Tag: Adirondacks

I first drafted the poem “Ghost Lake” while working out of Lake Colden’s Interior Headquarters cabin as a DEC trail hand in the summer of ’83, haunted by memories from earlier trips into Colden with my dad.    On those shared journeys, in the late ’70’s, Dad still had...

One Man’s Cancer Survival Story ********** To My Wife, Children, Family & Friends  Who’ve Lived & Fought Alongside Me  Every Day We’ve Been In ************ AUTHOR’S NOTE: “I’m Sorry- It’s Cancer.”      Those are words no one ever wants to hear.   I know.   I’ve heard them three...

     Comic book war heroes. As kids, growing up in the ’70’s, my brother Ray & I loved ’em.  The Haunted Tank, Unknown Soldier, Weird War Tales- & my personal favorite -SGT ROCK.      “ROCK” was “Easy Company” Platoon Sergeant, “Top Kick” in a long series of WWII comic...

Author’s Note: This story was published in The Adirondack Almanack’s December 21, 2021 online edition. **********      We  moved to Saranac Lake from Lake Placid in the summer of ’73.  I had just finished 4th grade.               My brother Ray (“Raymond” then) & I explored the river, rode bikes,...

Author’s Note: A little over a year after debuting as my blog’s all time most viewed post, this story was published in The Adirondack Almanack’s November 26, 2021 online edition. ********** “Saranac Lake Redskins” “This Here Is Monk” Saranac Lake High School. Varsity practice field – July, 1978:      ...

Author’s Note: This story appeared in the September 25, 2021 online edition of the Adirondack Almanack in a slightly modified version under the title “Outlaw Duck Hunters”. “Regular Ducks” **********  My first brush with the law came in ’74. I was 10.  Fresh out of 5th Grade, I still...

     Monroe Bull Rush Bay Camp Prep, 2019: I dragged Dad’s old 12 foot aluminum Grumman canoe from behind my shed, cleaned it up, replaced bow and stern lines, then spray painted it camouflage greens and browns over a base of flat black.     I cleaned and lubed the...

Have you ever passed in a no passing zone? Ran a Red Light…. On purpose? Exceeded the speed limit….After Dark….While driving your Dad’s boat? Checked out in the “Express Lane” with too many items? Made a wake in a “NO WAKE” zone? Called in sick when you weren’t? Raise...