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



 

The hunter's panic....

Have you ever been out in a snow storm so fierce, that you actually

became disoriented? It's a most frightening moment...even if you

are on a piece of property that you THINK you know pretty well.

Brothers Steve and Ron who had hunted together for many decades

crossed that bridge one day.....it was an experience that was chilling,

frightening and one to be remembered someday....or, maybe not.

Experience the Hunter's panic.... it's story number #13, in the new

fiction short story book Tales Unleashed.

You just might re-think that venture into the woods on a day of

heavy snow fall and fierce winds.

(you can comment anytime on my blog by just going to the end
of a particular story...click on 'no comments'...then leave yours!

Who was the unknown person?

In the Hillside Cemetery, Andover, N.Y.

It's a story that's almost fifty years old, but it has held the attention of
many because it's a case that  has yet to be solved.

It was March 20, 1970, and a man on his way to work, John Billings,
discovered a body along Davis Hill Road in the town of Andover,
N.Y.

The state police were notified and Investigator Robert Jackson was the
first officer at the scene. (Jackson was an Andover resident and lived
maybe only a mile or so from the scene.)

The body was male, heavy set, approx. age of 25 to 40...there were no
identifiable features as both hands and the head had been severed.
It was also reported that there was an X on the man's chest area.

The area was sealed off and the entire area was searched for any possible
clues, but nothing was found that could be tied to the murder.

According to the report, nothing was done to conceal the crime as the
body was lying along the road at a spot where it could have been
tossed over an embankment, but the latter didn't happen.

The body was removed for an autopsy, photographs etc, and with no
identification known, was buried in the Hillside Cemetery in Andover,
N.Y. a few days later with a marker proclaiming "unknown".

I know where the grave is located and had visited it over the years in
my regular course of making other burials after local funerals in and
around Andover.

According to what I have read in the last five to ten years, the State
Police have not closed the file.

I had heard talk within the last five years or so that there was a
possibility that the body might be exhumed to try to obtain a
DNA sample, and try to match it against the national DNA
database.  I doubt very much at this point that that is going to
take place. It would be an expensive situation, and usually the
county or state does not want to invest financially if the result
might prove negative in a positive identification....

So who was this person, presumed murdered in another place,
driven to Andover N.Y. and disposed of.... and why in Andover?

Was it organized crime? Was the dumping of the body in Andover
a 'message' meant for some person or business in Andover?

Too many questions, and really no concrete answers to those
questions. 

The only chance possibly of solving the crime is if someone who
might have been involved all those decades ago would come
forward before their own demise and admit to the crime or
the circumstances surrounding it.

A car show's 'ghostly' visitor...

Two years ago in Scottsville, N.Y......something very unusual was seen.

It was at an annual car show there...and when looking thru some 

photos that were taken that day...something very unusual appeared on 

the film. Was it a ghost passing through enjoying the wheels on display?

You can see the photos here, but for an audio version, go to youtube

and search ghost at rochester car show....it's quite a story.... and whether

you're a believer or not... it does make you think a little about what was

actually captured on film that day.  

Where do we go next?

It's a question as perplexing as any that has ever been asked.

Do we depart this life for another place? Another realm?

As youngsters we are taught in early religious education that

there is a heaven and a hell....and that we should fashion our

lives and actions with that constantly being a catalyst in all that

we say and do.

Even the most intelligent theologians will banter back and forth

about what is out there next for each one of us.

As Kirk said in Star Trek.... "space, the final frontier" ... but is

it the final frontier? For those of us that believe in Heaven and

it's wondrous majesty and calmness, it is the ultimate goal.

But consider for a moment that the 'next' level might not be out

there in some far off distant place, but rather very close to us...

right here... perhaps within just a few yards or a few hundred feet.

The fact that many people have seen those who have already

departed this life, in the form of an apparition or ghost...might

suggest that indeed, those who have passed-on are very very

close.  Makes you think doesn't it?

It was a question that  a young lady named Monica  had to consider

after an almost tragic accident one day while driving her Jeep.

The man who approached her, the colors that invaded her mind,

the aroma that swept over her.....they were real, and Monica knew

they were real.

'A BRIEF STOP AT LEVEL TWO'.... it's story number ten in the

new book Tales Unleashed.

It's a stop that you should make.  SS