The Conductor's watch......

James Foley was a quiet man.....a man who loved his job as a conductor

on the Lehigh Valley.  A wife and two sons waited faithfully each time

James went out on a route....meandering through the beautiful hills near

Shortsville, N.Y.... into Pennsylvania.... and home again.

But on one tragic afternoon in October of 1944, his train jumped the

tracks near Allentown, taking the lives of this quiet man and

twelve others.

His conductor's watch and company notebook, both prized

possessions would eventually be returned to his family.

The circumstances of his birth, death, the watch...were all

intertwined. 

His eldest son Edward, the recipient of the watch, would for many

future years be in amazement of his father, his watch, the time,

the circumstances.

'The Conductor's Watch', it's story number 20, page 75 in the

new book Tales Unleashed.

The renewal of Easter.....let it touch you.

Before Sunday arrives, or even then, give a call or visit a shut- in next door,

a person in a long-term care facility...maybe a widow or widower who is

challenged daily....you'll brighten that persons day... and you'll be rewarded 1,000 times!



Coming up next week, information about my broadcast on Saturday eve.

May 4th via my phone to the mysterious mountains of Wild British

Columbia, Canada... it'll be a great night. 

About those old metal markers..

If you've ever wandered through an old cemetery, from time to time you

will come upon a grave marker that is quite different. The marker is metal,

 has a blueish tint to it, and in most instances, has weathered very well.

In old cemeteries, you may find more than one... they are very special

markers as they were only produced during a certain time in our history.

The marker I'm speaking of here, appears on the front over of Tales

Unleashed and is in the Five Corners Cemetery in Jasper, N.Y.....the

place we used to frequent when we were kids.

Below is some information on those markers.  The next time you go

for a walk....take a look, there's a good chance you'll run across one.

         “White Bronze” grave markers are actually made from zinc. The fancy white

bronze name was a marketing ploy to make the zinc material sound more attractive.

The white bronze markers came from the Monumental Bronze Company, Bridgeport,

 Connecticut and its later subsidiaries. The markers were sold nationwide. General

 time frame for these markers is 1870's to 1912. 

         The colors can be pale grey to a very pale baby blue. The markers are hollow so

there will be vertical seams at the corners. There are stories of how gardeners hid

garden tools in tall white bronze monuments and how outlaws hid their loot in them. 

         Sometimes poor quality repairs are made to zinc markers by using steel screws,

 usually as replacements for missing screws. The steel screws can rust and cause

discoloration. These zinc markers have stood the test of time better than their

neighboring contemporary stone markers eaten away by lichens and mosses.

Fascinating uh?  Have a great week everyone, thanks for stopping by. SS

Fortunes told?

If you've ever been to a county or state fair....I'm sure you have run

across at least one sign that invited you into a dark tent to have your

fortune told. Are they just 'side show' attractions..... or may there be

something to that 'talent' that they claim?  Good questions, both.

Two short stories in Tales Unleashed both deal with this ancient

ritual. In chapter 8, the Reading; a young couple go for a reading

that will in a few months come to fruition.  And in chapter 16,

the Fortune Teller's Marble; a young boy who orders a mysterious

piece of glass through the mail and it produces more than he intended.

Two families, different circumstances, but both now completely

convinced that such powers do actually exist.

Tales Unleashed, from Book Stand Publishing.

(after any of my writings you may leave a comment at the end..
just open 'no comments', then leave yours!)

Billy's touch with the past....

Did you ever feel that you may have lived in a past time?  Or maybe

at least been a visitor in another time....far from where you now

exist?

Can the physical possibly cross that gap of time itself? 

The dimension of time and space... concepts that are very

perplexing indeed. Young Billy Anderson at the tender age of

nine had recurring nightmares of being injured in an accident

in a big city, far far away... a place he had never been to before

in his young life.

It wasn't until a new injury would make everyone involved

think intently about the possibilities of time, space and travel.

"Billy's touch with the past", it's story number 27 in Tales

Unleashed out now.

Tales Unleashed in the UK

Just heard from my funeral director friend Peter Abraham in

Bristol, UK that his copy just arrived! He was gracious enough to

put a short video about it on my Facebook page....you can go

there and give a quick listen.

Peter did a wonderful review last year on Undertakings of an

Undertaker, and I'm looking forward to his comments after he

finishes Tales Unleashed....

by the way, last week I mentioned an upcoming appearance on

Spaced Out Radio in Canada...we've got a date confirmed....

I'll share the information here in the next couple of days...

Enjoy the weather this weekend... we might finally be there...

we can hope anyway!  S

Thanks Nomis Publications..

I want to thank Peggy at Nomis Publications of Youngstown, Ohio 

for the write-up this month in their publication. Nomis is the largest

death care monthly going to over 20,000 funeral related businesses,

funeral homes and crematories. Each month they keep those involved

in the business up to date on products, industry trends, ownership

changes, etc.  Peggy has been a big supporter since Undertakings was

published four years ago....she is tops at what she does!