A Canadian broadcast soon..

Sat. May 4th...midnight Eastern time, I'm with Spaced out Radio of British Columbia, Canada..

 it's hostess on weekends is Tess Nicole Thomas..

The broadcast is live and is Canada's premier late night talk show with over a 140,000

listening in nightly..we'll be talking about Tales Unleashed of course! (And maybe a little

bit of Undertakings as well.) 

Fifty six years ago, March 5th.....

'Remembering Patsy and her friends'...

 

What can you say about Patsy Cline? Words cannot describe her unmatched

talent. Her incredible career in the recording industry and live performing

touched thousands of people in the late 50’s and early 60’s.  Her biggest years

were from 1957-1963, she was putting out hit after hit, packing theaters

across the country and performing on the Grand Ole Opry. If you were one of

the lucky ones out there to have seen her in person… you were truly blessed.

She was the first female country singer to be inducted into the Country Music

Hall of Fame in 1973. Her music touched the soul, whether you were a country

music fan or not. Sweet Dreams, Crazy, She’s Got You, the list is endless. We

lost her crystal clear voice when she was just thirty years old, and we were all

cheated because of her untimely death. Play her music, remember her, and

pass it on……

Cowboy Copus, a young man from Ohio who started is music career while

appearing on local radio stations, as so many entertainers did fifty years ago.

A member of the Grand Ole Opry, Copus was known as the Country Gentleman

of Song. He was a solid entertainer who played the circuits of fairs, country

music halls and special events. His hits included Signed, Sealed and Delivered,

Tennessee Waltz and Alabam. His band was known as the Gold Star Rangers.

Cowboy Copus was just 50 when he was killed on that foggy, rainy day in March

of 1963.

Hawkshaw Hawkins, born in West Virginia, a country singer who had a rich,

smooth vocal presentation. With a six foot five inch frame, Hawkshaw commanded

the stage when he made an appearance in his spangled outfit and boots. I was

lucky to see him perform at the Steuben County Fair in Bath, NY. My father who

had a country and western band himself loved Hawkshaw and took me to see

Him, I believe it was in August of 1960, perhaps 61.  Hawkshaw performed for

years on WWVA in Wheeling and his signature song was Sunny Side of the Mountain.

In 1962, his biggest hit was released, just three days after his death was

Lonesome 7-7203 and that song was huge for weeks and months to follow.

Hawkshaw was just 42 when he died, but his fans continue to enjoy him. 

Randy Hughes, a session guitarist had met Patsy in 1959 and soon after became

her manager. He was the pilot and owner of the aircraft flying the night of the accident.

Hughes, age 34, was also the son-in-law of Cowboy Copus. Hughes did hold

a private pilot’s license but did not have an instrument rating, so he had to fly by

visual flight rules only. Hughes bought the aircraft in 1962, less than a year before

the day of the fateful crash. He had only logged 44.25 hours in the Piper Comanche

and only had a total of 160.10 hours flight time in his career. 

A very special delivery...

Hazel's husband Henry had gone off to war more than four

decades ago...and, had never returned.  Well into her eighties now,

Hazel continued to keep her modest home out in the country,

a place that was adored by both herself and Henry.

She missed her husband terribly, and had really never been

given details of his death, she had only been told by the war

department that Henry had become missing in action and

could not be accounted for.

Each day, Hazel would spend time at Henry's fine cherry

writing desk...a piece that he had inherited from his mother.

It was Henry's favorite piece of furniture... and Hazel's daily

dusting and polishing of the desk had kept it pristine during

the last fifty years or more.

Today would become one of joy, faith and gratitude...

and it would be delivered by none other than her local

postman Mr. Billings.

'The Letter', it's story number eighteen in the new fiction

short story book Tales Unleashed. You won't want to miss

it.  SS

undertakings@inbox.com

Making the right decision...for yourself

More often than not, when I'm out speaking to different groups...

the most frequently question asked by those in attendance is;

how do I make the right decision about my final disposition?

And that is a a tough question. Ultimately, you and you alone

should have the final say what you want for yourself; burial,

cremation, or donation of remains for research/science.

With cremation rates soaring in the last few year to well over

50% and higher in most states, more people are picking this

option....but many people hate the idea of their or another's body

being destroyed by fire...and then what remains put thru a

machine which pulverizes what is left.  There are religious

considerations as well....

Some people feel it's the 'green' way to go....using less materials

such as wood, concrete, embalming fluids etc...all those latter

things buried to wither away over the ensuing decades .

The most important thing before one passes is to talk to a funeral

director you know AHEAD of time to get all the options...there

are many things to consider...full ground burial in a family plot?

Cremation and burial of cremains in that same plot or

scattering of cremains in the deceased favorite walking path, etc?

Over the years I have divided cremains in small keepsake urns to

split among  the spouse, children, grandchildren etc....that is quite

common today.

The hardest thing in the world is for a family to sit down with a

funeral director at the time of death and to be asked what the family

would like to do....and if the deceased never talked about what

they wanted for themselves... the task is even more daunting!

So, don't be caught in the dilemma....ask ahead of time, make

your wishes known, even in writing if you decide. It's best to

make your own decisions, than to leave the task to others who

really may NOT KNOW what you wanted for yourself.

All makes good sense right?

Whatever you decide...you have a right at the very end of your

life to have it your way....sounds like the Burger King commercial!

Have a great day...pray for a quick arrival of spring...we are due. SS

(After any of my writings, you can scroll down, click on 'no

comments'... then leave one if you like)

All is vanity.....

This illustration by Charles Allan Gilbert was created by him many many
decades ago, and today, still enjoys a large audience...where ever it might
appear.

I for many years had this illustration hanging in my funeral home in Andover,
New York. It was sized at about 10 by 14 inches, framed, and it had many
comments over the years.

If you've never seen it..take a closer look....then step or look away, then look again,
it's most amazing! Which did you see first?

Below is information about Gilbert as seen in wikipedia;

Charles Allan Gilbert (September 3, 1873 – April 20, 1929), better known as C. Allan Gilbert, was a prominent American illustrator. He is especially remembered for a widely published drawing (a memento mori or vanitas) titled All Is Vanity. The drawing employs a double image (or visual pun) in which the scene of a woman admiring herself in a mirror, when viewed from a distance, appears to be a human skull. The title is also a pun, as this type of dressing-table is also known as a vanity. The phrase "All is vanity" comes from Ecclesiastes 1:2 (Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.)^[1] It refers to the vanity and pride of humans. In art, vanity has long been represented as a woman preoccupied with her beauty. And art that contains a human skull as a focal point is called a memento mori (Latin for "remember you will die"), a work that reminds people of their mortality.

It is less widely known that Gilbert was an early contributor to animation, and a camouflage artist (or camoufleur) for the U.S. Shipping Board during World War I.

at Barnes and Noble...

The internet computer world is simply amazing... there are no other words
to describe it's brilliance, depth, but user friendliness as well.

Both of my books; Undertakings and Tales Unleashed are listed now at both
B & Noble and at Amazon.

The picture above shows the books listed at B & Noble. If you go there,
just put my name in the search bar, and the page will appear showing both
publications.....

and the good part: at either B & N or Amazon...you can 'open' up each book
and read the first story, or two or more....to kind of give you a feel about
what each book contains. To this simple farm boy, this is really a marvel
in itself....

My publisher Book Stand has let me know that both books are doing well....
Undertakings continues, now in it's fourth plus year!

Have a great day folks...you can note me at the bottom of each insertion here
just look for .. 'no comments'...click on it...then leave yours !

my direct email is undertakings@inbox.com


Have a great week.  SS

An adventure into the woods...

Emily and Melissa were cousins, and at the age of fifteen, each 

had her own idea of what would come their respective ways later

in life. Emily and her family had moved to Boston, Melissa, a country

girl at heart, remained at home with her folks in Interlaken. Interaken,

a magical little town in the Fingerlakes and resting place for that most

famous writer Rod Serling of  the Twilight Zone.

On one fine day while visiting her cousin Melissa, Emily would be

taken on an expedition to find the remains of a family home that had

been destroyed years before by fire... a fire that took the home and the

three people who lived within it.

Melissa told Emily that the only thing standing was the chimney... and

that she had to see it.....

So the girls set off on their adventure...not quite sure of what they would

encounter....it would be an afternoon of exploring....seeing, experiencing,

wondering and questioning.

'The Forgotten Chimney', it's the last story in the new fiction story book

Tales Unleashed, now at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can read

the first two stories by just opening the book at either of those locations.

Enjoy.  There's more to come. SS