Like Paul Warnock's fictional writings based upon his memories of growing up in
Rockingham, I also pen my non-fictional writings based upon my memories of
growing up in Rockingham. Furthermore like Paul's CYA statement before the
opening paragraph of every story "all characters & events are fictional, and any
resemblance to anyone living or deceased is coincidental and unintended," I declare,
"All characters and events are non-fictional, and any resemblance to anyone living or
deceased is premeditated and intentional." I preface my mission statement with two
declarations:
1. A mind is a terrible thing to lose, more specifically - a memory. Sometimes
opinions can be perceived as the truth. The old party game is a splendid example.
Whisper a truth into the person's ear to your right and have him to whisper that same
truth to the person sitting on his right. The more receiving ears in the room, the more
likely the last to receive the message may not hear "the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth." Similarly, memories can be equally created. The more years
between whispers, the more likely ... Well, you get the picture.
2. My writings are like Ivory Soap. Ivory Soap is the soap advertised to clean
complexions, yes even a baby's complexion. Ivory Soap can perform this task
because it's commercials and paper wrapping declares, "Ivory Soap, 99-44/100 %
pure." Likewise, my writings are " 99-44/100 %" true. I would like to think my
writings are 99-44/100 % truth and 0-56/100 % truth stretched enough to the limits
to make 99-44/100 % entertaining. It is with this same style that the late Lewis
Grizzard wrote about growing up in his beloved small, textile hometown of
Moreland, Georgia in the ' 50s and ' 60s that I write about "growing up in a small,
textile town in the South in the '50s & ' 60s" - Rockingham, North Carolina, my
hometown!
My memories of growing up in Rockingham are based on childhood friendships. The
older I become, the more I cherish these friendships. I enjoy sharing memories of
these friendships via rockinghamremembered.com, the website of Joel Bailey (RHS '
66), a childhood friend and high school classmate. I have shared some of my
memories of some of my friends over this website yet I have only briefly mentioned
the best childhood friend I ever had - my dog Zeke!
A young boy's dog and their bond is best described in the following quote by an
unknown author: "He is your best friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You
are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of
his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." With this quote as an
inspiration, I thought I could write a "theme paper" in one hour entitled "My Dog
Zeke " as I did in Miss Osborne's tenth grade English class on various subjects. I
quickly discovered I could not condense my adoration into one page. Surely though I
could capture this love in short story fashion; WRONG!!! What eventually evolved as
I reflected on the times and adventures my brothers and I experienced with that old
dog was a mini-novel if such a literary classification exits. The love of a dog and his
three mini-masters was fertilized by the love of their Grandmaster, my Dad. When all
four of us are together which is a rare but cherished occasion, something in our
conversation triggers the name Zeke. Inevitably, another unknown but not forgotten
saga about our hero emerges. Thus, I hope you understand why a "theme paper" just
would not suffice about our love for this old mutt. Zeke deserves more; I "owe it to
him to be worthy of such devotion."
To be continued ...
Rockingham, I also pen my non-fictional writings based upon my memories of
growing up in Rockingham. Furthermore like Paul's CYA statement before the
opening paragraph of every story "all characters & events are fictional, and any
resemblance to anyone living or deceased is coincidental and unintended," I declare,
"All characters and events are non-fictional, and any resemblance to anyone living or
deceased is premeditated and intentional." I preface my mission statement with two
declarations:
1. A mind is a terrible thing to lose, more specifically - a memory. Sometimes
opinions can be perceived as the truth. The old party game is a splendid example.
Whisper a truth into the person's ear to your right and have him to whisper that same
truth to the person sitting on his right. The more receiving ears in the room, the more
likely the last to receive the message may not hear "the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth." Similarly, memories can be equally created. The more years
between whispers, the more likely ... Well, you get the picture.
2. My writings are like Ivory Soap. Ivory Soap is the soap advertised to clean
complexions, yes even a baby's complexion. Ivory Soap can perform this task
because it's commercials and paper wrapping declares, "Ivory Soap, 99-44/100 %
pure." Likewise, my writings are " 99-44/100 %" true. I would like to think my
writings are 99-44/100 % truth and 0-56/100 % truth stretched enough to the limits
to make 99-44/100 % entertaining. It is with this same style that the late Lewis
Grizzard wrote about growing up in his beloved small, textile hometown of
Moreland, Georgia in the ' 50s and ' 60s that I write about "growing up in a small,
textile town in the South in the '50s & ' 60s" - Rockingham, North Carolina, my
hometown!
My memories of growing up in Rockingham are based on childhood friendships. The
older I become, the more I cherish these friendships. I enjoy sharing memories of
these friendships via rockinghamremembered.com, the website of Joel Bailey (RHS '
66), a childhood friend and high school classmate. I have shared some of my
memories of some of my friends over this website yet I have only briefly mentioned
the best childhood friend I ever had - my dog Zeke!
A young boy's dog and their bond is best described in the following quote by an
unknown author: "He is your best friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You
are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of
his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." With this quote as an
inspiration, I thought I could write a "theme paper" in one hour entitled "My Dog
Zeke " as I did in Miss Osborne's tenth grade English class on various subjects. I
quickly discovered I could not condense my adoration into one page. Surely though I
could capture this love in short story fashion; WRONG!!! What eventually evolved as
I reflected on the times and adventures my brothers and I experienced with that old
dog was a mini-novel if such a literary classification exits. The love of a dog and his
three mini-masters was fertilized by the love of their Grandmaster, my Dad. When all
four of us are together which is a rare but cherished occasion, something in our
conversation triggers the name Zeke. Inevitably, another unknown but not forgotten
saga about our hero emerges. Thus, I hope you understand why a "theme paper" just
would not suffice about our love for this old mutt. Zeke deserves more; I "owe it to
him to be worthy of such devotion."
To be continued ...
| Zeke - King of the Road written by Bob McDonald Preface |
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