11 September 2001 Changed My Life Forever

| September 11, 2011

In every war in every era, the lives of some have been ending violently at the same time those of others have been blossoming. Such is the way of things. In Lunenburg, the morning of 11 September 2001 dawned foggy enough to obscure the coffee cup in front of your face. Nothing surprising for late […]

The Greatest Thing You’ll Ever Learn…

Guest Post by Mrs. LFM

| August 10, 2011

… Is just to love and be loved in return… ~Eden Ahbez, Nature Boy Most of my writing is motivated by spite. Something annoys me and rather than ranting someone’s ear off about it, I’ll either take it to my diary, Facebook or a blog post. I don’t often write when I’m blissfully happy… I […]

Blessed By Birch and Eagle

| March 27, 2011

Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life. ~ John Muir The twenty-fourth […]

To Live in the Hearts We Leave Behind is Not to Die

Guest Post by Mrs. LFM

| March 24, 2011

Seven years ago today, my father succumbed to the ravages of cancer. I think of him throughout the year, almost every day, but especially on the days of his birth and his death. My dad and I were always very close. He was understanding, encouraging, sympathetic, inspiring and above all, loving. He pushed me to […]

Of Monuments and That of Which They’re Built

| March 24, 2011

A stone monument makes a powerful statement, but it stays where it is so those of us to whom it matters must show our respect by going where it sits. That is a fact of necessity, but it doesn’t make a physical monument better than the ones built out of words and feelings. Over the […]

On This Date in 1982

| February 9, 2011

On the 9th day of February in the year 1982, a baby girl was born in the city of Wroclaw, Poland. She was one of many girls born that day, both in Poland and all over the world, but the birth of this one was special because the event marked kindling of a spark that […]

Meet the Town of Helm

| January 5, 2011

Among the most famous folk stories ever written down are those that involve the people who live in the remote Polish town of Helm (sometimes spelled “Chelm”). Famous or not, there will still be some of you who have never heard of the place, let alone its impressive inhabitants, so I’m about to fix that. […]

Lest We Forget – Poland 1939

| November 11, 2010

Peace, n. In international affairs, a period of cheating between two periods of fighting. ~ Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary As a student of military history I have long been aware of the German shenanigans with respect to Poland that finally dragged British Prime Minister Nevil Chamberlain kicking and screaming into a declaration of war […]

The Sword and the Snowflake – Chapter the Fourth

| November 7, 2010

In 1983 I started a security consulting company called Whynacht Security & Survival. In 1984 I moved to a house on Lincoln Street in Lunenburg, and the picture on the left shows me thanking the gang that helped me move. That same year, I expanded the company’s services to include alarm monitoring and emergency dispatching […]

The Sword and the Snowflake – Chapter the Third

| November 3, 2010

I was a kid with interests in all areas of science and, by the time I was 8 years old, had a well equipped chemistry lab set up in the basement of the house I grew up in. I had a flair for showmanship and was often asked by my teachers to put on demonstrations […]