, written a few months ago where I attempt to describe of a new beginning of sorts, a baby bird which didn't quite get off the ground, and it mirrors my worry that our society might be too willing to let go of our past. Where did I go wrong?

I don't understand what I'm seeing on Facebook anymore

 

 
A chronic neck condition requires me to lie down from time to time with a heating pad, and while doing that earlier I spent some time browsing through posts on Facebook. That's nothing unusual, except that for me Facebook is generally a tool to connect with others on public pages with an assigned purpose; to share photos, pass along information, update the public on certain situations, etc. So just browsing randomly through the most recent posts from friends or pages isn't something I have the time for often, and it seemed that the more I scrolled the more questions I had.

Trying To Write.....But Choosing a Topic That Stops Me In My Tracks

My "writing daily" project came to a screeching halt on.....well, the first day. Damn. I'd tried this back in December, following the advice of an online site geared towards encouraging creative and descriptive journaling, along with poetry, narratives and instructional-type material. The goal was to fire up one's mind to produce better content more efficiently; I took the bait and began following the steps.

"You didn't want to see what was right in front of you" | Death of a Small Business

From time to time I come across this piece I wrote about five years ago and feel the need to pass it on, perhaps one more time. Not only was it one of the first things I ever wrote, it was at a time when I'd realized that 1, my brain needed more help than the average person to work correctly and 2, it was possibly the most painful experience in my life. I share it now because of the process gone through, the things learned and that perhaps it will help someone else in a similar situation. (if that sounds cryptic it's because I don't want to give away the whole story until you've read this).