Havana
This story paints, in very broad strokes, Patrick’s take on meeting my mom, getting married, and becoming a parent. Although Patrick titled this piece Havana, that Cuban city is referenced only in passing.
Tag: Autobiographical
Autobiographical stories from Patrick’s life.
Patrick’s Perceptions of John
This is a recording from eleven years ago today, 16 Nov 2011, in which Patrick talks a bit about his first father-in-law (John, who subsequently adopted me) as well as Patrick’s paintings and poetry, stories ahead of their time, Dori teaching reading through dance, and Patrick repeating the 11th grade. JPI’m the son of Patrick […]
The Zambak and Why Patrick Had to Leave Turkey
Here’s a six minute long conversation between Patrick, Suzy, and myself from ten years ago (recorded on 5 Dec 2011). Patrick describes sailing the Zambak and the aftermath, including the reason Patrick and Mari had to leave Turkey. At the end the story pivots and he mentions the telegram saying “no child support.” It’s still […]
Phil Anders
Phil Anders, now entering his eighties, often wondered whether his name had predestined him to the life he had led. Of course he was already in his late teens when he recognized the implications, but since then he had lived up to the meaning of the word philander. PatrickPatrick Meadows 1934 – 2017. patrick-meadows.com
Pension Reiss
A couple of loose pages I found that describes Patrick and Mari’s arrival in Germany. This would have probably been 1962 or ’63 I think. I found this in the folder titled Bohemians of the Tramatura although the story has nothing to do with Spain. PatrickPatrick Meadows 1934 – 2017. patrick-meadows.com
Honey Bees
Here’s a sketch about growing up in West Virginia, found in the Bohemians of the Tramatura folder. Patrick mentions his brother Jack, who had a combination safe at the age of 11. PatrickPatrick Meadows 1934 – 2017. patrick-meadows.com
Stephanie’s Marker and the Growth of Music Festivals
Patrick begins this recording of 18 March 2017 explaining the meaning of Stephanie’s marker and what he’d like for his own. The tale then expands to the music festival and how their festival spawned a bunch of separate festivals all over the island. JP: So that will still there [Stephanie’s marker on the cemetery wall] […]
The Simplest Detail
Another short block from Patrick’s Scattered Notes collection. I don’t know if the poem belonged with the paragraph, but it doesn’t hurt to combine them here. Perhaps because it was my first visit to Europe, when I was young and in love, the simplest detail gave the thrill of adventure – unsliced bread, fresh every […]
Patrick’s Most Memorable Cities
This is the transcription of a recording from 2 Oct 2014 when Patrick accompanied me on a trip to Prescott, Arizona for the Prescott Rally. I’ll see if I can upload the recording at some point so you can hear his voice. JP: For each of the major European cities, what things are the most […]
Whistle Punk in Coos Bay Lumber Camp 1953
Here’s the prequel to Patrick’s autobiographical story https://www.patrick-meadows.com/heading-to-coos-bay/ about his brief time as a lumberjack with Lee. I found this in Patrick’s Scattered Notes collection. I was choker setter. Lee chased the cat. Before starting college, I looked for a summer job to accumulate funds for my studies. My parents could not afford to send […]
Double or Nothing
Here’s a story of Patrick’s he started in the late 1990s and completed in 2013. I remember the beginning part first hand, and a bit more he didn’t mention, but the second part, well, I’d never heard a word of that. From South Carolina, when we picked up my two girls and my son from […]
Oktav (the Story of the Harpsichord)
Stephanie’s instrument was recorder so from the outset it was evident we needed a harpsichord. My experience with music told me that if you had the instruments, the musicians would appear, a kind of magic. So if you had a guitar, for instance, everyone with an illusion of being the next Bob Dylan or Cat […]
Shorty (Short Story)
Kids were fascinated by the way Shorty got around East End. In those days, the only paved road in our part of town was Highway 50, unless you count the short road up the hill to the Gospel Tabernacle. The remainder of roads were mud tracks, sometimes covered with what they called red-dog, the rose-colored […]
Mayfair Burning
It was the Great Depression, and we, like all our neighbors, were forever short of cash money. It was pinto beans and mashed potatoes all week, and on Sunday stringy meat which made my teeth shift in my gums. It was burnt bacon and pan biscuits for my father’s breakfast, and flour gravy over biscuits […]
Coupling
It was only after his live-in partner left and he began shopping and cooking for himself did he notice that the food packaging industry basically had only two marketing models: couples and family size. This was a little more than annoying. Either he ate a lot of creamed spinach at one sitting, to use this […]