I am constructing a time machine. It’s not a complicated thing. And you may be disappointed to know I don’t have grand plans in store for it. In fact my reason for building it is quite simple. I want to see a certain home at a certain time.
I will park my time machine midway down the block and clamber out. Everything I see will be exactly as I knew it. Old homes will seem modern. Trees will be younger, shorter, thinner. Shrubs newly planted. Cars will be large, boat-like things you see in films from those days, but not gritty like in those films. They will be shiny and new. Or newish, anyway. Anyway, they won’t look like they do in films.
I will walk up the concrete driveway into the garage. There will be unpacked moving boxes on the right, a baby blue Monte Carlo on the left. That junk never gets cleared out. She will always park her car in the garage. He will always park his in the driveway.
The door into the house will open into a tiny hallway, where on the left is the laundry room. The washing machine will be filling itself with a rush of water, and a young woman in her late twenties will be loading clothes into it. She will not see me. She can’t see time travelers. But I will study her young, unlined face, her thin waist, her bell bottom pants, her feathered hair parted in the middle. She may be chewing that gum she liked, and I may catch a whiff of it. She will be younger than I am now.
In the family room is a young boy, cross-legged on the floor watching television. He has long white socks that end below the knees in two blue stripes. His shorts are comically short. His bangs touch his eyebrows. He doesn’t look up from the television. I watch him for several minutes. I am neither bored nor enthralled. I’m just watching it.
I hear the rumble of another engine in the driveway. I pop up from the floor and run to the kitchen. I use a stool to grab a glass. I fill it with ice from the refrigerator. I use the stool again to get the bottle from the cabinet above the sink. I fill the glass to the level I think he likes, then add water.
The young woman who was doing laundry enters the kitchen. She checks on the dinner cooking on the stove. One hand stirs the sauce that is simmering. Another taps a cigarette against an ashtray, then raises the cigarette to her lips. She inhales deeply. She blows smoke into the fan whirring above the stove. She bangs the ladle against the pan.
The door opens and in comes a man in a suit, his tie loose at the collar. As he enters he smells suity and fathery. He is jovial, animated, like an actor walking onto a stage. He is so much of each that it might be false. It’s just a feeling that can’t be explained. He is perhaps happy to be home to his family. He is perhaps not.
I beam as I hand him his Scotch. I aim to please.
I’m most curious to see the look on his face as he takes it. Is it thanks? Shame? Remorse? Blank?
He smells like a dad. He looks like a dad. He acts like a dad. He is not my dad. And I wish he were. And I wish he weren’t.
In time there would be screaming. Crying. Smashing. Doors slamming. Plates breaking. Tires screeching in the driveway as a gas pedal is crushed under foot. An arm in a sling.
But not tonight.
Tonight the four of us will sit at the kitchen table eating dinner. Something on the regular rotation called Burgundy Beef. Tonight I will ask Not-Dad to tell once again that funny story of the family-run restaurant he went to in Europe where the food was brought by a child shorter than the table, when the plates and a bottle of wine seemed to lift themselves up and over the table and slide halfway across before coming to a stop. And I will watch myself laugh so hard I cry. And they will watch me laugh, and they will laugh too. And be so young. And in love. Again. For a short while.
There. You see?
My time machine is complete.
__________________________
Posted to the Weekly Writing Challenge: Time Machine.
You evoked great feelings for this professor through that piece. I loved it! (You definitely need to write a book, Walt.)
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Thank you, Professor. Much appreciated.
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Gorgeous.
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Thank you…that means a lot!
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Your time machine landed on my street, too. There was plenty of plate-throwing and screaming there. Love, too, thankfully. I enjoyed this.
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Plate throwing – not good. Love – very good. Thank you for your comment!
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You are very welcome. Have a safe Friday.
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This story of yours was lovely and made me smile! Thanks for sharing.
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I was expecting a post about old cars and houses, but then you totally changed gears to write this moving post about simpler times. I also wrote a post about my childhood home, more describing the house and neighborhood. http://pezcita.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/my-childhood-home-i-see-for-sale/
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Did kind of shift gears a bit, didn’t it? I will check out your post. Thanks for reading!
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Very nice post!
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Thank you!
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You are welcome!
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I enjoyed looking at your work on on your website. Congratulations on being featured in The Mindy Project!
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Tight writing. Nothing unneeded, yet rich enough to satisfy a hungry psyche. You took me back to my 70s, too: no cigarettes or scotch, just resentful silences and gaping emotional distance, just as addictive, just as cancerous. And those knee socks.
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Thanks for the compliments! Gotta love the knee socks. Go seventies!
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The elaborate skin imprints left behind after peeling those tight socks off in the summertime fascinated me. Like scar rentals.
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You took yours off? I haven’t been able to give mine up!
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Reblogged this on emmadol's Blog.
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Honored to be reblogged. Thank you!
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Yes honored to be reblogged.
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The picture could actually be ME..its looks so similar to pics I have from when my mother was young and taking pics of the family. Great post
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Thanks for reading! Yes, we all kind of looked alike back then, didn’t we?
Enjoyed reading your thoughts on how we’re using cell phones these days. And I love That Metal Show whenever I can catch it, which isn’t very often (I don’t have cable).
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Beautiful.
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Much appreciated. Thank you.
A Fish-a-majig, huh! 🙂
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magnificent.
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Thank you, sir. You seem like a very bright young man. I wish I were as techy as you when I was your age.
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Beautiful.
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Thank you for reading and commenting!
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If only there WERE time machines in which we could do a ‘do over’. Poignant piece. Thanx for sharing.
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Thank you, and here’s to the rebounding clown!
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Beautiful story thank you. Ought to be required reading for anyone who questions the 70’s.
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Thank you. And the Collected Wisdoms of Godfrey are mysterious and intriguing.
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Thanks for cruising “The Collected Wisdom” Walt, what a nice observation, maid my morning!!
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My pleasure.
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Reblogged this on EmiliaAliceinWonderland's Blog and commented:
This post is captivating. So imaginative!
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Thank you for reblogging this – I’m honored. Glad to see you are interested in travel. I hope your journey takes you to many exciting places. There is no better way to learn about the world and how you fit into it than by visiting as much of it as you can.
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You’re most welcome. Your writing inspires me. I am only 18, but fascinated by creativity and its work like this that makes me anticipate an exciting future doing something I like. Keep up the good work.
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Do us both a favor, if you would. Write down what you said in your comment there about being fascinated by creativity and what it means for your future. Write it down and put it somewhere where it won’t get lost. Or put it somewhere you think you might find it when you least expect it to. Put it behind glass that says “in case of emergency, break glass.” I promise you, at some point in your future, you will be moved when you come across that comment of yours unexpectedly. Plant that thing somewhere where you will find it. Also, eat your vegetables. Just kidding about the vegetables. I don’t care what you eat. Eat popcorn and donuts for dinner. But do that other thing! 🙂
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since i followed your blog please follow mine at
http://www.jeremyamrithlay.wordpress.com
as i have entered to a blogging competition and i desperately need followers.
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I like the layout of your blog, very sharp looking!
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Reblogged this on rohitkupa's Blog.
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Reblogging is a big compliment, thank you.
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Like you, I would love to time travel back to the past just to live again all those wonderful feelings about days that have gone by. I to have written a blog about time travel and asked the question which way would you travel? I was surprised that most said they would travel into the future and the unknown. But for me, it would always be the past so I could relive those cherished moments again. Maybe I could borrow your time machine Professor? Thanks for posting about such a fascinating subject.
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Of course you can borrow my time machine! The past is the direction I would prefer to go, too. I know what’s back there, where I want to go, and what to avoid.
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Reblogged this on Welcome to Hugh's Views & News and commented:
I know I keep harping on about time travel, but I just had to reblog this from another fellow blogger. Fascinating stuff which took me right back to my childhood in the 60’s and 70’s. I still say I’d much rather take a trip back to the past if I had a time machine. What about you, which way would you travel?
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Thank you. I enjoyed your whats-the-problem-with-saturday-mornings“> post. Also, your shopping rules should be top of mind for all. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
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Reblogged this on shane bolitho and commented:
This is truly great writing. Thank you, Waltbox.
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Thank you. Just visited your site and found myself really enjoying your music posts. Haven’t seen that video for Say It Ain’t So since it came out. Watching it in conjunction with reading your comments, I had ideas for at least two if not three potentially heartbreaking and/or uplifting posts. If only I’d been quick enough to get them down on paper, like in your tag line! Maybe I can reconstruct one later and capture some of what I just felt. If you see it pop up here, you will know what inspired it.
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Going back, knowing what we know now, wouldn’t that be fun. Although it could also be dangerous, think about the effects of time-line changes; frightening. Great imagery though!
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It would be fun, wouldn’t it? Could be risky, too. What’s neat about building your time machine with words, though, is that you are in control. I share some of your frustration with what is happening here in the States.
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I love that last paragraph – the story-telling at a dinner table has become a lost art I fear.
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It has, hasn’t it? That was a true story, by the way. It made me laugh so hard I asked him to tell it again another time, and he did, maybe even better than the first time. He was a good story teller. Part of what I felt was his “actor on a stage” vibe.
Thanks very much for reading and commenting.
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If anyone reading enjoys a good rip of a bad movie, check out David H. Schleicher’s Oh Noah He Didn’t!
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Nicely done. I was just looking at old pics from the 60s with my mom in the home I grew up in. Memories.
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Thanks! You know, my favorite old family pics are never of me. I may be in them, but I’m much more interested in pictures of other family members, especially my parents and grandparents – when they were young, where the lived, etc. I find it fascinating.
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Loved reading this : )
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Thank you! I enjoyed Spread Your Wings. Writing is like that, isn’t it?
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Thank you, it certainly is! : )
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🙂
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Great post. I usually skim until I move on to other posts/blogs. But you trapped me with this story! Reminds me of a movie — About Time. We need to treasure life’s moment! Thank you!
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If I trapped you, I’m pleased. It’s a good thing, right? Keep working on that platform! Sounds like you’ve got more of a foundation in place than you might think!
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pure and unadulterated innocence drips from your story… keep it up.
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What’s great about what we are doing is that you can read what I have to say here in my country and I can read what you have to say in yours. I appreciated getting to read Belief War in India. It’s not all pure and unadulterated innocence around here, though. You’ll get that in my Children’s Stories, but I do like to work dark at times. 😉
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i believe we live in dark times where innocence is lost in the blink of an eye.. I’m just happy to read your post, even for a brief few minutes i was transported back to the innocent times… Its a rare gift you have there… Share the magic of your writing… Take car
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Thanks for your kind words. Yes, innocence can be stripped away all too quickly these days. We should protect it when we can.
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This is so cool!! I love it!!
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Thanks Big Dave! You haven’t said much on your blog yet but I have a feeling that your personality will make some folks smile when you do!
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Thanks so much for that Wait!! I love your blogs they are awesome!! I have more coming and I hope to be as awesome as yours.
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I’m looking forward to it, Big Dave!
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Back to a happy place – set my own time machine imagining 🙂
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Thanks for reading and commenting! Your post After the Parade reminds me of the time I accidentally took a trip to New Orleans during Mardi Gras. I’ve never seen such a beautiful city get so trashed!
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Thanks for the link Walt 🙂
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My pleasure.
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Beautiful piece. i love how you handled this DP challenge. pure evocative brilliance
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Thank you so much for your kind words. I liked The Hangover IV. Everyone is forewarned, no more excuses!
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True story! Thanks for stopping by and i’m thrilled you enjoyed it 🙂
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Absolutely!
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since i have followed your blog please follow mine at http://www.jeremyamrithlay.wordpress.com as i hv enterd for a blogging competition and desperately need followers
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Reblogged this on BBali868’s Daily Shout and commented:
I want a time machine!!!
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Great story!! Reblogged
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Thanks for reblogging, that’s quite a compliment! I found this post of yours to be impactful. Thank you!
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Such an Amazing post! It really created a vivid image in my head!
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Thanks so much for reading and commenting! I’m glad I got inside your head! Is that creepy? Probably. Anywho, I sincerely thank you!
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Pingback: My Time Machine | CoolZone
sigh
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Thanks for reading and commenting, Sheila. I found your comments in Charlotte’s Web very moving. Your mother is very lucky to have a loving, caring daughter.
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I would have done a lot of things different in my past if I had a time machine. That’s for sure! Great article.
dailyquizquestion.wordpress.com
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Thanks for reading and commenting. Your Daily Quiz site is an interesting concept I haven’t seen before. If you had to pick only one thing to have done differently, what would it be?
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I love this story, it really made me think about my childhood.
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I’m writing AtoZ “Things My Husband Has Broken” http://AMomsPointOfView.com
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Now, I am a husband, and I too break things, so perhaps I should be offended. I kind of want to be offended. But I’m not. It’s hilarious that your A to Z challenge is entirely about things your husband has broken. I broke a ceiling once too. Or at least had a ceiling and was involved in the breaking of it. They make those things way too easy to fall through!
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My husband thinks its funny I’m writing about him, he even reminds me of stories that I might want to write about. We both have a good sense of humor.
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I’m in awe of you and others who can do the post-a-day challenge. I find a post a week to be a challenge! Looking forward to reading about the other things he’s broken.
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What did it make you think?
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why not continue the story chapter by chapter. my blog has many stories from the fifties which i think was the golden age of small town america. your story is from the late ’60’s seen through the eyes of a 12 year old boy?? it was an interesting period of time, on the cusp between the age of innocence and the cumulation of all that is today beginning with robert kennedy being killed, the viet nam war, martin luther king, etc. etc. by the way was the picture taken in florida? the architecture of the house in back of the boy (you) looks identical to homes built during the late 50’s in southwest florida mostly for retirees. this picture wasn’t taken in port charlotte, florida was it? ks
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I agree that the 40s and 50s seemed to be the Golden Age, and not just for small towns but for the country as a whole. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to live through the turbulence of the 60s. I wasn’t 12 until much later than that, but I think my choice of picture has confused things a bit. I used this picture because it was the only one I had. This house was a rental my mother lived in prior to moving into the house I write about in the post. That’s my step-dad-to-be’s car in the driveway. They both had 1975 (maybe 76?) Monte’s Carlos when they met, believe it or not. And no, this was not in Florida but in Texas, There are some homes here in Ohio that look just like these, too. Thanks for reading!
I enjoyed your post on writing and am curious to see where your story about first love is headed.
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All if us have memories that we wish to go back to.
And relive it. Again and again.
Your blog showed me I am not alone in wanting the past
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Thank you! Your time travel piece was very clever. And I understand how you feel when you cross that threshhold of your home.
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That was a nice piece. I’m just starting to get into blogging. Haven’t done anything just yet. Your piece is the first I’ve read and followed. Very impressive! Thank you. Remember when I was growing up.
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Honored to be first! Looking forward to seeing how your blog develops.
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Reblogged this on jlymedina.
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Actually, I just reblogged it : -) Awesome
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Awesome that you reblogged. Thank you!
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Quite welcome. Truly enjoyed the Time Machine
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Reblogged this on stunningbrownie.
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Thanks for reblogging! Looking forward to seeing where you go with your blog.
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Reblogged this on Best Of and commented:
Love this post, Great job!
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Tons of great stuff on your site. So many categories and all full of rich content…Patrick Stewart in a lobster suit, Icelandic reggae, Bob Ross’s afro, classic movies. I could get lost there for hours. I’m honored to be a part of it. Thank you!
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Glad you are enjoying it:) I also have a photography and creative writing blog over at Oreosandspiltmilk.. I loved the post so it got shared and it inspired me. I also stopped by and looked around your blog, I loved it so followed. Looking forward to more posts:)
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I will be sure to check out your other sites as well.
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You conjured up great memories for me as writing this piece must have brought up strong feelings for you. I liked it very much, and the subjects you choose for your posts. Very impressed. Good luck.
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Very stong feelings indeed. Thanks for reading and commenting. You have some beautiful guitar tracks posted on your blog.
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Thanks, Walt, for your kind comments on My Music and Why I Write. I want to dig deeper into your previous posts – most look so interesting. … ps Art trivia here: I used to be an art teacher (in my previous life(s)). The Chekov portrait you post looks like a Thomas Eakins. Is it? … Have a good writing day.
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I believe it’s Osip Braz, “Portrait of Anton Chekhov.” I will pop in to your site, too. I’m curious about your book!
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I like your time machine, I have a similar one. Sometimes, I go on it for hours. It is important not to forget the past. This was a beautiful text. Keep on writing my friend.
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Thanks so much for your encouraging comments. I’m envious of you getting to work around the globe. I would be curious to know what small corner of that globe you’ve chosen to call home now, but maybe you wish to keep it secret? Thanks for reading!
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Reblogged this on confusedrandomly.
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Thanks for reblogging. “First!”
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This just brought me wistful thoughts and bittersweet feelings. Thanks for this!
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And for your post on fishing in today’s world. I haven’t gone in years, but I have fond memories of fishing with my grandfather as a child. You make it seem almost more like an art form, which in a way it really is.
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If you ever get the time, consider going on a fishing trip again. You might be transported in time yet again 🙂
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I will, sir! I am reminded of A River Runs Through It. Have you seen that film?
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Reblogged this on stantondinger and commented:
Love this guy’s style.
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Thanks for reblogging. Interested to see how your site will develop.
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Wonderful. Just great.
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Thanks, Alastair! Am I right in thinking you are in Barcelona? Is it wonderful?
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I am indeed in Barcelona, Walt, and it is fabulous. In winter, you can take a train ride up to the mountains (the Pyrenees) and in summer you can hop on the metro and go to the beach. The city itself is a work of art with Modernista Gaudi architecture all over the place. Settling here wasn’t easy by any means, but my gosh it was worth it!
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Spain is the place in Europe I haven’t been and most want to go. Do you teach? I taught English in Poland for a year. Loved, loved, loved it. Living there, I mean. The teaching was okay, but difficult for an introvert like me.
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Reblogged this on navjeetgautam.
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Thanks for reblogging. Looking forward to what you will do with your site.
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http://earn4doingJob.com/?job=1978
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I was caused to remember my time machine. It is funny how we forget the parts we have blocked out and remember just what we want to remember. Every vacation looks great and the bad stuff never happened.
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Thanks for your comments, sir.
Your post on Men in War touches on some issues we need to address within our society still.
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Very nice…. Gripping…. Loved it…. U should really try your hand at writing a good novel or book… haha… and then I’ll be the first one to read it… good one
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Thanks so much for your kind words. I’m glad you liked it. I popped over to your blog and found your post on God though-provoking. I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating some of those issues myself.
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wonderful! My blog is my time machine…..
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Thank you! I enjoyed your thoughts on Facebook Begone! I agree!
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Reblogged this on sweetserendipityxoxo.
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Thanks for reblogging! Butterfies that light up would be great. I had a dream about flying with Peter Pan as kid once. Late afternoon walks are great, and so is paddling a canoe, but 6 am is just a bit too early for me!
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I find your page and posts interesting. I just thought 6am would be the best time to catch the sunrise. ^_^
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Yes, hard to catch it if you’re not there while it’s going up. Once it’s gone it’s gone, no matter how fast you paddle.
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Awseome
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Thanks much! What will your bear be raging out about?
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Check out another “funny memes” blog. http://www.itslol.wordpress.com 🙂
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Several of those made me laugh!
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Thankyou. Appreciated your comment 🙂
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Sir I’ve a question…can i ask?
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Okay.
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Pingback: The Buffer Post | waltbox
Really enjoyed this, although I’m not from a time when cars looked like boats, still made me think and remember my childhood. I agree with the professor you should write a book!
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Thanks very much for your kind words. The Professor is a hoot, you should check out his blog. I checked out yours. I had no idea there was something called BMR or NEAT. I wonder how many calories I am burning hunched over this tablet device on my desk.
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Reblogged this on myneverendings and commented:
Resonates….
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Thank you! I like that your bucket list is not about you!
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U Brough me back on my time machine:(
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Fine, You are Genius!
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Wait till you read my post about monster cereals.
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Reblogged this on kingbrando1313 and commented:
Great blog, actually one of the greates i ever read
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I just had to reblogg I mean I read this thing 5 times just to see the images of a good man traveling back to easier times. At points I wish I was born back then when we had nothing to fear thank you walt
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Thanks for your kind words and for reblogging.
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Well, that was pretty good right there.
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The folks-iness of that comment makes it one of my favorites! Thank you for making my day!
I enjoyed your post on Southwest Airlines. These days, relationship-building is more critical in business-to-business sales than ever. No one wants to be sold to, but they are be interested in mutually beneficial partnerships.
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Thanks! Sometimes the best response to eloquence is to just not try to keep up, I find. 😉 Glad to have stumbled upon your blog. Keep up the good work!
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This one on Nirvana was good too.
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it is just ….ummm…what can I say….WONDERFUL
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Thank you. Good luck with your new blog. Your discussion of veerta was interesting.
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Sorry for replying so late but thank you so much Mr.Walker 🙂
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Reblogged this on bosslandylady and commented:
When the stories aren’t stories but the truth……..the time machine is a way of reviewing within being back in there
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Thanks for reblogging. Lots of interesting content on your site, like this one on whether blogging is the best use of one’s time. A question I’ve been asking myself a bit recently.
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Congratulation on being freshly pressed
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Thank you! I read your post, Pure Land – your time machine is much better than mine.
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You are most welcome. Thank you for your generosity, The better one is on freshly pressed i believe 🙂
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Minimalistic yet affective.
Your choice of words are just perfect, no excess of either sugar or spice.
Btw The father figure is intriguing
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Thank you for your comments. I found Kudoka’s Blog intriguing. I appreciate getting glimpses into your perspectives on books, film, and events, whether it’s your take on Se7en or Catch 22, or what’s going on in my country or yours.
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Walt,
Just wanted to update you. Today marks my first day of official blogging. My first week’s blogs (3) went up this morning. I hope you’ll peruse when you get a chance. I’ll post two to three new posts a week (under the blog names “Stories From Maybe Boomer,” “Remember This?” and “The Daily Thought.” Also, I am now an official follower of your site.
Being such a newbie, feel free to mention any goofs you see on my blogs or give any tips. I’m assuming so far my website hasn’t exploded.
Mike Andberg
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Well, you already look like pro. Your first posts are way better than mine were!
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Beautiful! Love it!
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Thank you. Your blog has some thought provoking pieces, too. We can only ever know what someone else has meant to us. This post made me wonder what it would be like to climb inside someone’s head and find out what we meant to them, and to see ourselves from their perspective.
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Really glad you liked it!
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Loved the story and enjoyed all the comments too.
It is so strange looking back at our younger selves and imagining the re-write if we only knew then, what we know now. So many conversations with my Dad, would have been different. Sometimes, I have those conversations and visits from the past in my dreams. Thank you for sharing your writing and being a mentor too. I loved what you told the 18 yr old writer about capturing her intention and fascination for creativity, “Put it behind glass that says In Case of Emergency, Break Glass.”
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Wow, you read all those comments? Thanks for noticing that one you noticed. I was a little afraid I’d overstepped on that one. Why the Butterfly Orbits the Moon is one of the most beautiful titles for anything I’ve ever come across.
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Pingback: Shared from WordPress | jlrichards2014's Blog
it was very nice post.
uparekh
http://vajajewelry.com/
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Thanks for visiting and commenting.
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Very descriptive. I saw a part of me growing up in your piece. Thanks for letting me borrow your time machine!
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My pleasure. Thanks so much for reading and commenting.
Bill collectors beware The Ghost!
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Brilliant! Poignant. Beautifully written.
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Thank you for visiting and commenting. Your blog looks like a great resource for teachers and crafty parents. I was a substitute teacher for a very short time and have a lot of respect for people who have dedicated themselves to that important and difficult mission.
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Thank you, Walt. Teaching was the perfect occupation for me; tapped into my creative side and the hugs and smiles “made” each day.
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Reblogged this on Snehal Raibole.
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Thanks for reblogging!
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Pingback: The free ticket. (Time Machine Challenge) | chey being
I liked your time machine. I go through mine when I miss my dad.
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I miss my dad, too. Thanks for reading.
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I like this story, it has an element of true remembrance of times past we carry in our own head but few ever get to write it down. I have written my own story now, at he of 76, this to pass on to son and the next generation. You should write more.
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Thank you for reading and commenting. Seems we have a similar need to share elements of our past.
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I remember your real dad – a funny guy with a very dry humor. He always dated the prettiest girls, including your mother. He sent great gifts from Europe; interesting things that weren’t sold in the US. He was beginning to get thinner hair when I knew him, but his humor never grew thin. He loved music and cats and named the cats after musicians. Rimsky-Korsakov and R-K the second. He was kind and smart and we all loved him. And then he moved away and we grew up. So sad – now I’m old and you’re all grown up!
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Hi Cara, and thank you, I appreciate the comment and the kind words. My dad continued to love and adopt cats, in fact Phoebe, his last, is still living with us, my wife and I. She is a black cat, but he called her Phoebe Snow, after the train. Made no sense to me to name a black cat ‘snow’, but I’m sure it was more about the train than the snow!
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