It was 1966 and he was home on leave for Thanksgiving. My cousin, Danny and my Grandma Smith hold his fresh catch from her farm pond. He'd just completed boot camp and was ready to serve on the USS Cacapon docked in Long Beach, California. I was an eleven-year-old kid looking up to my twenty-two-year … Continue reading Second Chance to Know You
Author: conniesedona317
Looking Back Looking Forward
I study the photograph from four years ago with me standing next to a tall red rock in the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs. It was unusual for me to take my solo journey in April, but that trip was planned around the Pikes Peak Writers’ Conference. On that Monday afternoon, I … Continue reading Looking Back Looking Forward
On Pilgrimage with Harold Fry
One morning when I walked in my neighborhood, I made a serendipitous discovery; a Little Free Library had just been installed. Inside the birdhouse for books, I spotted a title that caught my eye—The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Months later when our Edinburgh-bound train passed Berwick-upon-Tweed, I remembered how it had been the right … Continue reading On Pilgrimage with Harold Fry
Childhood Dreams
The dream of riding a horse in the wide-open West had been with me since I was a girl. Those Saturday morning shows like Roy Rogers spurred my interest, making me want to feel that freedom from a saddle. When my Aunt Polly told me stories of visiting the Tetons, my dream broadened to riding horseback … Continue reading Childhood Dreams
Fog Gets in Your Eyes
Enjoy the View That’s what the sign said that was just a few feet from the overlook of Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Dunes. But the area was a total whiteout, wrapped in dense fog, hiding my view of the broad expanse of dunes and water. I could hear the faint sound of distant waves … Continue reading Fog Gets in Your Eyes
Sinners and Saints
Pilgrims have traveled to Iona, Scotland for centuries to the Abbey founded by Saint Columba. But before he was seen as a saint, he was recognized as a sinner for leading his Irish clan in a battle where three thousand died. He is every man and every woman; all of us with our shadow side … Continue reading Sinners and Saints
Flow of Life
It’s been sixteen years since I was told that day would be my last at The Research Company. Devastated, angry, and relieved to be free of them, I stepped forward onto an uncertain path. I was surprised my course returned me to school nursing. When I retired from that position last March, I had no … Continue reading Flow of Life
Then Sings My Soul
I lost myself in our conversation, feeling it was more important to be present in that moment than to be on time for the service. When I finally pushed open the Iona chapel door, I heard the piano playing, the congregants singing a song that was familiar from another place. Tears splashed my eyes as … Continue reading Then Sings My Soul
A Day in the Highlands
I wanted my husband, David, to hurry up which was difficult with his knee injury, making his way with a crutch. I'd scheduled a twelve-hour trip into the Scottish Highlands. The Rabbie's Tour Company would pull out at 8:00 sharp. Regardless, I needed to be quiet and patient. David was moving as best he could. … Continue reading A Day in the Highlands
Bringing Home the Boon
It’s been over two weeks since I returned from my pilgrimage to Iona. I’ve often thought of the people from our community at the Abbey, remembering their faces and snippets of conversations. I can feel the chill of that early morning air and remember the fierce wind that was sometimes mixed with rain. When I … Continue reading Bringing Home the Boon
Connie Rosser Riddle 