Blue sky low fluffy clouds Sun shining on the corner of the building next door Stones in the shade gray and forbidding Lifeless windows look across the campus Pine tree leaning stretching toward the sun Leaves flurrying down like snowflakes Leafless trees Prepared for winter chill Bells, chimes Signaling the time Walkers strolling Taking in the fall air As seen from the square of glass next door

Mother Ann our eldress they called her Walked among the believers Imprisoned for her visions Made a voyage to a new world With eight likely souls To practice her beliefs With no bars or holds Soon Shakers they were called Through malice and misunderstanding Had moved across the land Gaining strength by banding Believers together their numbers reached into the thousands Souls communing mutually by faith and accepting Canterbury, Enfield, Shirley and South Union Villages of believers Working toward a peaceful life Working side by side, brethren and sisters No his nor her’s, all theirs The goal they reached for Was a Utopia to share Hands to work and hearts to God A simple life Of cleanliness, honesty and efficiency Many passed through the doors Looking for the Shaker way For living peacefully Of a life where the Spirit flowed Through those who were the believers Song, dance and worship Meeting together they came Calling the Spirit to guide them To witness to the same Brothers, Sisters, f...

I carry with me the lives of two young men. Both different, yet alike in that they are the loves of my life. Thus began my efforts in teaching. The lessons differed for each, but optimistically I passed on the meaning and understanding of life. I carry with me an understanding that teaches a lesson. Understanding that life goes on. People and things may come and go. But the world does not come to an end if I must question it. I carry with me friendships. Some newborn, some life long. Each valued in its own way and teaching me. Also carrying me. I carry with me a love of knowledge. Always learning. Seeking out the big ideas and the small matters. Never settling for just getting by. I carry with me responsibility. The responsibility to maintain and finish what I have started. To be there, to listen, to care, to share my knowledge and most important of all to teach.

Three white clouds plus a few small wisps bluer than blue sky bells tolling chimes ringing time rolls by Trees with bare branches in between trees with leaves of golden yellow and scarlet red and evergreens In between squares of concrete gray ledges with dusty covered windows look out not seeing the splendor of fall More clouds drifting few at a time passing by as if on a movie reel Leaves sprinkling passers by evidence of an autumn wind Not feeling only viewing from one side of a square of Cherry Hall.

Messages from the Heart Your heart tells on you Not with words But with messages Little things Those that mean the most It’s An explosion of joy from A heart full of laughter Because of ecstatic love It’s A radiant look A heart full of pride Because of awe-struck love These messages Don’t last long Only a moment Live for that moment

Fall Back- it's how we describe the time change so that we'll remember how to set the clocks. But do we really "fall back"? Fall back into what? Time, a season, a way of life? How many things would we change if we could fall back in time? We have daily reminders that we've not really learned from our mistakes, so would the world be different? Generations change, but time, not so much.Everyone says "if I knew then what I know now", but would the outcomes really be all that different? Time doesn't change, people do, or don't, depending on the person. Almost to the minute of when the time changed the trees, which had stubbornly stayed their summer green, began changing into their fall wardrobes. So does nature understand to "fall back"? Ah, yes, seasons. Would that we could fall back into another way of life- would it really be easier? Were not people of the past wishing for the future, for an easier life? What it all gets down to is that ...