For a class project, my young cousin Allyssa Ridings recently shared some of her memories from a part of Southern Illinois widely known as Terrapin Ridge — the home for over 50 years to Beatrice Ridings, my grandmother. Many knew my Granny Bea as Aunt Bea or Miss Ridings, and at her home, just about everybody who was alive at the time on my mother’s and father’s sides of my family experienced things there that formed some of their warmest memories. Allyssa’s essay triggered my own recollections, and searching through some of my past writings, I found this poem, written…
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I met Beth Kiefert right at the beginning of the Spring semester in 1990. Aside from being awed by her beauty from the very first time I saw her, in our first conversations in the design and statistics classes we shared that semester, she impressed me with her brightness, sense of humor, kindness, and upbeat nature. One of five children, she let me know right away that family was very important to her, and as the weeks passed, after just a few stumbles, we found ourselves on pretty solid ground with each other. Fast-forward to June, and I was already…
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Ramble #10 by Roger Darnell Every step of my life, you have been here. Our shared life experiences as siblings is what made me want it for my children… even with all we have been through, bro. I really can’t imagine my life without there being a big brother, and you being him. And now, on the verge of you achieving something monumentally spectacular and completely self-driven, I am awestruck, and exceedingly proud. Rock on. Ramble January 17, 2008: #17 January 18, 2008: #16 February 1, 2009: #10 April 27, 2009: #9 October 3, 2009: #8 May 9, 2010: #7…
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You may know this already: I have been rediscovered. Some of the world’s united seaQuest fans contacted me in February of last year. Soon thereafter, an entry was made to the official Wikipedia seaQuest entry adding my original script to the log of actual episodes of the NBC/Universal television series which sadly ended its network primetime run in 1996. I did not work on the show as a writer, but I did serve the season three top brass, and took my shot with a spec script for season four. While it was very well received — seaQuest 2032 was not…
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I was deeply involved in many writing projects in the early part of 1996, while also focusing on planning for my business. Around this time, I also began to notice that some literary publications were becoming interested in very short pieces of fiction. This is one of my early attempts at such… and nearly 13 years later, this is its first appearance. STOP COUNTING by Roger DarnellPart of the way through that fourth period, I started getting really hungry. It seemed like the bell would never ring and I thought for a minute about how long it had taken for…
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Ramble #16 by Roger Darnell I haven’t logged in up at the top yet… I’m hardly qualified to be a poet tonight. It was a good day… a day with the kids. No less than Hickory Dickory Dock: The indoor recreational labyrinth of legend; it did not disappoint. Home, in the snows, well into our sixth Appalachian winter, our family joined the neighbors for dinner; they had other friends with kids join us. A night of merriment was enjoyed by all. Such a simple lifestyle, so warm, so fun. We are basking in it, and so are our two. Settled…
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You can now watch “Bumper Crop” in its entirety at darnellworks.com/bmovie With fond memories of the cast and crew:
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Through the days working a great many different types of jobs — in places too numerous to recall due to my “early” success finding freelance work — and also while finding my way as an Air Force Reservist, a college student, and eventually, an independent professional, these are the other tidbits of wisdom I collected to guide my thoughts, values, hopes and dreams. My favorite of this day, in November of 2008, is the first from Mr. Whitman; how I admire his spirit and soul….
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I collected these pearls of wisdom during the years I was toiling away in Orlando office spaces and paying my way through my university studies. It’s funny to look at them now to see which embedded themselves into my psyche… and which I’d forgotten about completely.
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Yes, it’s about time that I acknowledge my mother here in this creative space… and what I have found to share with you from her is also about time. Though this project has been off my daily tasklist for awhile, I think of it often. A lot of great things are happening for me which I’m very thankful for, and increasingly, my busy days are merging into the nighttime spaces where, in the past, I’ve been successful writing creatively. Would you laugh if I told you that lately, I’ve just been too sleepy for any of that? That’s the truth…