It was a dark and stormy Christmas Eve. The children were all in jammies and ready for bed, imagining what dear old St. Nick would bring. Of course the adults were worried about the travelling conditions for family and friends making their way to the Lynch household.

Now I don’t know if you believe in Santa Claus (dear old St. Nick), but if you know the story of Rudolph, chances are you know that Santa WILL be coming to town.

As the story goes, Rudolph has a bright, shiny nose and he will make sure that Santa makes it to every single house around the world. All one has to do is BELIEVE. It’s a matter of faith and if you believe in the miracle of Christmas, Christmas will come no matter what!!

 

~Cathy Lynch

There are many wrongs and many rights in society. I would have to say that one topic that comes to mind would be “The Homeless”. I feel that society in general have their own opinions about the homeless but many of their opinions, although they could possibly be found among the homeless, are in fact true but not entirely.

Some members of society tend to shun the homeless. They are under the impression that most homeless people are uneducated, have addictions or mental illness, etc. Although this may be true for some, society is wrong in thinking that this is true for most.

I know as far as I am concerned and also being a homeless woman, from my point of view, I know that homelessness goes much deeper. Homeless people have one thing in common and that is “being homeless”. But we all have our own personal story to tell when it comes to why and how we were subjected to being homeless.

I found there is a fine line between being a respected member of society and shunned by society because of circumstances that have led many of us to travel a different pathway in life. Most of us are everyday people trying to adjust to a lifestyle that we never dreamed we would be a part of even though we were aware that this problem always existed.

I truly feel that if society spent more time striving to have mere compassion for their fellow man and trying to understand the truth behind the real issue, then maybe this would be a better place to live in.

~CSM

Clouds obscure the moon, and

A chorus of crickets call

There is wind in the trees –

A storm is coming.

Trees toss and bend

Torrents of water

Wash along the shore

A break in the clouds

And the Androscoggin rolls

in the moonlight.

I stand to watch a flash of lightening

And hear a deafening crash of thunder

On the walking bridge

Which sways beneath my feet.

I grip the railing with a cold, wet hand.

A man drowned the other day

Jumping from this bridge.

The current took him.

Yellow light in the distance are houses

One is my destination.

I walk the swinging bridge

Iron cables thick and strong.

Wooden boards bend beneath my feet.

My coat is lashed by wind and water.

I am cold to the bone

As I make my way toward home.

                            ~Doug Palmer

1st memory

I was 4 years old and visiting my grandmother in St. Petersburg, Florida. I had come down with my cousins, Barbara, Edward, and Julian. Every day we went to the beach. Starting early in the morning, we’d collect coquinas. One day I was running down the beach. I looked up and there was a tiny man. He was pink, fully clothed with hat.

I was really excited! I literally ran to my mother and grandmother to tell them the news. They didn’t believe me! Everyone began guessing what I thought I saw. It made me sad that no one could acknowledge that I actually saw what I saw! I really felt angry the more they tried to guess.

To this day I remember in photographic detail my encounter on the beach!

Later in college, I had a professor who had been to Cornwall and he described almost to a “T” the kind of little person I saw. Cornwall is famous for its little people – leprechauns. How are things in Glacamorrow…Rainbow’s end? That musical always reassures me that I may really have seen what I saw!

It was a dark and stormy Christmas Eve and I felt as if I had been walking forever –

The ground was uneven and wet and soggy. My clothes had absorbed too much rain. My socks were wet all the way through – my nose was even dripping!

Suddenly through the mist I saw a light – it looked like just a pinpoint in the distance. Could it be Tinker Belle? or a firefly?

Wow! A tiny house in the wood.