My Portfolio

Growing up in the 1950s was a far different experience than that of children today.  We knew every family on our block, the names and ages of their kids and the names of the family pets. We knew what the fathers of the families did for a living, what time they...

My mother earned a teaching degree from the University of Georgia in the mid 1960's.  She taught for a few years and then had to stop to have me.  Back then you could not teach and be pregnant (GASP!!). Her main profession was raising my brother and me and that kept...

My mother was born in Ft. Kent, Maine in 1903.  She was the third of eight children.  Two of her siblings died.  Her father owned a tremedous amount of land but due to his poor eyesight he could not work and the land was sold off to support the family.  My...

Shug My Mother   The cotton fields of Arkansas were too small to hold her dreams,                 Too bleak to hold her hopes Her soul heard music, poetry, drama Her mystic intuition                 Told her of stars waiting to be touched But her eyes saw only endless rows of cotton                ...

  On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Explaining Glaciers   The Athabasca Glacier, located in Jasper National Park of Alberta, Canada is an example of a mountain glacier. Mountain glaciers typically form at the downslope foot of steep ridges and then extend into lower elevations...

  On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Washoe Indian Encampment at Wrights Lake, California Only after joining the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy as a volunteer in 2009 did Footloose Forester rekindle his interest in geology.  Having the time to document his memoirs helped, but the thoughts...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   R is Rwanda   Never will the Footloose Forester be able to tie the events in Rwanda and Burundi together in a historical or insightful way. But since he traveled to both countries on various occasions, the personal memories...

Have you ever loved someone so much it hurt?

I grew up in a very caring family but one with limited resources.  My dad worked at a refinery and my mother was a housewife so there was not much money for non-essential items. When I was in the 9th grade, I was invited to a house party that was "dress-up." ...

The first home I remember was my grandparents house at 438 Magill Road, Tranmere. In those days it was on a double block and my grand father had his doctor's surgery there. Click on the green audio button to hear more about this beautiful home.  

When I left home I left behind the greatest friend I would ever have. My mother and I were very close. Even though I was miles away, we talked every day, sometimes two or three times a day.  Many miles separated us, but I traveled that nine hundred and ninety two...

Dolly passed away peacefully on Saturday morning after a long struggle with declining health.  She was a vibrant woman, funny & opinionated. Dolly lived in the Bronx until she moved to Spring Hill, Florida. She was the widow of Manuel Fuenmayor and had two children. This is Dolly on the left,...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   The Grey Wall, Desolation Valley Wilderness Area   Haunting personal memories of the past are sometimes ugly ones, but in repeated exercises to maintain mental health, most of his preferred recollections induce smiles and pleasant thoughts.  We all would...

Today, April 25th, is Anzac Day. It is the Day of Remembrance in Australia and New Zealand commemorating the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli on April 25th 1915. It turned out to be one of the most futile campaigns of all time but it created the national...

If you would have asked this question last week, I would have said no, this has never happened to me. However, this past Monday on October 3rd, 2011 I was laid off from my job. I worked for a non-profit organization. They were a great company to work for. They are...

  I remember hearing some stories about the women on my mother’s side of our family that made me believe they were women who were way ahead of their times in their thinking, attitudes and behaviors. I think they must have learned at a very young age to be independent and...

A much loved keepsake of my mother has recently found a new home in Ohio, Springfield Museum of Art. Its beginnings can be traced to the art department of Newcomb College in New Orleans and a talented potter by the name of Henrietta Bailey around 1919. We call it the Daffodil...

    It was after 6:00 when my long day ended and the offices were quiet at last. I surveyed my overflowing desk, then stood and stretched wearily.  Alone in the silence, I could hear the snaps and crackles as I slowly rotated my neck to relieve the day’s tension.  I hoped...

On the road…again!!! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Giving Up Barbershops Except for the one time he went to a barber in Gainesville, Florida before leaving for the Organization for Tropical Studies study program in Costa Rica in 1970, the Footloose Forester decided to...

  When I was in the Navy and we'd be out to sea, once a week we'd have boxing matches.  And the other week we'd have wrestling matches.  It was for entertainment to keep the troops entertained when we were out to sea.  We'd be out six to eight months at...