WRITER'S SHOWCASE--Preserving the Extraordinary Works of Ordinary People--The Preservation Foundation, Inc., Book Publisher

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Preserving the extraordinary works of 'ordinary' people

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Dueling Banjos

Richard Franklin Bishop

© Copyright 2013 by Richard Franklin Bishop

Photo of a banjo being played.

Near Misses to Fame and Fortune

There are cases where someone already well known in show business was grabbed by the"fickle finger of fate" and lost out on higher fame and fortune due to a decision by someone in high places; usually a Movie Director....

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Hide! Part One

Kristina Benoit

© Copyright 2013 by Kristina Benoit

Girl hiding her mouth with clenched fists.

Chapter 1

The sun cascaded into our window on a simple Monday afternoon.

"Hey sweetie." I said.

"Hi, how was your day?"

"Oh, it was great, I got raised from the basement."

"That's great!" he said. He smiled at me. Austin, he's always been there for me, he's a music producer, and I'm a reporter....

A Typewriter Needed Cleaning

Paul Marion Fleetwood

© Copyright 2013 by Paul Marion Fleetwood

Photo of an old manual typewriter.

It was, as best I can remember, late in the Fall of 1952 when we decided to clean the typewriter. It was a standard model used in those days except for an extra long carriage. The extra long carriage was needed to handle the wider transfer and destruction report forms used in the Crypto room at Ethan Allen Air Force Base....

AMTRAKING
East to West

Ellie S. Thomas

© Copyright 2012 by Ellie S. Thomas

Photo of an Amtrak train.

It was time to start vacation planning once more and while the flesh was willing, alas, the spirit was very weak. Faced with miles and miles of driving and paying strict attention to the road, on-coming traffic, and all the various things a driver must be aware of while simultaneously missing so many other things, well, that could be discouraging. Yet, how could one refuse a hard working spouse who needed a change of pace? It was a puzzle until we saw an ad for AMTRAK. 'Leave your worries behind... leave all the driving to us!' Now that sounded like something we could do....

Traveling in Canada and to the Moon

Patricia M. Snell

© Copyright 2013 by Patricia M. Snell

Photo of moon rising over Canadian island.

While traveling in a remote area of Canada, an historic event happened, and we learned that camping on a remote island is really like camping in our backyard....

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My Friend Duane

Richard Franklin Bishop

© Copyright 2013 by Richard Franklin Bishop

Photo of Shane and little Joey.

I think just about everybody in the last three generations remembers the 1953 Paramount Oscar-Winning Motion Picture "Shane" starring Brandon de Wilde as little Joey, Alan Ladd as Shane and Van Heflin as the Farmer, Starrett....

A New House on Newhouse Avenue

Paul Marion Fleetwood

© Copyright 2013 by Paul Marion Fleetwood

Photo of the house on Newhouse Avenue.

I was very homesick and lonely too. It was 1953 and I was in the Air Force twelve hundred miles from home. My outfit, the 125th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, was stationed at Ethan Allen Air Force Base just outside Winooski Vermont. It was boring and it was cold....

The Story of my Life

Joe Williams Loller

© Copyright 2013 by J. Richard Loller (son)

Building levee on Mississippi River, 1930s.

I was born January 4, 1903.

My life has been a merry go round. There has been aldered (sp?) times in it and critical times.

So to start we will go to where I was born in a 3 Room house, with a kitchen and living room and a hall, across the hall was the bed room. There was a fire place in the living room. The house was in a apple orchard in a place call Big Creek....

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Requiem for
Tyler Clementi

June Huwa Whiting

© Copyright 2013 by June Huwa Whiting

Photo of Tyler Clementi on cover of People Magazine.

It has been two and a half years since Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge in order to escape betrayal and public humiliation. Why did former Rutgers students Dharun Ravi, Clementi’s roommate, and Molly Wei, Ravi’s friend since middle school, conspire to torment him? What happened to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”?...

The Preacher

Paul Marion Fleetwood

© Copyright 2013 by Paul Marion Fleetwood

Photo of a Hersey's Cocoa metal container.

I have started writing my memoirs mostly for my Great Grand Children. I thought they might like to know about the life of their Grandpa long after he is gone. I have already written several stories that might someday be chapters in “My Story”. I hope readers of this will send me some feedback as to how well I can write....

Notes on the Nippur Expeditions of the University of Pennsylvania

Richard Franklin Bishop

© Copyright 2013 by Richard Franklin Bishop

Photo of John Punnett Peters, courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Museum.

I have just finished reading all 810 pages of a book covering the four Nippur (modern day Iraq) Expeditions of the University of Pennsylvania conducted at the turn of the 20th Century....

On the Importance of Not Deserting Your Post, or Why I Did Not Become An Actor

Richard Franklin Bishop

© Copyright 2012 by Richard Franklin Bishop

Two students working on a float.

In the Autumn of the year 1947, I enrolled as a Freshman in college. After the whirlwind of registration for the required Freshman classes and then actually locating the classrooms, I settled down to the grind of study and memorization. As I was living at home enjoying a nice, comfortable family life (and not living in a Dormitory), the idea of joining a Fraternity didn't particularly appeal to me. And, so the time spent between classes "hanging-out" in the Health & Personnel Building student lounge playing Ping-Pong or shooting Pool, socializing in the Coffee Shop and rubbing elbows in the Cafeteria didn't satisfy me much. After a while, I asked: "This college life I'm living so far -- is that all there is to it?"

So I decided to liven up my life a little bit by joining a drama group called "The Actors."...

Run

Kristina Benoit

© Copyright 2013 by Kristina Benoit

Explosion with the word RUN inside.

Prologue
'Run!' I tell myself.
"Come Here!" he yelled.
Crap, he got me.
"Let go of me!" I yelled.
He began to push me into the van, until I kicked him under his chin, and made a break for nearby public place. I was running, and then sawthe mall.
I ran inside, and went upstairs, I quickly hid.
He quickly came up behind me, and grabbed me.
"NO!" I yelled as loud as I could.
I quickly let go, but he pushed me, and I hit my shoulder on a pole, which dislocated it, and I let out a blood curtiling scream.
All of a sudden a cloth was put over my mouth, and nose, I quickly fell unconscious....

Zerbin

Eliza Mae Alcaraz

© Copyright 2012 by Eliza Mae Alcaraz

Photo of roses by the sea.

It was called Zerbin, the town she lived in. On occasion, the Sky Pilots would harass the sky and leave streaks of cloud-like serpents in the endless blue. The sky was only so blue because Zerbin was located next to the ocean (Zerbinians called it the Big Blue) and, duh, the sky reflects the water. Most people told her it was the other way around. She would spit on their shoes and run back home....
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It Was Better Than We Knew

Ellie S. Thomas

© Copyright 2012 by Ellie S. Thomas

Photo of child's hands holding blueberries.

It was hot and dusty in Owl's Head in the summer. People often remarked incredulously that they'd forgotten it could get so hot so far North. The priest mopped his sweaty brow as he labored his way through the mass, unrelieved in his long black cassock, the fans reluctantly churning the air in futile circles. The unrepentent sat on their porches fanning themselves; dogs sought the shade and collapsed in panting, heaving humps of fur. Children, feeling the humid weather, quarreled incessantly and flies settled on bare flesh, where they bit with a vengeance....

A Boat in Keoladeo

Supriya Ambwani

© Copyright 2012 by Supriya Ambwani

Algae covered waters at Keoladeo.

"Last year, a tiger ran away from Ranthambore and travelled 240 kilometers to join us here in Bharatpur. I don't know why they took it away--it was so peaceful here," remarked Keru Singh. 'Peaceful' is among the first adjectives that comes to mind as one sits on a boat in the middle of the still, algae infected waters of Keoladeo National Park....

Love Cubed

(Love to the Third Degree)

Lane Dooling

© Copyright 2012 by Lane Dooling

Photo of a baby on its mother's shoulder.

I wanted to write this article to bring to the surface the many dimensions of parenting--since being a parent requires so much more than most of us think...without enough hours in the day. We all have our doubts, bad days, tough times and worry...but through it all--parenting is truly a gift since it can be a truly selfless act and yet the rewards are priceless....

An Adventure With Susie

Janice M. Crumpton

© Copyright 2012 by Janice M. Crumpton

Photo
of handmade Christman orniment by Travis Loller. (c) 2004 by Richard Loller.

When Susie woke up, the sun was shining so bright. She jumped out of bed and put on her combat boots, vest and helmet. Her pajama ruffle was sticking out but Susie didn’t care. Susie’s mom was fixing her favorite breakfast – pancakes! “Good morning Susie, her mom said”. Susie said “hey mom, can I please go play in my sandbox just as soon as I eat?” Susie’s mom said “Sure, as soon as you march back up stairs. put on some jeans and a shirt and promise me you will not leave this yard!” Susie muttered “aw heck” but up the stairs she went and put on some clothes plus her combat boots, vest and helmet. Susie had been wearing her combat boots, vest and helmet every since her daddy had to go to war to a far away place....

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