I guess it’s in me somewhere, hovering, waiting, perhaps between heartbeats, or underneath my breath, hiding where it can’t be seen, but wanting to escape with me, go somewhere, perhaps over the rainbow where bluebirds fly.   Sometimes, I wonder if it’s really there, or just a notion I’m supposed to believe like Santa Claus. Sometimes, I want it to speak to me, tell me it's there, hear it say you’re not alone, that it’s g...

  Listen to me when I speak to you, tells you what you need to hear, whispers in your ear when others tell you what to do and you’re uncertain, on the fence, bewildered.   Close your eyes and listen to me with your heart; trust me more than you trust yourself; know I’m your dearest friend, dearer than your wife, now ex, although she listened to hers more than you do, I’ll know you’re listening if you say, ah ha that’s a c...

Sometimes I’m in a jungle tripping over vines, shoving my way through bushes, looking for a path, wondering if there is one and asking with every breath where am I?   Other times my mind is an eagle high above the trees and mountains, soaring over lakes, my heart filled with sky, my eyes searching for the nourishment I need, wanting to dive deep into the pools inside.   So many times I wonder if this body I wear, this mas...

I haven't got a clue where the first waves began,the ones I'm walking through on this amazing day,and wish I knew how the sky became so blue,how these palm trees grew from seedsthat came from who knows where,or why I love to rhyme, make music with my words,say what's on my mind and breathe the air,feel the breeze my eyes can't see,loving how it comes and kisses me,soothes my skin, and makes me glad I'm here.Are there even...

Sometimes, the stars and moon and nighttime air are so perfect that being there in those moments is like being blessed, and I breathe them in as fully as I can and hold them in my heart and mind as a precious time, a sacred time when I feel the universe within, but then my thoughts get invaded by mundane  thoughts that come like uninvited guests to remind me to buy dish detergent, or garbage bags, or call the bank, and I...

What is this country in my mind I've wandered through for all these years, this land of hills and valleys, streams and rivers I have crossed, mountains I have climbed, forests, meadows, tangled jungles where I was lost but somehow found my way to this place filled with memories where I can see where I have been and nothing is forgotten.   It's where my childhood lives in a tiny house hidden in a forest far from here in th...

Even though the Sheriff and his deputies would be coming in a few days, no one seemed that concerned. There was too much to do. When Alice and I went to the cabin to get settled, there was a vase on the wood stove with wildflowers and a note from Morning Star that said, "Welcome to your new home." "I don't believe we're actually here." Alice read the note again. "Me either. I feel like I'm starting a new chapter in my lif...

Tim and Gabe moved the round table back to the center of the room and placed the chairs around it. Tammy placed the oil lamp in the center for lighting it later when it got dark. Dan brought in several arm loads of wood, while Liz and Atticus followed with a box filled with kindling. Tammy filled a pot with water from her five gallon jug and measured out rice. Several unopened cans of black beans sat on the counter. "I’m...

My dad waved at us as we came though the waist high grass in the pasture. Standing with Glenn and Dan, he held his sketchbook and pointed to some place on the other side of the orchard. Atticus straddled his father's shoulders, while Liz and Tammy knelt by the fire, preparing lunch. Alice grabbed my hand and started running towards them. I glanced back at Grace walking slowly, the branch cane over her shoulder, her eyes s...

A short, pot-bellied man walked towards us through the tall brown grass. Bald, except for a thin patch of gray hair above his ears, he had a small silver badge on his tan shirt, a holster with a black-handled gun on his hip. I’m not sure why he left his hat in the car.Glenn stiffened and watched the sheriff approaching. "Uh-oh," my dad muttered. Alice swallowed and glanced at me. I knew she was thinking Bendula. Atticus p...

Turns out, I didn’t have to go downstairs. A few minutes later, just as I was telling Alice about Elizabeth’s message, my dad came into my room. I know he heard me say, "We have to find out if it’s the Bendula." Our eyes met, and then he took a deep breath and I could see how frustrated he was with not knowing what was going on. "Right, we’ll go right after school." I knew it was late and wondered if I should skip another...

When we got home the next day, it was late Tuesday afternoon, and both Alice and I were eager to tell Gabe and Tim what was happening and to call Elizabeth. We had already missed two days of school. It didn’t matter to me, but I was surprised that Alice didn’t seem to care either. For most of the trip, I was quiet, but listened to Glenn and my dad talking about all the possibilities and how to get started transforming the...

It was late Sunday afternoon when we arrived back at the farm a week later. We would have left on Saturday, but Glenn's friend, Edgar, needed to use the van to move some furniture and said we could borrow it the next day. We met Tim and Gabe at Charley's for pizza one night and told them what was happening. "Wow, it's like an adventure movie," Tim said, and Gabe said he wished he could go and see the Indians and the farm...

It took quite a while to find the small gravestones. They lay twentyor thirty feet in the woods, surrounded and hidden by dozens of birch trees and green bushes. Grace wasn’t certain exactly where they were, but knew they were near two huge pine trees that towered over the other trees, “I know they’re near these trees,” she said. “Now I feel bad that I haven’t been here in fifteen years. I should have realized the woods w...

"What if we paid the back taxes before it went to auction?" Glenn asked. "That way, they wouldn’t be discovered." "I’ve already thought of that," Grace said. "It’s a possibility and would solve one problem but not the more serious one." Alice and I listened, surprised at Glenn’s idea and, even more, surprised that Grace had already thought about it, but I didn’t know what she meant by the more serious problem. "You’re rig...