Up on Hawthorn Hill
An update arrives
from the top of the hill
It has been quite some time since my last essay appeared in these pages. It is nice to be back where it all started. My first FJ essays appeared under the heading of “The Timely Writer” and after a while it changed to “Hawthorn Hill Journal.” That made a lot of sense, since so much of what I write is nurtured by an ongoing and quite intimate relationship with this gently sloping hillside we call home.
I ended most of my essays with a sort of thank-you note to my beloved sheltie, Gabby. And that is the case here so many years after her passing. The days are few that do not find me stopping by her memorial tree, sometimes sharing a thought aloud, other times just cherishing one of our many wonderful moments together over the course of her sixteen-year life.
For this first essay, I will share some random thoughts. Some having to do with Hawthorn Hill and others concerned with social and cultural trends casting a pall over our land. I am an optimist by nature. And while I see dark clouds above, it is my view that light is always more powerful than darkness and that we will square ourself with ourselves at some point down the line. We have no choice.
