My eyes were drawn to the stone immediately. We were at our campsite in Wyoming when I noticed it. A small smooth stone by itself on top of a tree stump. It had no business being there, unless placed by someone. I walked over and picked it up. It was warm in my hand.
Continue reading “Pocket Stone”Author: maxnhall
September 11th, 1940
September 11th is our National Day of Remembrance. I think back to that horrific day, and also recall the unity that came to America afterwards, for a while at least. I now also have something else to think about. I recently learned my dad enlisted in the Army 85 years ago, on SEPTEMBER 11th, 1940. He was all of sixteen.
Continue reading “September 11th, 1940”The Loneliest Road
In 1986, Life Magazine called Route 50 through Nevada the loneliest highway in America. They actually issued warnings for parts of the drive. Cathy says lonely does not begin to describe it. Forlorn, desolate, rough, isolated, remote, vast, haunting, and yes, hauntingly beautiful.
Continue reading “The Loneliest Road”We Did a Thing
OK. Cath and I did a thing. We are in California and bought a camper van. It has been a lifelong dream, and we just pulled the trigger. Over the next couple of weeks, we will drive it 3,000 miles back to Virginia, hopefully the first of many adventures with it.
Continue reading “We Did a Thing”Go Ask Alice
Having recently revisited Jefferson Airplane and their brilliant “White Rabbit” in a blog about Woodstock, I decided to reread “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. I’m not sure I’d read it since childhood. How close are White Rabbit and Wonderland to each other? Go ask Alice, I think she knows.
Continue reading “Go Ask Alice”Stealing Firewood
Recently, my wife, Cathy, and her sister Bonnie spent three weeks touring the wilderness and National Parks in Wyoming and Montana in a camper van. I’ll talk a little about that. What I really want to talk about is the people who stole their firewood at a couple of campgrounds.
Continue reading “Stealing Firewood”Woodstock
Fifty-six years ago, from August 15-18, 1969, a three day festival celebrating Peace and Music took place at Max Yasgur’s farm in upstate New York. My friend Chuck, all of 19 at the time, drove there with three buddies, and experienced sex, drugs, and great Rock & Roll music at what came to be known as Woodstock.
Continue reading “Woodstock”Whiskey Warriors
We West Point Whiskey Warriors gave it our best shot on the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky. By the numbers, there were fourteen of us ‘78ers, along with eight wives, from twelve states. We sampled at nine distilleries in four days, and had one helluva good time. Numbers of course don’t capture everything, or for that matter, much of anything.
Continue reading “Whiskey Warriors”Cam Ne
This write-up is from my friend, Clark Hall (no relation), a Vietnam Veteran. While the words are his, the lessons are for all of us —
60 years ago, on August 3, 1965, an “incident of war” occurred that foreshadowed the human, political and military disaster underscoring the lunacy of the Vietnam War.
Continue reading “Cam Ne”Big Lou
Big Lou’s the name. Insurance is the game. Are you ready to buy term-life insurance? I have just the guy you need. Big Lou. I recently heard his advertisement on the radio – he’s “on meds, just like you.” It’s OK if you are “a little porky”, diabetic, or have high blood pressure, Big Lou can set you up.
Continue reading “Big Lou”








