Recurring Dream
Patrick reflects on a recurring dream about a house in West Virginia and an old woman with a big book.
Category: Musings
Ghost
Observations about beliefs in an afterlife, woven around a recent viewing of the movie Ghost and the tropes it employed.
Lunch at Home
I am sitting at home with a wee bit of scotch in my glass and pork chops in front of me. Even though I’m drinking Glenfiddich instead of Jameson’s, Patrick would appreciate my beverage choice and the fact that I cooked a meal for myself for a change. Before my first sip I raised my […]
Ringed by Fire and Smoke
Huge flames flicker along the ridges to the north and west of my house. In truth they are probably 10 miles away, but they are bright enough and broad enough, and the winds fierce enough, that I ponder my evacuation plan should the need arise. I look closely at the distant fires, then climb into […]
Our Lives, Like Birds
Our lives are like birds. Sometimes they fly together, sometimes one is above the other, or below, but ultimately every bird falls from the sky. And yet, we somehow still see them, always flying, even after they disappear. When they don’t return, we can only hope that they’ve just flown away. (inspired by a conversation […]
No Brainer
We were eating in a bar after a concert, and joined at table a young man named Toby. About halfway through the meal he leaned forward over his plate and pretended to vomit everything he had put in his mouth. Disgusting. I was in those days quick to temper, and I got up from my […]
Public Lament (Coffin Parade)
A short piece by Patrick dated 9 Aug 2016, though the file would only show the date of the last edit. The file name said “coffin parade” but the title in the file is “Public Lament.” We were sitting in the bar having a cafè con leche. It was mid-morning. The local workmen had hours […]
Swimming Through the Tsunami of Tourists
Walking the the village every day, swimming through the tsunami of tourists, I often see local residents floating among the foreigners. I don’t know their names, though we occasionally might nod to each other as we make eye contact. There is the one I call PatrickPatrick Meadows 1934 – 2017. patrick-meadows.com
Heading to Coos Bay, Oregon
Patrick and Lee traveled to Oregon after high school. Here’s a story fragment about the experience. He references the Seventh Day Adventist religious group, but he’s actually describing the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a different Christian sect. The fragment is from a collection called You Never Know that Patrick sent me on 11 Aug ’15. South of […]
The Same Dream Came to Me
For more years than I ever thought to count, the same dream came to me. I am no more sure when first I dreamt the dream than I can ascertain when the dream ceased. I know it was still coming to me after I met Stephanie, often enough that I mentioned it to her more […]
patrick (variation of a poem by e e cummings)
It seems appropriate to post this on Valentine’s Day, that Hallmark card celebration that can nonetheless be used to convey real love. I’ll post the back story that goes with it when I get a chance. i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) i am never without it (anywhere i […]
Doing It Again, Jumping to the Past
Here I am doing it again, jumping to the past. In 1956 Lois was with her clique and claque in the Coffee Shoppe of the music department every day. Me too, with John Patrick on my lap. PatrickPatrick Meadows 1934 – 2017. patrick-meadows.com
As I Approach Eighty
I approach eighty living on this beautiful island, and probably will finish up here. Over half my life I have been living here in paradise. To get here and stay here I sinned a lot, but it has been worth it. Unless, of course, when I quit this world I have to pay for those […]
The Gospel According to Sr. Patrick
In Spain everyone is born with two last names. The first is your fathers’ (first) last name, and the second is your mother’s (first) last name. So if I were born in Spain of Spanish parents, my name would be James Patrick Meadows Toombs. But in fact I was born in West Virginia and my […]
With Whatever Love for Life that Is Left to Me, I Will Seek Love
Found in my e-mail, this was part of a collection of things Patrick sent me called “You Never Know.” This segment is dated 19 April 2006. My first impulse when Stephanie died was to dump everything – after 29 years together, the accumulated baggage was overwhelming. Not only physical objects – the house was full […]