Posts

Chapter 2 Crow's Escape from the Overseer!

-
So Mr. Mack stood in the garage staring at the photo of Jack and Rex with Laurel and Hardy, and he remembered when he first found that Crow could travel back in time.  It seemed odd then that Crow was only unconscious for a few minutes, but when he awakened Crow told him what had happened while he traveled back in time, and his story was extensive and laden with historical facts and details. Crow’s story begins when he was searching the internet for how slaves were treated during the times of slavery. Then in the blink of an eye, he finds himself in a field where slaves were harvesting tobacco. There’s a man, many who now would call a “cracker” yelling at the slaves who continued their work as effectively as possible. Then he noticed that Crow was standing to the side of the field. “Get your black ass out here and work or I’ll give you stripes like you ain't never seen!” A young black man reached out and pulled Crow into the field. He pointed at the other workers and told Crow to d...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chapter 1 Back From The Past

-
Image
     Who ever thought that I would be going back to that? I mean I can hardly remember how it all happened. It's been in excess of 30 years since CrowMac was a teenager, and through some sort of bioelectrometabolic reaction, he had been transferred back into history. He would become a slave on a Virginia tobacco plantation. Later, upon his return, his story would be backed by the receipt of a 100 year old letter from a friend he had met while he was there. As an adult, CrowMac, then Crow had been identified as one of only two people who had the ability to travel back through time, but at a cost. You see, I am the Mr. Mack who had adopted CrowMac and was his teacher on the Navajo Reservation. But I regress.      This particular morning, when the dogs were let out, they found their way into the garage and then pawed and chewed themselves into a box of Crow’s personal documents.      After a while, when the dogs did not return to the patio door,...
Post a Comment
Read more

I Am an Unreligious Christian

-
Image
Last Friday I was looking at some Facebook posts when I came across a person's post lamenting the loss of an old friend who had passed several years ago. The two had been close friends virtually all of their lives and had never parted ways. They had grown up in La Crescenta, CA and had remained close friends throughout their move to Utah and grew older together. I had attended the same high school as the two and though I didn't have the pleasure of knowing them well, I remember them as being friendly and that they seemed happy. It was mentioned in the post that both were members of the Church of the  Latter Day Saints and one person commented on the Facebook post stating, "You don't believe in the same God as we do." I have attended churches where the members, and even some pastors remarked similarly and I disliked what I heard. My uncle, a fine and respectable man was a Mormon. I taught at Noah Webster Basic School, a charter school in Mesa, AZ owned and operated...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arizona Trail: Miller Canyon, Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead to The Old Sonoita Highway

-
Image
         Miller Canyon            Okay, I've been derelict in posting on my blog. So I need to ask, "Who cares?" I've been blogging for fifteen years and I have a following of nearly four supporters. One passed, but she didn't like my writing anyway.      Yesterday, Jack and I headed toward Sierra Vista to find a trail to hike and after driving a bit, I found access to Miller Canyon. It wasn't the hike I had wanted. I'm really interested in hiking Miller Peak, all 9466 ft. of it. But yesterday was good cook hiking weather and Miller Canyon is an attractive hike.  The only problem I had was Jack.      Jack is well known here in Benson. He's smart, too smart! He's manipulative, passive aggressive, and..., That may be a little over the top.  But he grew up on the end of a cable, identifying everything that passes as a potential danger. That's hard to do. I've managed to train him to co...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arizona Ghost Towns: Tombstone, AZ

-
Image
  Tombstone  in Boot Hill Cemetery, Tombstone, Arizona. In its heyday, the 1880s Tombstone had a reputation for lawlessness . (n.d.). https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017742136/ HistorHistorical re-enactors at the Old Tombstone theme park and movie set help vistors visualize the raucous days of the 1880s in Tombstone, when this dusty patch of southeastern Arizona was so violent, it was known as “The Town Too Tough to Die.” Pictured are, left to right, owner Lee McKechnie, Udaya Sun, Jim Kolegraf, Leva Clark, and Jon Mossholder . (n.d.). https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018663251/ The MillioMillion Dollar Stope from which a million dollars worth of silver was taken in Tombstone’s initial boom. Stope mining is carried on in timber- supported passages. The passages lead for miles under the surrounding county and connect with other mines. Tombstone, Arizona . (n.d.). https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017786498/
Post a Comment
Read more

Arizona Ghost Towns: Fairbank

-
Fairbank For those who don't like driving long distances on dirt roads or walking trails through through the thorns of Palo Verde and Mesquite, you'll enjoy a visit to Fairbank. And no, this isn't a typo. There is no "S" at the end of Fairbank. The town is actually named after  Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank, a Chicago investor, and the person who brought trains to Fairbank. As you arrive at Fairbank, you will notice a nice, large parking lot. When you walk into what looks like a park, you will notice the remaining buildings. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Arizona Ghost Towns: Contention City

-
Image
Contention City Contention Mill Contention City is a ghost town that produced fortunes in silver ore during the 1880s. It is located approximately four miles north of the ghost town, Fairbank, AZ. There’s little or nothing left but scraps of metal, splintered pieces of wood and construction material, yet, for its purpose, it had been a good location for milling ore and mining. It was close to the San Pedro River, so there was water for operations, and water can be scarce where there are mines.  I also wondered why anyone would name a city, Contention. Well, the name, “Contention City,” came about due to an argument. Nikola Petrovski, the author of “All That Remains of the Once-Booming Town of Contention City, Arizona is Rubble and Dirt” states that Ed Schieffelin and two miners, Jack Friday and Ed Williams, argued over who owned the mine.  Friday and Williams’s mules had wandered off trailing their reins behind them. After finding the mules gone, Friday and Williams followed t...
Post a Comment
Read more