I was born in Washington DC and grew up in a Maryland suburb just over the line. All of my extended family lived up in the Harpers Ferry part of the state, out in The Boondocks, and despite my growing up a city kid… I’ve been a country boy my whole life.
When I left home at 20, I moved to the Northeast, where I would spend 21 years-more or less in the country-and, then headed to Texas, where I would spend 11 years living the life I had always dreamed of. I had five horses, seven English Mastiffs, four chickens, a rooster, and even a couple of goats at one point. I had literally died and gone to heaven. Alas, as the line in that country song goes, divorce happened, and she got the gold mine while I got the shaft, and it was back to the Northeast, where I have been for the last 13 years.
Not long after my return, it fell to me to take over the job of caring for my mother during the last four years of her life; dementia and Alzheimer’s would take her, and despite the impossible task I undertook, I thank God every day, still, for the strength He gave me to accompany her on Her journey back to him in the end. And six weeks later, after surviving my third stroke, I was set upon a new path that has led me to this fledgling writing career to which I now commit my remaining years.
With a great deal of assistance from a dear old friend, I was able to publish two books on Amazon and am currently working on a third. These projects have led me down the path of trying to understand and engage social media, figure out how to grow my reach, and, along the way, generate a little revenue. I have no lofty aspirations to be rich or famous, but I am driven to leave some record behind so that the world might be at least a little better off with my having been a part of it. It’s what we all hope for, anyway.
All of this is to say that, after some difficulty figuring out the rules, I have decided that, at 65, I want to find my way back to living in the country-my favorite place on the planet-in relative peace and quiet, communing with nature a little like Thoreau, and trying to eloquently articulate my flavor of smartassery with an air of Twain… With a little salty language to keep it interesting. As such, and because I’m too proud to ask for handouts, I have set up my Hermit Chronicles Substack page for paid subscriptions. Likewise, on the main website, there is a button you can click on to make donations. I will leave the Essential American Wisdom (for now, at least) as a free subscription because I want to continue doing my part to remind the younger generations that they are going about solving our problems in a terribly bad way. I have also applied at Twitter for the rights to monetize that account.
I am saving up money to move to the extreme North, and every penny will help and is greatly appreciated… And if you can’t swing a paid subscription, I’ll give you one for free if you refer some friends that might be willing to sign on for a paid subscription. Daisy and I need to get out of this God-forsaken City before either one of us is too much older to be able to enjoy it, and I thank you in advance for your support and encouraging words.
