Setting a new goal...

Time. A most interesting commodity. We never have enough
of it.....you can't keep it in a bank like you do with those
coins you earn every day....but you can squander it ....
and once it's 'clicked' by....you can't recall it.

Each year passes more quickly than the one before it.
Remember when your parents told you not to wish
your life away... to just enjoy being a kid?  Little did
we know back then that they indeed did know what they
were talking about. Each one of us is that 'blade of grass'
which will soon wither away and return from which
we came.  Time guarantees that for sure.

Is it our dilemma? Not at all. Spending our precious
time is an action that we need to apply well.
Choose the right people and the correct situations
that will give you the most joy. The time you spend
there will be an investment in your happiness and
self worth.

Winding the clock as we begin 2017 should give
us all some thought about the new year.
Forget the resolutions. Set a couple of small
goals that you know you can reach and will
give you joy.

Give thought to your mom and dad. Whether
they are still with you or not....if not for them,
you would not be here to again wind that
clock.  Time. Keep track of it. Don't let it
slip away while you aren't looking.

In a few days... I'll be re-posting a pretty spooky tale I wrote in July.
'A skate on strange ice' seems very appropriate right now with the
weather upon us. If you're a new found friend and reader, get back
for it. It will make you pay attention the next time you go out for
a skate.  Stay safe all.

'On Undertakings'....

It's been 21 months since the release of Undertakings of an
Undertaker; true stories of being laid to rest.  I want to
thank all of you who have supported me in this huge project.
It's been a 'real ride' so far, and more work ahead for
Undertakings, and a projected finish of book number two
in a few months.

If you haven't read Undertakings, here is a sampling of
some of the Amazon reviews. Again, thank you all
and the best to you in the new year!

Format: Paperback

Excellent! Have ordered extra copies for friends through Amazon. Eye-opening stories on the art of laying loved ones to rest from the perspective of a true professional. So often we take for granted the people who provide critical services during crises in our lives. This author shares experiences that honor the rituals and respect involved with a person's final journey. The author breaks the barrier that funerals are "all about the money" and shows how caring for the dead really is a very personal commitment to respect the rituals that have evolved over time. Some good humor here too! Provides a great opportunity to reflect in your own personal destination and how you would want your story to be told! A great read....

A very interesting book. Whenever I had to put the book down, I couldn't wait to get back to it. Mr. Swan comes through as a very sensitive and caring man. He mentions the victims of 9/11 and Katrina, but does so with the utmost respect. He participated in both, and relates how he was sent to help out. They are all different stories and they are all pretty interesting. He relates the mortuary business from a very humane side and every once in awhile he relates a story with humor, once again with respect. Loved it!

This book was written with a lot of feeling, clearly this is a man who loves his work and makes a difference in the lives of others. Enjoyable.

It was an interesting depiction of life behind the curtains of the funeral business, also had humor which made it more lighthearted I really enjoyed it!!!

Loved it! Some of the stories were hilarious and others made you go "hum". I highly recommend it

Short episodes giving insight into the unusual activities behind the scenes at a small town funeral parlor. Some humorous, some thought provoking, but always with decorum.

2017...an exciting year!

'Merry Christmas' !

As we end 2016, let's not forget those who are less
fortunate then ourselves.... those that may be alone
for the holidays...and those men and service women
who are serving far away from the families.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Come back in January for some great new stories I'll be offering.. and a 'tease' about the new book which hopefully will be out mid-2017.

Enjoy your family and friends and renew those
old friendships that have gone astray... they are
a real blessing in these forever changing times!

'The letter'....

            a tale by Stanley Swan

Hazel was getting on in years now….how fast the last four decades had passed.  Now in her 80’s, her eye sight failing along with most of her joints, it was a daily chore for Hazel to get down the two front steps to check her mail box. Her neighbor had offered to move the box up to her door step, but Hazel refused…. the box was one of the last things her husband Henry had done at the house before he went off to war.  It was only

a few months after that task had been completed that Henry had been lost in the war….

missing in action they said.  She remembers the day the army car with the minister came

to her front door, bearing the bad news, a day she relived every day at 2:30 when the

old clock on the wall struck it’s chime.  Forty years later, and no news had ever come

about Henry’s whereabouts….it was such a hard pill to swallow. 

From time to time Hazel would go to her writing desk that she shared with Henry and

look over his glorious stamp collection. He was so fond of it. He had started collecting

as a youngster, and had amassed a collection of hundreds of first editions, which he

had proudly put in little folders and labeled with their acquisition dates.  His fondest

stamps were of the Curtiss Jenny, a two wing airplane that had made history when he

was just a teenager. He had ten of those stamps, and he said he would never part with

them.  Hazel smiled sweetly every time she thumbed through Henry’s collection, feeling

a closeness to him, even though he had been gone just shy of four decades now.

It was late in the morning, and Hazel had enjoyed her usual cup of tea while waiting for

Mr. Billings the mailman to arrive on his daily rounds. As Hazel dusted around her

modest possessions and thought about what she might cook for supper later in the

day, she was startled by the sharp alarm of the door bell.  Very few called upon her

and she moved as quickly as she could toward the front door…her eyes trying to pierce

the screen door in an attempt to recognize who might be calling.

“Oh it’s you Mr. Billings, please come in” Hazel said as the older gentleman tipped his

hat and acknowledged her invitation. “What can I help you with Mr. Billings?”

“Well Ma’am I wanted to come by and give you this letter and apologize on behalf

of the postal service… it seems that this letter somehow has been lost or misplaced

for a very very long time….and I….”   His speech suddenly halted as he extended the

envelope to Hazel, she reaching with a frail left arm to accept it.

“Good day Ma’am” said Billings, he turned and very quietly let himself out the front

door. 

Hazel walked softly to the writing desk, lowered the desk top front and sat down to

examine the piece. It was old, very old, and faded.

The envelope was now brown and dark, wrinkled and warped. Her breath was taken

away when she looked closely at the handwriting…… it was handwriting that she had seen

so many times and was most familiar.… the script had been written by her beloved Henry.

She wanted to rip it open and read it immediately, but just savoring the script was enough

for right now….opening would come in time. Hazel tried to examine the cancellation date, but

the ink was all faded, un-readable, but the stamp looked out of place….it looked almost new,

in sharp contrast to the envelope which held it in place.  Maybe the post office put a new

stamp on to make it ‘right’ for her after such a delay. 

But looking closer, Hazel recognized this stamp….it was the Curtiss Jenny… that stamp that

Henry loved so much.  Her mind raced quickly, remembering the ten Curtiss Jenny’s that

Henry had in his collection. 

Hazel pulled out Henry’s stamp book… flipped thru those wonderful pages until she

found his Curtiss Jenny’s.  But upon counting closely from left to right, Hazel only

found nine, not ten.  The spot for number ten was bare…… but number ten was

not lost in the folder, or anywhere in the desk… it was now affixed to this last piece

of mail which Hazel now clutched next to her heart. As tears streamed down her face,

she thanked God for her Henry, and this last delivery that was so so special indeed.

Hazel decided that tonight after supper, she would open the envelope and re-discover

the man she had loved, lost, and now just found.

'Time expired'.....

Over the years I've seen some pretty interesting headstones
in literally scores of cemeteries. They ranged from the
 very simple to the very flamboyant, from a simple oak
 board marker to an inventive and creative marble stone.
When traveling out of state, which was very infrequent,
 I would try to drive through some of the older cemeteries
 to explore and be amazed by the sights you would see.
You can tell a lot about a person sometimes just by the
kind of marker that sits over their grave site.

From the serious to the humorous...many people have etched
their way into 'marker history' by the inscriptions rendered.

A small lamb or angel decorating a child's grave... as if to keep
watch over the little one tucked in below. A bench at the head
of the grave to give visitors a place to sit and 'chat' with their
loved one's.....what a nice idea. The one pictured here, the
expired parking meter has been seen many times around the
country.. and was once used I know by a lady who actually
retired as a meter maid... she thought it would be very
fitting to mark her grave to reflect her many years spent in
the profession.  I haven't seen a a granite donut on a grave yet,
but for those who are obsessed with such in life...it is
possible that that too may someday appear.

The big craze in the last few years is the addition of solar
cemetery lights.  They are indeed fantastic. We put one on
our mother's grave in 2001.. and it is still functioning nicely,
giving a soft glow and friendly appearance as soon as the
sun goes down.

With Christmas coming up...it's a sacred visit to make. If
your cemetery allows, take a small wreath or simple
artificial flower to adorn a loved one's grave....you'll
be overwhelmed with the feelings you'll receive!

You can learn a lot from visiting a cemetery. It's not the
mall, it's not the local pizza joint or sports arena.
It's a place you can discover, remember, honor, and
even learn a great deal. You might even 'run into' some
one you know there.

Undertaking a tractor...

Here is my 1959 Moto tractor made by Dura Manufacturing of Richmond.
Information about it's history is very scarce, and I'm told it's quite
valuable as few were made and/or survived....

So, it's off to the step sons for complete restoration, paint, motor, the
works... should be a good winter project and ready to take to some
shows maybe next summer.... it also has a one bottom plow and a disc
that will have to be addressed.  Ha., and you thought I was a city
slicker didn't you?

Maybe I can somehow find out who owned the tractor and if it has
some ominous story behind it that would fit into my writing site
here... we shall see!

'Remembering Dec. 7th'...

It was a devastating and destructive day in our history when over
2300 service members lost their lives that day in Pearl Harbor.
We should all spend just a bit of time reflecting on that day,
the loss of human life and the chapter it wrote in our
history. Many young people are not even aware of that
brutal attack and it's consequences.  The toppling of the world trade center buildings brought back the shock of what it's like for a nation to be under brutal attack.
Let's pause just a moment this week to give thought to that day.... to the men and women who served, and for so so many that lost their lives there. War is a terrible brutality on the planet.... and let's hope our newly elected president will keep us strong from any eventual conflicts that could result in a similar outcome. Today, give thanks... and may the families still feeling the loss have peace.

'Piercing the veil'...

‘Piercing the veil’…….

The great magician Harry Houdini was a fascinating magician and illusionist. He captivated

audiences not only in the U.S. but abroad. His untimely death on Halloween in 1926 resulted

from an unusual incident days before while performing. For many years Houdini had been

challenged by his family and close followers to ‘bridge the gap’ after death; to make contact

from the great beyond. For years after his death, yearly se’ances were held in hopes of

making contact with Harry, and some with positive results were later debunked as just

fakes. Death was finally the ‘realm’ that Houdini could not escape. His story is a great one

and is briefed here with information from wikipedia. Many books have been written about

the man over the decades, and probably more will be forthcoming.

Harry Houdini died of peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix at 1:26 p.m. on October 31, 1926 in Room 401 at Detroit's Grace Hospital, aged 52. In his final days, he optimistically held to a strong belief that he would recover, but his last words before dying were reportedly, "I'm tired of fighting. Eyewitnesses to an incident at Houdini's dressing room in the Princess Theatre in Montreal gave rise to speculation that Houdini's death was caused by a McGill University student, J. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered a surprise attack of multiple blows to Houdini's abdomen.

Before Houdini died, he and his wife agreed that if Houdini found it possible to communicate after death, he would communicate the message "Rosabelle believe", a secret code which they agreed to use. Rosabelle was their favorite song. Bess held yearly séances on Halloween for ten years after Houdini's death. She did claim to have contact through Arthur Ford in 1929 when Ford conveyed the secret code, but Bess later said the incident had been faked. The code seems to have been such that it could be broken by Ford or his associates using existing clues. Evidence to this effect was discovered by Ford's biographer after he died in 1971. In 1936, after a last unsuccessful séance on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel, she put out the candle that she had kept burning beside a photograph of Houdini since his death. In 1943, Bess said that "ten years is long enough to wait for any man."

The tradition of holding a séance for Houdini continues, held by magicians throughout the world. The Official Houdini Séance was organized in the 1940s by Sidney Hollis Radner, a Houdini aficionado from Holyoke, Massachusetts.Yearly Houdini séances are also conducted in Chicago at the Excalibur nightclub by "necromancer" Neil Tobin on behalf of the Chicago Assembly of the Society of American Magicians; and at the Houdini Museum in Scranton by magician Dorothy Dietrich, who previously held them at New York's Magic Towne House with such magical notables as Houdini biographers Walter B. Gibson and Milbourne Christopher. Gibson was asked by Bess Houdini to carry on the original seance tradition. After doing them for many years at New York's Magic Towne House, before he died, Walter passed on the tradition of conducting of the Original Seances to Dorothy Dietrich.

Houdini's funeral was held on November 4, 1926, in New York City, with more than 2,000 mourners in attendance. He was interred in the Machpelah Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, with the crest of the Society of American Magicians inscribed on his grave site. A statuary bust was added to the exedra in 1927, a rarity, because graven images are forbidden in Jewish cemeteries. In 1975, the bust was destroyed by vandals. Temporary busts were placed at the grave until 2011 when a group who came to be called The Houdini Commandos from the Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania placed a permanent bust with the permission of Houdini's family and of the cemetery.

And the stones on the grave marker? It’s really a Jewish custom but is now practiced by

many of all faiths..the simple act has come to be a great sign of respect for our deceased

loved ones. It is a ‘sign’ to those stopping by that the grave has recently been visited and that

the deceased has not been forgotten…so next time you visit… take a small stone or two

with you!

'Thanks to the Phelps library'...

A big thank you to the Phelps community library today for having me in 

to tell a few stories and answer some questions.  

For the nice folks that attended... we read a few stories,but more importantly

answered lots of questions about the funeral industry itself.  I've found

that more and more people have questions they never felt comfortable

in asking; things about cremation, direct burial, organ  and body 

donations and so much more.  The story telling was quite short as the

questions kept coming fast and furious!

Thanks to those attending and to the library for having me there today, 

It's always a joy to talk with people one-on-one and to get their

reactions to a specific topic at hand. 

You never know until you ask...a good motto to live by I guess.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday night: Harry Houdini...a legend magician and illusionist....Harry
had been challenged to 'pierce the veil' after his death...some brief notes
about him and that 'attempt'....later this weekend.

Come back for it.