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All My Heroes

Maybe it’s just me but for most of my life I never really stopped to think about heroes. I mean I had all kinds of sports heroes I guess, but I certainly didn’t think of these people, athletes, or whomever as heroes. When I was young I enjoyed Saturday morning cartoons and the Super Friends, but that wasn’t realistic to me. There were cowboys from TV shows and black and white movies that I wished I could be. And there were my favorites, the Indians, the Native Americans, the people that were already on this continent that I really wanted to be. I fell in love with the images and stories of these people.

British Columbia Road Trips

Even though we ended up at some wonderful destinations during our trip to British Columbia, there were a lot of hours spent on the road. Every morning we left our home base in Salmon Arm,… 

Hell’s Gate

Hell’s Gate is an impressive display of power, both in terms of water and wind. On the Fraser River, where two mountain ranges meet, the scope of this place is deceiving. 

Natural Bridge (Yoho NP)

I guess I don’t have a bucket list really, but if I did, seeing Yoho National Park would be on it. I was fortunate enough to visit the park for a portion of one day.… 

One Day in New Brunswick

For me there is still a place where I can visit, a place where life does slow down just a little bit. Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada. Driving around the hills of Knoxford and the… 

Low Ceiling

  Sometimes the sky is freedom, other times it presses like a heavy load. Either way, you can’t go wrong with the view from the old Dryer Road.

Let There Be Light-ning

Hartland, New Brunswick, July 2016 – We had a blast taking the footage. We talked. We laughed. And every once in a while, we just stopped everything in order to exclaim, Wow! Ahhh! Incredible! OOOOHHHHH!… 

Lightning Pics from Hartland, NB

These are still pictures taken from video. These pictures were taken in, and around, Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada. July 2016. My cousin, his girlfriend, and I, spent a couple of hours venturing out in to the warm evening along the banks of the St. John River to watch the storm.

Thank You Woodstock

Thank you to my Mom, my aunts and my cousins for a wonderful visit, and overnight in Woodstock, New Brunswick. It was a short visit, but enjoyable. Thank you. 

Last Trip to Canada

In recent weeks, Dad had talked with my Mom about how he could not wait to take (I would drive them) Mom back to Canada again this year. Then, on April 14, 2016, God intervened, and took Dad to his eternal home.

Honoring her December birthday

This morning though, I remember my Aunt Janette. Below, I have shared a poem that I wrote in honor of my aunt. She was a beautiful person, inside and out. I was fortunate enough to have a relationship with her right from the time I was born. Last night when I looked at my calendar, and I let the date register with me, I stopped and I thought about my wonderful aunt. She is still very much missed and I cannot wait to see her again, one day, in heaven. This morning, I remember her, and I share this poem I wrote a few years ago.

My Aunt Janette Remembered

I find myself staring into the beautiful spaces that God created and letting my mind wander over the hills, through the valleys, and along the streams. In my mind all of it is wild, all of it is untouched, and all of it is revered by mankind. From the path my mind wanders along, I see the people who now walk the streets of gold, the ones we loved here on earth. I long to sit and visit with them again. I long to hear the familiar laughter that each of them often contributed to our family gatherings. I ache to look into the eyes of those heroes who have gone before me. In those eyes, there are windows to all-time, the windows dressed in love are unmistakable. The eyes invite you in to sit and stay for awhile, they exude love, and portray a confidence that all will be just fine, for where we are gathered, He is there also. Try looking into the eyes of a loved one, maybe an older one, but one who has assured their eternal salvation by giving their life to Christ, and tell me you don’t see all I have described here, and more.

I wrote this piece two years ago, and this morning, I honor my aunt’s life by posting the original words I wrote.

God's Plan – A Tribute to Marjorie Leech (Peterson)

Somewhere around the world today there was another selfless soul born, of that I am pretty sure. And even with all the newborns today, there’ll never another Marjorie be.

I ended the phone call with …”my thoughts and prayers are with all of you.” As I promised I would, I dialed the number to my parents house and waited for Mom to answer. Usually, it’s been her making those dreaded calls to me, but tonight I had a message to pass on and an inkling that she already knew what I had just confirmed. She answered the phone and both of us seemed a bit scared to say the first words, knowing why each of us was on the line. I passed on the message I had promised to share and we talked about what we feared to be the case. Our dear, sweet Marjorie had passed, no more than an hour before.

God’s Plan – A Tribute to Marjorie Leech (Peterson)

God’s Plan – A Tribute to Marjorie Leech (Peterson)

Somewhere around the world today there was another selfless soul born, of that I am pretty sure. And even with all the newborns today, there’ll never another Marjorie be.

I ended the phone call with …”my thoughts and prayers are with all of you.” As I promised I would, I dialed the number to my parents house and waited for Mom to answer. Usually, it’s been her making those dreaded calls to me, but tonight I had a message to pass on and an inkling that she already knew what I had just confirmed. She answered the phone and both of us seemed a bit scared to say the first words, knowing why each of us was on the line. I passed on the message I had promised to share and we talked about what we feared to be the case. Our dear, sweet Marjorie had passed, no more than an hour before.

A few days with Marjorie

Marjorie with family, July 2014
Marjorie with family, July 2014
I knew time was short, and I knew she was quite ill,
Though I didn’t expect it. I prayed she’d win the fight.
That dreaded phone call, the news shook me still.
The earth as I know it got a little bit darker tonight.
 
For those of you who knew her better
For those of you who knew her worse
For those who knew her different than I
My experiences led to this little verse
 
For me, most mornings started with a prayer at the kitchen table.
I felt she’d always be there, prepared, as long as she was able.

Hand Held

Hand Held Honestly, I planned to be asleep by now. Before I went upstairs to turn in for the night, I looked back. I looked back on some poems I had written over the last… 

Remembering Veteran’s Day

This morning is Veteran’s Day. In Canada it’s Remembrance Day. In my home we are honoring, remembering, respecting, and we are thankful for our Veteran’s, past, present, and future. I am home with my three… 

3 Days in Pittsburg

Recently, my wife, our three youngest kids, and I made a last-minute trip to Pittsburg, NH for a little getaway. We packed quickly, jumped in the van, and drove some 170 miles, or so, north… 

Find Our Way

Tuesday morning, May 21, 2013, I was in New Brunswick, Canada to say good-bye to my Aunt Janette one last time. Since I was staying within 20 miles of the old homestead, I took a… 

Family Support

After getting through emotionally packed calling hours, a tearfully blessed funeral service, and more than 800 miles on the road in just 38 hours, I woke up a little bit mentally fatigued today. I’m so… 

My Aunt Janette

It’s a bright, beautiful Saturday morning, but suddenly time has lost its grip on the day. I sat down and wrote most of this over the last two weeks, in the present tense, about my Aunt Janette, a remembrance and tribute to her. Last night, just before 9pm (Eastern) God called her home. My Mom called to give me the news that I had been waiting to hear but hoped I would never actually receive. We talked for a moment or two and then I prayed. I prayed for Lloyd and Janette’s family, all of them, in every direction. I prayed and I prayed. I prayed for me and for my family too. So that we can be and will be the strength, support, love, voice, or shoulder to lean on for any who might need it. This certainly includes me too. I prayed for all of us, any of us related to the Peterson family one way or another.

Destination Homestead

Destination Homestead

The highways weren’t what they are now. The drive times were longer and the family car was crowded. The days were most definitely simpler then. There weren’t electronic games to play, options for isolating ourselves within the car, but games we played involving us all. I knew the make and model of almost every vehicle we saw along the way, we all did.

I sat behind my dad in the car and I tried to take in everything he saw. I learned the landmarks and the places along the way where we stopped or where some historical thing had happened. We brought our own water and food. Fast food was a homemade sandwich that mom pulled from her bag of prepared trip fare.

Ottawa

Ottawa   This afternoon we got back from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Amaris, the twins, Sebastian, and I were up there for a hockey tournament with Sebastian’s team. Travel was good, the tournament was fun, the… 

Moose – My Favorite

Bull close up
Bull moose in Errol, NH

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking about the North Country of New Hampshire and Maine while missing the hundreds of hours I have spent with my favorite animals, Moose. These are just a few of the hundreds of moose pictures I have taken over the years. The majority were taken with my 35mm camera so I have the prints and negatives and not nearly as many on my digital camera.

Would you rather have 50 million dollars or live for an extra 50 years?

I don’t know how valuable $50 million is, but I do know that it wouldn’t have bought any more of the stuff I have been writing about. I would take the extra 50 years.