Rebecca Moll's Blog, page 22
June 3, 2017
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Orlando Figes (Introduction), Anthony Briggs (Translator)
It is hard to shelve this book. After 958 pages I have come to regard Tolstoy, his thoughts and perspectives as threads in the fabric of my daily life. What better example of History, his zeal for a true understanding of the past and how it shapes our present and future, than to rely on his voice, so clear and poignant over a century after his death? To find his message both through story and discussion, a lens for understanding our lives today in relation to the past and our hopes for the future, our desire for the Essence of Life a function of our perception of Freewill, and our constraints of Inevitability? Like a good Italian nona in the kitchen, a little of this, a little of that, it is in the mixture, the pot, the dynamic or flux of life's events that we find happiness, the true Essence of Life we all desire.
Why study history?
Why care about the past, people and events long ago?
Why read War and Peace?
Because we can.
Because we can learn.
Because we can learn how to be our best.
Because we can learn to be our best and be happy.
One life.
That's all you have. Why not?
Un-shelve the book.
Change your life.
Make History.
Why study history?
Why care about the past, people and events long ago?
Why read War and Peace?
Because we can.
Because we can learn.
Because we can learn how to be our best.
Because we can learn to be our best and be happy.
One life.
That's all you have. Why not?
Un-shelve the book.
Change your life.
Make History.
May 9, 2017
Famous First Lines...His and Hers
Of all the things that drive men to sea, the most common disaster, I've come to learn, is women. —Charles Johnson, Middle Passage (1990)
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Source: http://americanbookreview.org/100best...
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Source: http://americanbookreview.org/100best...
May 3, 2017
Free e-Book Offer!
In Honor of Mothers & Grandmothers I am running a Free e-Book Promotion for (3) publications:
*May 10th thru May 15th*
The Beauty of Digging Deep
For The Love of Charlie
North South, A Short Story Collection
Available on Amazon. Download to any device. Free, Limited Time Offer.
Visit: https://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Moll/e...
Great Mother's Day Gifts!
*May 10th thru May 15th*
The Beauty of Digging Deep
For The Love of Charlie
North South, A Short Story Collection
Available on Amazon. Download to any device. Free, Limited Time Offer.
Visit: https://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Moll/e...
Great Mother's Day Gifts!
April 27, 2017
From North South, A Short Story Collection: Waking Teddy B., by Rebecca Moll
On a cold December morning,
We lost the one we loved,
Gone on forever,
To whom we place our trust.
The day wore on forever,
As the cold crept in our bones,
Mountain winds blew down,
And shook our humble homes.
Just before the sun set,
We laid him out to wake,
All his kin were present,
Grim faced, prepared to take.
A burden on forever,
A sight too hard to bear,
Memories came a-flooding,
Our hearts were sure to tear.
Frank the undertaker,
Ned, the Preacher man,
Winding up a long one,
His eulogy on hand.
Preacher's voice a-blaring,
And Della ‘bout to cry,
Back door went a-slamming,
Ma hollered, “Get inside.”
Dinner is a-waiting,
Guess who’s here again?
Preacher makes it seven,
Last one in’s not fed.
Nightfall came a cold one,
Snow way beyond our nose,
Teddy B.’s forsaken,
For sure, forever froze.
Snow kept up ‘til Spring time,
A-waiting for the thaw,
Finally the ground bore,
And this is what we saw:
Crocus sprout all over,
Where Teddy B. was laid,
Two button eyes remaining,
And a velvet bow displayed.
In the winter of ‘47,
Della lost the one she shared,
Gravestone name engraved:
“Brown Teddy Bear.”
Near sixty years have passed,
Fourth generation’s here,
Ma & Pa gone on to heaven,
And I may soon, I fear.
This story needs a-telling,
I give it to you straight,
Teddy B., he was famous,
Childhood memories,
Ain’t they great?
Rebecca Moll
4-24-04
We lost the one we loved,
Gone on forever,
To whom we place our trust.
The day wore on forever,
As the cold crept in our bones,
Mountain winds blew down,
And shook our humble homes.
Just before the sun set,
We laid him out to wake,
All his kin were present,
Grim faced, prepared to take.
A burden on forever,
A sight too hard to bear,
Memories came a-flooding,
Our hearts were sure to tear.
Frank the undertaker,
Ned, the Preacher man,
Winding up a long one,
His eulogy on hand.
Preacher's voice a-blaring,
And Della ‘bout to cry,
Back door went a-slamming,
Ma hollered, “Get inside.”
Dinner is a-waiting,
Guess who’s here again?
Preacher makes it seven,
Last one in’s not fed.
Nightfall came a cold one,
Snow way beyond our nose,
Teddy B.’s forsaken,
For sure, forever froze.
Snow kept up ‘til Spring time,
A-waiting for the thaw,
Finally the ground bore,
And this is what we saw:
Crocus sprout all over,
Where Teddy B. was laid,
Two button eyes remaining,
And a velvet bow displayed.
In the winter of ‘47,
Della lost the one she shared,
Gravestone name engraved:
“Brown Teddy Bear.”
Near sixty years have passed,
Fourth generation’s here,
Ma & Pa gone on to heaven,
And I may soon, I fear.
This story needs a-telling,
I give it to you straight,
Teddy B., he was famous,
Childhood memories,
Ain’t they great?
Rebecca Moll
4-24-04
April 17, 2017
Quotation from North South, Down by the River by Rebecca Moll
"Mama says, good people are still good when they make bad choices. It's how they settle it up, that keeps them good."
April 5, 2017
Hail to the Giants by Rebecca Moll
Hail to the Giants,
Heroes of yore,
The history you witnessed,
The secrets you store.
Mighty, Mighty Giants,
From forests to shore,
From the depths of the earth,
To the heavens, you soar.
Some centuries old,
Others decades, no more,
A haven, a shelter, a perch,
Your lore.
Mighty, Mighty, Giants,
How you came crashing down,
Alone in the forest,
Echoes the sound.
Algae, lichen, moss cling tight,
Eagles, Robins, and wrens take flight,
Your arms they reach so tall and wide,
Creation, life, a legacy you provide.
Willows, Maple, Oak and Pine,
Sycamore, Evergreen, Birch, Oh My!
Butternut, Walnut, Beech, and Lemon,
Apple, Peach, and Cherry, Oh Heavens!
Mighty, Mighty Giants,
What have you seen,
Hurricanes, earthquakes, hatred, and war,
Sunrise and sunsets, passionate amour.
Yet, why in creation,
Your silence was sworn?
The questions I’d ask,
The stories I’d learn.
Mighty, Mighty, Giants,
Heroes of yore,
Hail to the Giants,
Hail, forevermore.
Rebecca Moll
4-5-17
Heroes of yore,
The history you witnessed,
The secrets you store.
Mighty, Mighty Giants,
From forests to shore,
From the depths of the earth,
To the heavens, you soar.
Some centuries old,
Others decades, no more,
A haven, a shelter, a perch,
Your lore.
Mighty, Mighty, Giants,
How you came crashing down,
Alone in the forest,
Echoes the sound.
Algae, lichen, moss cling tight,
Eagles, Robins, and wrens take flight,
Your arms they reach so tall and wide,
Creation, life, a legacy you provide.
Willows, Maple, Oak and Pine,
Sycamore, Evergreen, Birch, Oh My!
Butternut, Walnut, Beech, and Lemon,
Apple, Peach, and Cherry, Oh Heavens!
Mighty, Mighty Giants,
What have you seen,
Hurricanes, earthquakes, hatred, and war,
Sunrise and sunsets, passionate amour.
Yet, why in creation,
Your silence was sworn?
The questions I’d ask,
The stories I’d learn.
Mighty, Mighty, Giants,
Heroes of yore,
Hail to the Giants,
Hail, forevermore.
Rebecca Moll
4-5-17
March 29, 2017
Love Turning
On a very sunny day,
She walked my way,
And turned in the other direction.
On a very rainy day,
I offered my umbrella,
Yet, she turned away,
Some other fella.
Days upon days,
I searched her out,
Offering kindness,
Without a doubt,
Until,
She turned with a smile.
Now,
On very rainy days,
She turns to my cover,
Safe from the weather,
A true, ardent lover.
On very sunny days,
We turn out together,
Enjoying the weather,
Forever and ever.
Rebecca Moll 12-2013
She walked my way,
And turned in the other direction.
On a very rainy day,
I offered my umbrella,
Yet, she turned away,
Some other fella.
Days upon days,
I searched her out,
Offering kindness,
Without a doubt,
Until,
She turned with a smile.
Now,
On very rainy days,
She turns to my cover,
Safe from the weather,
A true, ardent lover.
On very sunny days,
We turn out together,
Enjoying the weather,
Forever and ever.
Rebecca Moll 12-2013
March 23, 2017
Famous 1st Lines: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
March 16, 2017
Morning Mystics by Rebecca Moll
A whisper of white,
A swath of blue hues,
Deep, heavy greys,
The beginnings of day.
Stillness like death,
A quiet so soft,
An in-take of breath,
A momentary pause.
A brush of pale yellow,
Venetian slices of light,
Cut snow covered forests,
Casting shadows, black and white.
A single caw,
Rings out through the trees,
A crow soars high,
Swooshing, shifting of leaves.
Ritualistic,
Rhythmic physics,
Elliptic,
Statistic,
Morning Mystics.
Rebecca Moll
3-16-17
A swath of blue hues,
Deep, heavy greys,
The beginnings of day.
Stillness like death,
A quiet so soft,
An in-take of breath,
A momentary pause.
A brush of pale yellow,
Venetian slices of light,
Cut snow covered forests,
Casting shadows, black and white.
A single caw,
Rings out through the trees,
A crow soars high,
Swooshing, shifting of leaves.
Ritualistic,
Rhythmic physics,
Elliptic,
Statistic,
Morning Mystics.
Rebecca Moll
3-16-17
March 15, 2017
"Honoring America's Artists"
America
BY WALT WHITMAN
Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.
BY WALT WHITMAN
Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.
