THESE ARE ON MY MIND
OR IN PROGRESS
MELODY SINGS
A children's book addressing social issues.
I am looking for an illustrator, no luck so far.
I am looking for an illustrator, no luck so far.
AN ANONYMOUS AUDIT OF THE CANADA REVENUE AGENCY
Fiction based on true issues involving the Canada Revenue Agency and the hacker group Anonymous
25% done writing.
25% done writing.
European Design
Sequel to No Credible Threat
Presently developing story board
Presently developing story board
COMA ALLEY
Horror Fiction based on an individual caught in his own mind full of terrible memories.
Developing story line and characters.
Developing story line and characters.
Wishing You Peace Love and Joy at Christmas and Always
Romance story based on a couple that fall in love as children on a Christmas day only to deal with death due to cancer in their later years on a Christmas day
Romance story based on a couple that fall in love as children on a Christmas day only to deal with death due to cancer in their later years on a Christmas day
Poems & short works
Burkey’s Cove Nova Scotia
I am strolling on a cool coastal Atlantic beach.
Supporting my every step are hundreds of minute pebbles.
These same pebbles are supported upon thousands; neigh millions of years of history.
I allow the many drifting winds of life to touch my soul.
I let my mind wander to its secluded corner of consciousness.
Deep in the subconscious of my humanity, I feel the past rising up through my body.
The history of man, no the history of the Earth flows through me.
I allow my fantasy to surface.
Now I see this beach back when it was a humid forest, full of different life, numerous vivid colours surrounding me.
The pebbles below me now have change to thick hip high green grasses, softly cushioning my every step.
Riding upon a warm wind waving to and fro, sounds of a strange world come to me.
Tenderly, as the echoes of time arrive, the same breeze lifts me gently.
I see the world below is not unusual; it is my long lost history.
Presently I am back, slowly walking on a cool coastal beach.
The winds of time have blessed me, assisted by the humanity of the moment.
Phil’s Ode to Tk'emlups Children
Find a quiet place, take a seat and close your eyes.
Keeping your eyes closed, concentrate on your breathing, and let it become slow.
Now slowly reach your hands forward, palms down.
Keep your eyes closed, let your fingers slowly stretch out.
Keeping your eyes closed, let your fingertips feel for the heart beats.
Tenderly allow the heartbeats of 215 children come forward and touch you.
Keep your eyes closed, the heartbeats have no malice and do not judge you.
Be calm, allow the heartbeats to give you peace and warmth.
Feel your spirit give back to the forgotten children what you just received from them.
The love of 215 innocent hearts has touched you.
Keeping your eyes closed, feel the heartbeats fade.
Through the darkness spy for the old woman.
Mother Earth is the greatest teacher, if we listen, observe and respect her.
Mother earth will almost touch your finger tips, but with tears in her eyes she slowly turns and follows the heartbeats into the distant darkness.
Be in peace heartbeats, we apologize for the pain and hurt.
Be with mother earth now, and forever more.
My dog Dusty could have wrote this
I remember my brothers and sisters.
When we weren’t fighting to suckle from mom we played. We played hard and fast, falling and tumbling this way and that.
Life was nothing more than a game, only interrupted occasionally by that giant human man. The gall he had to pick me up during a game of tag. I was winning, racing away from my oldest brother. We had run so hard and fast I ran head first into a thing I came to know as a wall. Then this man picked me up and made noise that I was supposed to understand. Before long I noticed another male giant was carrying me away. Away from my family, away from mom. I had to escape.
I worried for a few minutes but before I knew it, I was fast asleep in the giants lap moving away from my home in some big metal can.
When I woke up I was on a cold steel table with another giant female poking and prodding me. Then came that sharp pointy thing that really hurt. I tried to protect myself by biting the man giant, but he seemed impervious to my defences.
Then I remember falling asleep again only to wake up to screaming from small giants both female and male.
I was afraid at first but then came the games. Not one game of tag, but all kinds of different games that were so, so much fun. Then came food. Food that felt good on my teeth and food that tasted oh so good.
I decided to keep these giants.
As time went on I grew bigger and stronger.
Soon I began to understand the noises the giants made when they looked at me. Some noises were followed by games and some were followed by food. However one was followed by a slap on my nose. That noise was always the same, “NO STOP”!
Over time I taught the small giants and the big male giant tricks.
Life was good. Life was always fun. But I never felt like I was home. I was missing a purpose I guess.
Then the day came where one small female giant was sleeping with me in my bed. I noticed that she was having trouble breathing, so I got up and began yelling at her. RUF RUF, but she didn’t hear me. I yelled louder and jumped on her chest to wake her up but nothing happened.
Soon the male giant came into my room and pulled me off the small giant and did strange things to her. Soon she was awake but very tired. The male giant left home with her and other male giant’s in uniforms.
I was worried for hours, but that night before my food the male giant and the small female giant returned to my home.
They both hugged me as water came out of their eyes. It tasted good but somehow at that moment I realized, I was home.
HO HO HO
It was about 10pm when I pulled into the full service truck stop in Wytheville Virginia.
I had been heading home with one of my best buddies (Rick) following me in his truck from West Palm Florida. We were both loaded and maxed out at 80,000 pounds. This weight had made climbing the hills a long slow pull, aggravated by the dark night and the heavy sticky snow.
Most of the day had been filled with Rick’s attempts to calm me down. Tomorrow was going to be Christmas Eve and I was upset that I may not get home for Christmas morning.
As I pulled up to the brightly lit fuel pumps Ricks voice came over the CB radio. ”Look Grouch we made it half way today so we will make it home, trust me Grouch I guarantee it.” Rick had been calling me Grouch over the past few years because I was not a real optimistic guy.
So it had become my CB handle, a handle that was known to many, many truck drivers. As a matter of fact when I went into restaurants along my regular route the waitress’s and sometimes the cooks all shouted,”Grouucchhh.”
Rick had pulled into the pump beside me and as we filled the trucks with fuel he walked over behind me and said, “Look Grouch, I know it’s been a bitchy day, but were here and I’m buying dinner.
I turned to him and while leaning on my truck I replied, Ya know what Rick I’m tired and I’m just going to find a parking spot and go to bed.”
Rick slowly lowered his head in defeat. “OK Grouch be that way, Ya know you live up to your handle real well”. With that he left and began fueling his truck.
I continued fueling the truck. My gloves barely kept my hands warm and my face started to tingle from the cold wind that blew down from the mountain peaks and across the truck stop parking lot.
Ten minutes later I was parking, with trucks parked on either side of me.
I applied the brakes and turned off all my lights.
The winter darkness flooded into the truck.
Ricks voice again came over the CB, “Good night Grouch.”
Then it became quiet. The only sound in the truck was the monotonous drone of the engine as it idled.
I sat there in the bunk as thoughts, concerns and memories raced thru my mind.
I knew I would probably make it home in time. After all I had spent two weeks salary, almost $1000 on gifts for the family. There was no way I was not going to not see the fruits of my labour on the faces of my loved ones.
I was preparing for bed when Mother Nature came calling.
I had to pee.
I slowly opened the door and climbed down the steps onto the frozen snow covered pavement.
I walked around the front of the truck and proceeded toward the truck stop lobby.
When I was about 20 feet from the truck, I noticed another truck driver approaching me. He was wearing a very warm looking coat with a fur lined collar.
I lowered my face to keep it from the biting wind.
As the driver passed me I, heard him say, “Merry Christmas Grouch”.
I looked back over my shoulder to see if I could recognize him but it was no use. He was no were to be seen, he must have turned in-between the line of parked trucks.
I turned my attention back towards the truck stop. The lobby doors were now 50 feet away.
As I continued to walk hunched over to keep warm I saw an old rusted out half ton truck idling.
I could see the truck stop doors ahead and I pushed on, but as I passed the half ton I saw a young man in his twenties. Beside him was a young woman holding a young child in her arms. Something in me said, “Grouch these folks have no money and are trying to make it through the night.”
I for some reason I changed my course from the truck stop to the half-ton truck. When I got to the driver’s window the young man rolled it down about half way.
“Yes sir?” he asked politely.
I could see a young woman sitting on the passenger side of the cab and in her arms was a young boy maybe 5 years old.
I instantly knew they were poor folk just trying to stay warm.
“Are you young folk heading home for Christmas?” I asked.
The young man replied,” Yes sir we are but this storm is getting too bad for me to drive through and I don’t know if we have enough gas to make it.”
I looked into the eyes of the young lady and something deep within me slowly bubbled up.
I stood there oblivious to the freezing wind.
I found my hands reaching into my pants pocket and removing my wallet. It seemed like someone else was speaking as I pulled out $100 and said, “Here you take this to buy gas and food for a day or two.”
The Young man said. “No sir I can’t take that from you.”
As I forced the money on him the young child turned from his mother’s warm grasp.
Our eyes met.
He smiled and then shyly and quickly turned back to his mother’s care.
I quickly finished the transaction and hastily turned, walking toward the lobby doors.
I heard the young man from behind me shout out “Merry Christmas Sir and God bless you.”
After using the men’s room I left the truck stop and walked back toward my truck.
I noticed that the half ton truck was gone. A wind suddenly blew so hard, I stopped walking, my coat fluttered.
I normally would have said F$*%^% wind, but now, tonight, the wind seemed almost warm.
When I was about 10 feet from my truck, the snow stopped and by the time I started to climb the steps back into my cab I noticed the sky quickly clear.
As I closed the truck door I leaned forward to get a better view of the sky. It had become clear so fast; it had to be a fluke of nature.
Suddenly the sky became so bright that the whole truck stop seemed to be in a bright light.
As soon as it came it went, a falling star had broken the darkness of the night.
Then the silence of my truck was broken by a voice.
I recognized it.
It was from the truck driver that had passed by me wearing that fur lined coat.
“Merry Christmas Grouch, have a nice trip home and when you get home, wish Kim and the girls a Merry Merry Christmas……..HO…HO..HOOO.”
Thru the Rain
I awoke to the sound of rain drops on the aluminum roof of the truck at 10 pm as planned.
I sat up in bed surrounded by the coolness of late night air.
My ears could make out the steady stream of water hitting the ground outside. This sound confirmed that it was indeed a steady rain not just a light drizzle. The roof of the trailer was shedding the glimmering sheen of rain.
A cold Salem Massachusetts October chill ran up my spine as I pulled on my pants.
I crouched forward and slid open the curtains.
I was about to begin the days adventure surrounded by rain and dense fog.
Was it a foreboding sign of things to come?
The hair on my arms to slowly rose. Another chill I thought to myself. Little did I know that it was a evil sign of things to come.
I soon settled into the driver’s seat of the 18 wheeler.
I weaved my way thru the truck stop ultimately heading for the interstate.
Minutes later I was on the southbound interstate highway.
Because of the thick rolling fog mixed with a steady rain I decided to maintain a reasonable speed of 45 miles per hour.
I had been driving for about 35 minutes when another chill ran up my spine.
Was it cooler in the cab of the truck than I thought or was it because the poor driving conditions were starting to concern me more than I wanted to admit?
The steep hills and sharp curves indeed kept me focused.
I suddenly got the feeling that I was not alone. Another chill came and lasted slightly longer than the first few. My childhood fantasies took over. I thought I was being watched by someone behind me in the bunk bed of the truck.
My adult common sense soon pushed fear away. This was silliness brought on by the night fog, the steady rain and the cold air.
Before long I thought to myself, “What’s the harm in looking?
I glanced over my right shoulder and quickly peered into the darkness of the bunk.
Nothing.
“Silly and stupid” I said out loud to myself.
I turned my attention to the rolling, twisting and turning road ahead.
I was not afraid, but I should have been.
The headlights of the truck fought to cut through the fog that had become so thick by now that I started to think about finding a safe place to stop and wait out the weather.
Another chill was bubbling up as I strained to see the road ahead.
I navigated a curve to the right, then a sharper curve to the right, then an even sharper curve to the right, it felt like I was driving on the rim of a witch’s caldron.
Just as the road straightened out the fog slightly abated giving me a view into the distance of maybe two hundred feet.
I sat back slightly but the feeling returned that there was someone in the bunk behind me.
This time there was no debate between the child in me, and the adult, I had to look back.
As my eyes focused deeper into the darkness of the bunk I thought I saw something.
Common sense again took control and I quickly turned my attention back to the road ahead.
Suddenly the fog lifted and I could clearly see a sharp curve ahead. I hit the brakes and steered around the curve just missing a black cat that darted across the road to the forest on my right.
“Smarten up you fool.” I shouted out loud. “You’re alone and you’re not afraid.”
Just then from the thick woods that lined the right side of the road a figure emerged.
An old woman came running out into the middle of the road. She was wearing a white cotton nightgown that covered her shoulders and clung to her body. It was rain soaked and transparent.
The look on her face was that of grave terror.
Her eyes punctured deep into mine. I saw her black eye shadow streaming down her cheeks from the tears of panic.
Her hands were both raised high above her head. I saw the palms of her hands frantically waving from side to side as she frightfully tried to get me to stop.
I hit the brakes just enough to quickly steer around her.
After I passed her and regained control of the truck I looked in my right mirror.
Nothing.
There was no sign of the woman.
I swiftly replayed the event over and over in my mind, was that a knife I saw in her chest or was this all my huge imagination playing tricks.
Should I have stopped?
Was that a woman that dreadfully needed my support?
Suddenly the air around me got very cold and damp.
A voice spoke slowly from behind me in the bunk, “You should have stopped.”
Profound Thoughts
Every thought has a meaning,
Every child has a mother,
Every love has a lover,
Every moment has a next,
Every memory has a beginning,
Every sensation has a perception,
Every day has a night,
Every fear has a meaning,
Every light has some dark,
Every effort has a goal,
Every hope has a wish,
Every start has an end.
Everyone stay well, stay safe