February 13, 2013 · 10:20 am

PurpleStone February Ezine

PurpleStone Press Ezine ©
A Monthly Newsletter to keep readers informed on news in the book world, about moments not easily explained, stretching out to other genres, a personal story, events going on, comments from readers and more. Readers are welcome to comment or add their thoughts to the next newsletter.
In This Issue February 2013
Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me at asbice@aol.com if you would like to receive the monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers.

Happenings & News At the FoodWorks-S. Main St. Warrenton-Friday: our Ribbon Cutting with live jazz from Just Friends! 4:00-6:30

What’s Goin’ On? ‘A Gathering of Artists & Poets’ Reception
(An opening show of original paintings –
with the poems written about them, read by the poets)
Join Us
Tuesday 19th February 2013
5:00 – 6:30
Artists & Poets:
Arlene Bice * Sherman Johnson * Thomas Park *
Jay Pearson * * Wheeler Smith
Warren County Memorial Library Community Room
119 So. Front St.
Warrenton NC
Refreshments Served
Sponsored by: Warren County Artists Market
Also: A new anthology coming together: The subject to write about: “Tell us about the creative passions that light your life. These can be painting, poetry, carpentry, cooking, weaving, sewing, gardening etc.” in poetry or essay form.. If you have any further questions or would like to submit & want guidelines, please email me at: asbice@aol.com

Stories… William R. Poole Haunts……..For reasons sometimes unknown to us, we feel a love of something so strong that we want to cherish and protect it forever. With William R. Poole his love was poured into trees and his beloved white horse. William R. is said to have begun his adult life with nearly empty pockets, but soon began amassing land for his farm and for his forests that he loved so much. He continued progressing through life by serving as Justice of Wake County Court of Pleas and Quarters Sessions and Chairman of the Board of Wake County Commissioners.
It was Poole’s habit to ride his great white horse through his woods every day, spending much time there in the heat of summer and the cold, bareness of winter. The Civil War exploded in North Carolina. At the end Raleigh was occupied by Sherman and his troops, mostly in an orderly fashion. But there are always exceptions….. A handful of Yankee soldiers heard that Poole concealed a fortune in gold in his woods. Poole instinctively knew they would pay him a visit. He bided his time, sitting on his veranda in his cane bottom chair when they charged in on their horses. His slaves were long gone. He was alone. Their conversation did not go well. The Yankees demanded the gold. Poole denied having any treasure at all. The men in blue bullied him and bound him to a fence rail. They dragged him on that rail to his corn mill. When he insisted there was no gold, they burned his mill down.

In frustration the soldiers began poking and prodding between and around Poole’s cherished trees, uprooting no gold or treasure. The Yanks caused such a disturbance that Poole’s proud steed neighed and whinnied in response. His beautiful companion was wrested from the protective, secret hideaway where Poole had stashed him with the comfort of fresh hay and a dry stall. He watched sorrowfully, dejected as his coveted steed’s hooves thundered away with the military horses, a blue-coated Yankee on his back. Never would he see his dear companion again.

Poole recovered and became active again in rebuilding Raleigh and Wake County. Eventually the Carpetbaggers and the Yankees were sent away. Poole died in 1889, seven years after building the Wake County Courthouse. He remained faithful in his love for his woods.

The Will of William R. Poole stipulated that a particular 75 acre tract of his woodland was to remain as such without even one tree being cut down or hauled away. The Will was upheld for a period of time but couldn’t hold out forever. Times changed. Suburbia was springing up everywhere. In the 1920s developers wanted that piece of ground as the area around it developed with houses and families.

But Poole got the last laugh from the grave. When the trees were harvested, each and every one was rotten from the inside, unable to be used for anything. Before those trees were cleared, some folks refused to go into the dense, dark forest. They said it was haunted. Fear ran through the area. Some told about seeing a filmy, galloping white stallion charging between the trees, knowing exactly where to place his hooves. Some say the spirit of William R. Poole was finally reunited with his dearest companion and they streaked through the forest at night to check that no one has chopped down his precious trees. Even after the land was developed into neighborhoods, folks say he is seen riding along the highway yet today; he and his faithful companion, a misty blur of white trotting along the road.

Blogs, I Get Blogs…. There are so many blogs out there and I keep adding more to my list of must reads. Kevin seems to be a neat guy, one I would like to have for a personal friend. His A Garden For the House is one of my favorites for garden tips inside and out along with recipes that are simple but uncommon and also views of his lovely old house. Check it out at;www.agardenforthehouse.com
T his Month……While working on Bordentown stories, I’m also collecting North Carolina true ghost tales for the next book. If you know of anyone who would like to tell me their story, please put them in touch with me at: asbice@aol.com or 252-257-4838. Thanks ahead of time.

Book Review…….. Brewing, by New Jersey Abigail Lorraine Pelletteri. A slender little book of poetry to read one at a time, now and then for contemplation, beauty and peace. And then to re-read after letting it sit on the shelf for awhile. I like her style, form, rhythm, and the subjects that touch her. I like to carry a book of poetry with me for moments of reflection or to keep my blood pressure down when I have to wait in an office waiting room. You can find her at: http://www.abigaillorraine.com/Photography 101

The Latest……. Ghostly Spirits of Warren County NC & Beyond (Soft Cover-2012 PurpleStone Press) $18.95 A candle in the window, a man who walks through walls, a woman from long ago…..peek into the personal stories of hauntings from those who wish to remain in their place on earth instead of going forward into the after-life. Warren County was a wealthy, thriving place during the antebellum years. Warrenton was the hub of activity, a destination on market days where friends gathered. These imprints were left and remain today.

Also Available…. Ghosts Of Bordentown (NJ) $14.95, Haunted Bordentown … (NJ) $14.95, Life & Labyrinth …$17.95 Memoir & Poetry, Major Fraser’s A House & Its History $19.95, Images of America Series -Bordentown, Bordentown history, New Egypt & Plumsted Township, A history, Bordentown Revisited, More history including its surrounds.

Subscribe: Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me if you would like to receive a monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers. If you would like to unsubscribe, do the same interjecting the word unsubscribe, of course.

Keep your mind open. Keep reading. Be kind. Be gentle.

PurpleStone Press asbice@aol.com, https://purplestoneblog.com/

Arlene S. Bice writer-lecturer-artist P O Box 348 Macon, NC 27551

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January 29, 2013 · 11:34 am

A Ghost

Image

A Ghost

A ghost

that pants

and breathes

on my neck

that sends chills

running up my spine

and raises the hairs on my arms

 A ghost

whispering

softly in my ear

reminding me of life

after death is a true thing

a spirit without a body not to

be forgotten because it is not seen

 A ghost

configuring

in front of me

as a misty curvy wave

a haint to be an image of terror

to some but not by others who know

and accept it with the joy of a past love

 A ghost

cannot give

comfort by touch

because never does

warmth come out of a spirit

from the middle world it inhabits

yet the sight brings memories of passion

                                                         © Arlene S. Bice, 2012  Image

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January 22, 2013 · 11:04 am

Found in Life & Labyrinth

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Italy

(Inspired by Dun Aengus by David Whyte)

And when you go, try to go before the ‘season’

when tourists fill every place. They take the soul of

place away.

See Italy as its people have, from

centuries ago to the present. Join them with

colorful pottery pitchers of wine on each table alongside

baskets of bread yet warm, with the scent of hot oven-baking

still floating out from the kitchen to your table to your nose to whet

your appetite.

 Walk the narrow cobbled streets

where the clatter of horses’ hooves fill

your ears even though that time is a long way

passed. Throw open the casement window in your

castle bedroom to sweep your eyes over the clay tiled

roofs to the mountains in the distance. The mountains that

pierce the clouds as you do, driving down the mountain, the

road carrying you through the cloud slowly so the experience lays

on your shoulders and imbeds itself into your pores and your mouth and

your brain.

 Soak in sounds of the squeeze-box;

a strolling soprano sings with all his being

as you stroll along the canals of Venice holding

hands most sensuously not ignoring strangers, but

saving them for the trattoria, where everyone shares a

moment or an announced event and they will cheer your

good news.

 Drink in the crisp, clear water

spouting out of the mountain, like

champagne surging from a wedding fountain.

Place a small offering in the roadside box with the

Madonna on it, even though you aren’t Catholic, never will be

and don’t believe in all that stuff. Do it anyway. Be Italian while

you’re here.

 Drive along the Costera Azura

not falling off the mountain into the

azure blue water like you expect to do

at the next sharp turn where you meet a bus

coming the other way. Italians have been driving

this road for centuries and do fall off crashing onto the

rocks below, but you won’t. You’ll have too much to take

home and to hold onto when there are only memories to make

you smile with that inner glow that you once lived with a joyful heart

in Italy.   Arlene S. Bice, © 2008

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January 17, 2013 · 5:33 am

The Art of Klimpt & More

 

ImageAnything that mentions Gustav Klimpt catches my attention. From there I follow the thread from one thing to another, then find a movie and go there to  learn more. This time the movie was about Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel (nee Schindler) who I believe was related to Klimpt. Her story enraptured me.

The Bride of the Wind is that movie and I have enjoyed viewing it several times over the years. Each time I watch it, I see something I haven’t noticed before. To me, that’s a sign of a really good movie.

It’s a true story set in Victorian Vienna, the city that inspired many great artists of music, architecture, fine art, and literature. It also inspired Alma as she later in life became the famous composer she dreamed of when she was young, but not allowed to be,

Jonathan Pryce plays the role of her first husband, the famous Viennese composer Gustav Mahler. His compositions are still recorded and played today. The ruggedly handsome Vincent Perez plays the role of Oskar Kokaschka, painter of the real Bride of the Wind with his usual intense presence. Oskar’s painting is full of passion, in all blues, very different from the one shown here on the cover of the DVD, which is presented in the style of Klimpt. Seeing Perez in this movie led me to buy another of his films, Swept from the Sea. The thread goes on.

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January 14, 2013 · 7:42 am

PurpleStone Press Ezine for January 2013

PurpleStone Press Ezine © not published
A Monthly Newsletter to keep readers informed on news in the book world, about moments not easily explained, stretching out to other genres, a personal story, events going on, comments from readers and more. Readers are welcome to comment or add their thoughts to the next newsletter.
Issue: January 2013 Wishing You A Healthy, Prosperous New Year!
Happenings & News Look for “A Gathering of Artists & Poets” coming on February 19, Tues. at the Warren County Memorial Library details to follow …….
What’s Goin’ On? PASSAGER, a press for writers over 50 website at: http://www.passagerbooks.com/?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=311d33937a-Winter_2012_Newsletter11_8_2012&utm_medium=email
They publish two issues a year, a poetry contest for the spring/summer and an open issue for the fall/winter. They suggest you browse previously published work before submitting. Their next reading period begins 1 Jaunary 2013.
Stories…Joseph Bonaparte & the Jersey Devil
Southern New Jersey still boasts of its Pine Barren with its natural setting of trees and swamps that have been since before the first settlers came. In those early days of the 1700s Mrs. Leeds lived there, mostly by herself while her husband was gone so often. She helped maintain her home and raising her house full of twelve children by using her skills as an herbalist and healer. She was known to help anyone who needed it.
While her birthing should have been an easy one, it was not. The reason was not recorded but it was repeated by the midwife that reported hearing her say, “the devil be this child” or something to that effect. Later the midwife swore the child was born with cloven hoof and wings.
Bonaparte’s Bordentown Gate House-still occupied.DSCF1827
When the Bonapartes began losing battles and power in Europe, Napoleon’s brother Joseph came to Bordentown, New Jersey to live ca. 1817. This was much more to his liking than ruling any country. The great men of the day all stopped to pay him a visit and enjoy his famous hospitality.
He was a naturalist and created a park-like setting on his approximately 800 acre estate which he thoroughly enjoyed. While out hunting in his wood one day he was surprised when he nearly bumped into a creature with cloven hoof and wings. The creature was as startled as he was, hissed at him and flew off never to be seen again. Joseph only found that it was the Jersey Devil when he gave a description while asking local Bordentonians what it was. People are still reporting Jersey Devil sightings. © Arlene S. Bice
Blogs, I Get Blogs ….. There are so many blogs out there that it is like going to a celebration buffet where nothing is stale from sitting too long or unhealthy because someone sneezed all over it. It’s easy to just take a taste of this and that…..and you don’t gain any weight or have to exercise extra hard to work it off. Just pick and choose what you want to read about.
London Calling at : http://general-southerner.blogspot.com/?wref=bif is one of the blogs that I’ve been enjoying for awhile now. Tony is a retired teacher and seems to jaunt around England taking great photos. His posts are varied but here are a few: A Tea with Jane Austen, Bath, Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp (in Bath), Virginia Woolf, Colin Firth, The 6th June 1944 D Day The British Beaches, Charles Dickens , and he has trekked up to see the Bronte sisters home. He has also done the Beatles and much more including modern subjects. Photography is his inspiration, so there are many lovely and creative shots to view.
This Month……While working on Bordentown stories, I’m also collecting North Carolina true ghost tales for the next book. If you know of anyone who would like to tell me their story, please put them in touch with me at: asbice@aol.com or 252-257-4838. Thanks ahead of time.
Book Review…. Since I was of the generation who enjoyed Burt Reynolds naked on a bearskin rug for Cosmo magazine in 1972; generally worked in a field dominated by men in those years that followed, I thoroughly enjoyed: Always Wear Joy: My Mother Bold and Beautiful by Susan Fales-Hill. An Afro-American television writer-producer looks back on her struggles and that of her mother, elegant dancer, actor, entertainer Josephine Premice. Although their struggle was partly their heritage, it was the same struggle many of us women fought through to attain the rights we deserved during those years. A good read that brought an earlier time back to my mind.

The Latest……. Ghostly Spirits of Warren County NC & Beyond (Soft Cover-2012 PurpleStone Press) $18.95 A candle in the window, a man who walks through walls, a woman from long ago…..peek into the personal stories of hauntings from those who wish to remain in their place on earth instead of going forward into the after-life. Warren County was a wealthy, thriving place during the antebellum years. Warrenton was the hub of activity, a destination on market days where friends gathered. These imprints were left and remain today.

Also Available…. Ghosts Of Bordentown (NJ) $14.95, Haunted Bordentown … (NJ) $14.95, Life & Labyrinth …Memoir & Poetry $17.95 , Major Fraser’s.. History $19.95, Images of America Series -Bordentown, Bordentown history, New Egypt & Plumsted Township, A history, Bordentown Revisited, More history including its surrounds $20 each.

Subscribe: Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me if you would like to receive the monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers. If you would like to unsubscribe, do the same interjecting the word unsubscribe, of course.

Open your mind. Keep reading. Be kind. Be gentle.

PurpleStone Press https://purplestoneblog.com/

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January 11, 2013 · 11:54 am

Indoor Winter Garden

 

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The days have been dreary even if they are warming up a bit now. This is the time of year when I really appreciate a little color in the house now that any holiday decorations are down and packed. It’s the time when the plants I brought in from the garden are beginning to bloom. Except for some reason half of my Christmas Cactus bloomed at Thanksgiving and the other half is brilliantly pink now.

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I’ve been looking for two pillars or boxes just the right height to hold the extra bookshelf slats I had in the shed. Unable to find them, so I put two folding chairs on temporary duty. After all it is the color in the flowers and the fresh herbs that are the stars of the show.

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The thyme and rosemary also stay healthy and green inside then go back into the garden again. It’s delightful to have herbs to snip at my fingertips without going into the outside cold.

 The other flowers are geraniums in hot pink and pale pink which travel back later to the garden. For the first time I brought my pink petunia inside.  It has been blooming like it found a home and loves it.

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December 31, 2012 · 9:33 am

What Is It About The Day Before….

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Today is New Year’s Eve, at least it will be when night falls over us. So it is a big deal turning the calendar to 2013… WOW! 2013! But it is only one day later than the 2012 that we are washing away with a reflection then just letting it go.

 Really, the day before I turned 60, I was 59, of course. Now the fifties are great but facing 60…WOW! That was a big step. People look at you and listen to you differently when you say you are 60. It is like they put you into a serious age category so they can listen to you without taking what you have to say seriously. But I was only one day older than yesterday. What’s up with that?

 Christmas Eve was very different when I was a child. It was something anticipated, creating more anticipation for Christmas Day. It was an evening of singing Christmas Carols in the neighborhood or to whoever would consent to listen. That wasn’t always an easy thing to do with a bunch of kids without the choral guidance of someone who knew about real music. But today it is about opening your gifts so you can spend Christmas Day opening gifts with the absent parent & the new family that you had no part in seeing it blossom. It is a day extended but so different from the day before.

 Happy New Year……Remember yesterday……Enjoy today……Treasure tomorrow.

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December 30, 2012 · 3:18 pm

Surreal or Preview?

DSCF2633
Friday, 28 December dawned like this. It was the day of the most amazing experience. I visited Ed McKay’s Used Book store to exchange some books for a few CDs and DVDs in Raleigh. Mostly the trip was for just getting away from the computer for a day. And what better way to relax than being surrounded by books & such. Content with my exchange, I was driving home to Macon heading north on Hwy 401 in Wake County, NC.

Cruising along listening to an audio book, not a day to be in a hurry, when I heard a ‘pop’ and wondered if a stone had flipped up from the road to hit the car. I thought no more of it until I heard a soft thump, thump, thump. “Oh, no,” I thought. Here I am out in a rural area, knowing I had just blown a tire. Darn. At least I wasn’t flying down the road speeding.
I started to coast toward the side after clicking on the hazard lights. But the shoulder looked like it may be soft. Knowing I had most likely ruined the tire anyway, I crept up to a driveway where I could at least pull out of traffic.

Yup. It was a blowout. The tire looked mighty sad. ‘Darn,’ I thought again. I called Triple AAA on my cell phone, got the message asking for my ID number, hung up because I’d have to look for the card, yadda, yadda, yadda. I got out again noting the mail box number so I could also give them some kind of location. That’s when the mini-miracle began to happen.
Two young men came walking down the driveway with a weed trimmer in hand. Guess they were going to trim around the entrance to their property. Smiling, one fellow came over to check things out, sweet as could be. They invited me to pull up the driveway to their garage about 100 foot away.

Within minutes they had the tire off the rim and my spare off the back of my tracker, zip, zip went the power drill, bolts off, deed done, new tire on and old tire in the back of the car. It was surreal. I barely had time to pet the dog! It only took a few minutes! They wouldn’t accept any money but they each got a very hearty hug from me and they sure have my gratitude.
Those two darling men turned my day from becoming an awful one to a wonderful one. I would not have been shocked if I saw halos floating over their heads, but I did not. I did see two gentlemen in jeans that will be in my thankful prayers of gratitude tonight and many nights more.

I didn’t even get their names!

But I’ve had strange experiences like this before and I would not be surprised if we meet again in the future, that this was a mini introduction to something bigger. We’ll see.

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December 30, 2012 · 9:08 am

Remembering the Odd Ones…..

John_&_Nina's_house_2101

At the end of December the media often reflects back and notes the public figures that have passed away over the last year. Fortunately our favorite actors can still be seen on DVDs so after a few years we’ll not remember if or when they left us. We still have the pleasure of their company.

Naturally loved ones always leave a hole in us that cannot be filled by anyone else. But also there are the teachers, casual friends and folks who have impacted our lives giving us direction and the wealth of their experience to help us down that road. Sometimes it is a person we have met only briefly who made a comment that tweaked its way into the back of our mind and stuck there.

Whenever I ask a group of writers to make a list of those who have given them sage words; mother, father, grandparents, aunts, and uncles are often the only ones mentioned on that list. But I know if given a bit of time and lots of thought digging into memory, teachers, the lady at the corner store, a clerk, an auto mechanic, even someone met at a party, i.e. the odd ones as opposed to the usual list, will pop up.

There is a long list in my pocket of people who come to mind at the oddest times and from places I thought I had long ago forgotten.

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December 28, 2012 · 1:03 pm

Aura Energy

ImageHave you had days or periods of time when your computer just stops working or acts differently than it usually does? For no apparent reason? I have had those experiences and have learned to just leave it, walk away, do something else and return to my PC at a later time…..always to success. The first time or two when my PC just did not come on when I pressed the magic button, I took it to a repair group. When that guy pressed the magic button, it came right on! Talk about feeling foolish.

When this happened a third time at a much later date, I recalled the first time it happened, and learned. But I didn’t know why this happened. It was always a time when I was wound up emotionally, upset, annoyed at something, or downright angry.

Ah-hah! The key! Not wanting to feel foolish, I had not discussed these phenomena with anyone. But since, I have come across an article on auras and researched more to get a full picture. Auras are energy fields that show up over/round our heads that some people can see, others not. The color reflects different traits and moods of a person. Think of mood rings……

Aside from that, with an aura being your energy field, the electronics around you can react to that energy. Many years ago when I drove across the country, my car clock registered a half-hour off! I couldn’t find any time change as I drove west that only registered a half hour. The time adjustment was always an hour. It puzzled me exceedingly.

As usual I asked several people that I thought may have an answer for me. No go. But now, years later, I recall that incident and finally know the answer.

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