My Portfolio

I, like so many other people, am going to start fresh commitments, or renew old ones, for the start of this new year.  My hope is to concentrate on goals that will better myself, and renew my commitment to learn more about my ancestors and who they really were through personal...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Blue Rose of Kenya Young Lucy Pellek was given the privilege of naming our pets. She grew up chasing Dolie around our house in Cape Verde, so was comfortable with the idea of having a dog as a playmate...

On the road…again! Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   The Tiger and The Bear   Lots of couples have nicknames for one another, and Footloose Forester and his soul mate were among that group. Thu’s mother was known by some people as Tiger Dao, and with the...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Faithful Four-Footed Friends in Saigon   Humans tend to crowd out unpleasant thoughts and retain the memories of the happy times in their lives. Living in a war zone in Viet Nam for almost three years had its...

The question " What do I know about the faith of my grandparents?" is a powerful question. I have asked myself many times, "Can I live up to the legacy of the faith they exhibited?" "Can I pass to my future generations an example of the faith that they showed in...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   For the Birds   Just when he thought he had seen everything at his bird feeders outside the rear bedroom window, the Footloose Forester yesterday got a treat that he would never have predicted. The previous morning as he...

  On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Magic Mushrooms   My father told me about wild mushrooms way back, but it was a Hungarian immigrant in New Jersey who convinced me that if you know what to look for, you need not get sick by...

Sometimes unexpected joys come to us that are so far from being anticipated that they completely blindside us. I suspect God might specialize in using our children to bless us in this manner. During our son Daniel's growing up years I frequently put on my best (admittedly awful) British accent by...

On the road… again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Looking for Suzie When we lived in Honolulu, Thu and the Footloose Forester chose to seek out a church where we would be comfortable. The very old, traditional, but decidedly frumpy cathedral in Waikiki had far fewer parishioners...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek  Telling Stories With Pictures A book with pictures always adds something positive to the storyline. Short stories usually don’t have pictures but that does not mean that pictures or sketches don’t suit the short-story genre. With the ever changing sophistication...

On the road …again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek  Obelisk in Shadow Some people look at a rock outcrop and just see rocks. Others look and don’t see anything, and they say so. Yet others look and see the manifestations of natural history; they see various shapes, colors,...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek         H is for Hawaii When it was over, the Footloose Forester blurted out in a public forum that the past six years were the shortest years in his life. They were probably the happiest years, as well; those halcyon...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Gorée Island, Senegal During a 2-month extension of the Environmental Impact Statement phase of the Senegal River Basin Project, wife Thu joined with Footloose Forester and packed her things for a new adventure. We were lucky enough to get...

On the road… again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek    Living on the Terminal Moraine   After a short one-page article about terminal moraine boulders in Netcong, New Jersey was published in the geology section of About.com in April 2011, it now becomes apparent that...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   T is for Tanzania Many people know that Mount Kilimanjaro is located in East Africa and that there is snow at its summit. At 19,341 feet above sea level, the top of Kilimanjaro is a sacred place to many...

On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia     Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek            Originally published on 2 January 2012                 A Story of War Joe Fodor is going on 90 now, but you would never know it...

This week’s prompt is: Do you make New Year resolutions? If not why? If so, what are your 2012 resolutions? First off - Happy New Year!! And happy 2012! Most nights, I stay home - avoiding the drunks on the road.  Last night, I went to dinner with my best friend,...

Grandpa Folkers would sit hunched over in his rocking chair.  He was quite a heavy man.  He stood a head taller than grandma Folkers who was quite short.  It was wintertime, and he was sitting in the chair.  There was no heat in the bedroom, and the kitchen had the cookstove,...

As usual, I’m about a month behind. The story prompt for November 11 had to do with holiday traditions, and here I am sitting down to write about this on December 20th.... Maybe you can relate. There’s a door in the back of my mind behind which lurks an evil miasma...

As you look back, what are the three most incredible changes you have witnessed? Legacy Story Prompt December Week 3 OK ; I’m not as old as some of you but I’ve been around the block a time or two. I’ve worked on copying machines most of my life so I...