celtic_writer

Seabiscuit Christmas -- Reprise

2009-12-23T20:39:53-05:00

NOTE: This post was originally published on 12/23/05. It is a popular one, so here it is again. And the theme and feeling have not changed. Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope it is a great one for you all. - Mary...

Montana Police Blotter

2009-09-29T19:18:34-04:00

When venturing along the road of life, a person cannot help but discover the philosophical undertones of the locations one visits. A good source for this kind of wisdom is always the local TV news. Have visited places where the...

54 Quotes

2009-07-16T20:06:39-04:00

At 3 p.m. today, I became 54. Years, that is. Swimming pools. Movie stars. For those of you who know me, you understand that I write in notebooks. Black Moleskin notesbooks. Every day. All year round. I find quotes, and...

Happy Bastille Day & the Drunk Good Humor Man

2009-07-14T22:52:21-04:00

My friend Penny left a comment on Facebook today, in response to a message of "Happy Bastille Day Everyone!" that I scribbled via keyboard on my Wall. She wrote: "Wow, someone else who remembers Bastille Day! I'm half French, what's...

Rules of the Road

2009-07-07T14:26:30-04:00

Discovered that a heavy-duty tow truck operator in Idaho bills as much an hour as a programmer who lives, well, everywhere. We were minding our own business, driving the new RV up through the mountains of Idaho, on our way...

Revisit: Chaunce, Paddy the Slasher and Miss Rheingold

2009-06-21T21:57:01-04:00

Note: This post was originally published on 6/18/06. Have received so many emails from folks about it, have decided to publish it again. Happy Father's Day, Dad. You are missed. Father's Day. It is terribly ironic that, in 1972, Richard...

Zen Messages Are Everywhere

2009-06-08T08:08:46-04:00

Adults Say the Darndest Things

2009-06-07T17:49:31-04:00

Now that the New Zealand trip is complete, thoughts turn to Art Linkletter. For those of you too young to know, too old to remember, or have no earthly idea who I am talking about, Art Linkletter hosted a very...

Pineapple Lumps, The Troubadour and Two Internet Ladies

2009-05-02T23:28:11-04:00

New Zealand is a land of interesting sights, sounds and connections. As you motor along, you discover things like this: And also like this: To this day, I do not know why I am so fascinated by this product, which...

The Blue Pearl of a Place

2009-04-27T23:53:15-04:00

Eastern philosophers believe there is a small blue light that lives inside each of us. Some say it exists in the head; others, the heart. Through this little orb there is a gateway to something so much bigger than we...

Graceland, New Zealand

2009-04-18T16:00:26-04:00

In 2005, while motoring through Texas, I stopped to use a restroom located in the city hall of a small town. Upon entering the vestibule of the building, I noticed a long display case with a glass front, similar to...

New Zealand Easter Sunday 2009

2009-04-12T02:19:14-04:00

Quote from New Zealand poet James Keir Baxter (June 29, 1926—October 22, 1972), etched on stone and placed in the water of Wellington Harbor. Happy Easter, everyone.

Wellington, NZ: Pizza from Hell, Andrew's Life, and Fidel's on Cuba Street

2009-04-04T05:20:51-04:00

Journal Entry -- 25 March 2009: "Arrived in Wellington late this afternoon. At the bus station, we found a cab driver from the Czech Republic who transported us to the i-Site Tourist center, complaining that the locals, and the Brits,...

New Zealand: Taking the Bus

2009-03-31T15:21:55-04:00

Seems to me when you visit a place, the more money you spend, the further away you place yourself from the folks who live there. That means it is time to take the bus to your next destination. When I...

Auckland: Illegal Boots, Plato's Phone, Ambassador Jason and Hillary's Axe

2009-03-31T04:33:24-04:00

On late May 1953, at the age of 33, Edmund Percival Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. These days, Sir Edmund would have trouble bringing back boots...

New Zealand: Getting There, British Broiled Tomatoes and Civil Engineers

2009-03-25T03:14:45-04:00

Way back in June 2006, I wrote about a proposed quest to New Zealand. Now, almost three years later, am there. Had to leave Walt in Canyon Lake, Texas at a place where the lady Jane grooms dogs and allows...

Tubkin Tendencies and Gillen's Irish Dinner

2009-03-16T22:25:12-04:00

As many of you know, the Gillen Coat of Arms is the Knife and Fork. When glancing through a Gillen family photo album, one sees images of Gillens captured in their middle -age, dancing and schmoozing at family gatherings. After...

Hank, Stan and The Language Lab

2009-02-23T23:20:20-05:00

Having spent a bit of time in Texas now, one can't help but notice that many people speak Spanish here. Good for them. Wish I could. Learning a foreign language. Not one of my accomplishments in life. It was a...

Girl with Blue Eyes

2009-02-04T22:51:27-05:00

Some of my pals on Facebook (also known as "Crackbook...you cannot stop!")...Quinn, Kent, Kath...have been tagging me lately. "Tell us 25 random things about yourself so we can get to know you better." I immediately shut the computer down, took...

The Well

2009-02-03T11:27:16-05:00

In Celtic belief, wells are sacred places, thresholds between the inner world of spirit, and the outer world of people. These deep holes that cradle water are special apertures through which divinity flows. Those who seek belief walk around a...