Lake Stories

“Eddie’s dead,” said the female voice on the other end of the line. My caller did not identify herself, but I recognized Emma Lawrence’s voice. She was engaged to my old friend Eddie Blake. “What happened, Emma?” I asked, dreading the answer. “He went paddling on the lake, Alan,” she said quietly. That alone was enough to make my face turn pale, but I let Emma go on. “I told him not to. I refused to go myself. But he stil...

It may be fifty years since we got married, but it only seems like yesterday. Half a century has gone in the blink of an eye. Five decades of happiness and woes, triumphs and failures, laughter and tears. Memories come and go, but one day I will always remember was our honeymoon. We didn’t have a lot of cash at the time, so we took any deal that was offered. It being winter, we hoped for a flight to somewhere warm. Alas,...

The Muse (Raanana, March 31, 2019) I feel a bitter pleasure in remembering that day In the forest outside our small village. I was walking down a leafy path Toward the little lake where I would sit By the water with my back against a smooth rock To make some modest sketches And write what came to me. Down the shore a ways The woman sat as was her wont Without a stitch of clothing on her Back against the generous trunk of...

Ripples as the sun dances on the water gentle butterflies float on summer breeze water so cool and inviting time to dangle a toe and watch ripples coast out to the deep blue stay awhile relax thoughts drift with pillow clouds close your eyes and open your mind to mother nature's wonders as gentle butterflies float on the breeze

A few months after their wedding, two friends of mine went fishing. They anchored in a shady spot for lunch and, being young and in love, one thing led to another. I've no idea about the fishing that day, but nine months later there was indisputable proof something had been caught. The location for this amorous activity was Fool's Bayou, honest. After hearing that story, I wondered how the bayou's various native life form...