• About “The Salamander’s Quill”
  • Goals and Definitions
  • Copyright
  • Resources and Library
  • I Like What I Do Because…

The Salamander's Quill

~ We hunt the white whale, and we'll no be goin' back!

The Salamander's Quill

Tag Archives: OHS

“And some folks say, he’s up there still” 2

14 Saturday May 2016

Posted by André J. Powell in Observation

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

OHS, Yosemite

Nevada falls     A colleague of mine–to whom I will forever be grateful—had taken up the mantle of advisor and revived the high school backpacking and outdoor club. She organized the field-trip and I was invited to go along as part of the staff contingent. Though excited, I was apprehensive. It had been nearly twenty years since I’d last hiked in altitude, and I was no longer in the shape I was. I had gained 100 pounds, developed a “bad” knee and lost nearly all of my stamina. All week I brooded on whether or not I should bow out. Prom is next weekend, I thought; I could use this weekend to work on associated projects. I have tons of grading to do; I could get it done on Saturday. My mother was–and is–sick; she might need me for something. I had moved multiple times and couldn’t find my hiking gear (particularly my boots).
      Friday after school, however, I ended up purchasing a few items and settled on using my day-hikers–don’t let that fool you; I hadn’t used them in true anger for years. I continued to wrestle with cancelling almost until my alarm rang at 03:00. As it was, I arrived a bit late, but just a bit before the last person boarded the bus. It was only when I’d settled into my seat, that I decided I was going.
Keep On Reading!

“And some folks say, he’s up there still” 1

01 Sunday May 2016

Posted by André J. Powell in Observation

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

OHS, Yosemite

Yosemite vista-point     After being asleep for over a decade, I unexpectedly woke up in the mountains yesterday. It was like a sudden and unlooked for encounter with an estranged friend or like going for a familiar walk only to have the ground give way. Standing at the stone railing of Yosemite Valley’s photogenic vista-point, memories and emotions spooled as I my eyes reacquainted themselves with a place I had not seen in years but which I had once known and hiked often. I slowly become aware of myself, the dull throbbing in my knee, the effort to draw a satisfying breath, the leaden heaviness of my limbs, the telling gray of my beard, and the wide yawning void between then and now. Surrounded by youthful energy and exuberance, I was brought up short by just how far this [old] “…hawk…” was “…from the moon.” And I realized, I wasn’t simply looking at the Valley. I was gazing into a mirror and the estranged friend I found there was not someone else; it was me.
Keep On Reading!

A wanna-be writer and sometime poet trying to live, love and learn as much as I can with the time I have left.

Recent Posts

  • NaNoWriMo’19 Day 1: 1292
  • NaNoWriMo ’19
  • Outlining: What-If Exercises and Variants
  • I’ve Decided to Set Aside WIP 6.1
  • And now for a word of encouragement for Lanimage:

Archives

Categories

Artist blogs

  • Gracesidhe Decorator, writer, model and librarian!
  • Ravven's Glass Amazing wirter, artist and friend
  • Story Monster Storytelling at its finest–Heather’s site never fails to put a smile in my heart!

Blogroll

  • Magical Words A fantasy/scifi author group
  • Sword and Laser Online book club
  • The Office of Letters and Light NaNoWriMo parent organization
  • The Piper Who Came of Age Too Late My bagpiping blog
  • The Slootsian Dialectics Wizard and scholar-piper

Writer blogs

  • Ink-stained Daydreams The writing blog of Justin Beeman
  • Invisible Ink The fantasy and writing blog of Whitney Carter
  • Story and Somnomancy Writer, Good Friend and Ravenclaw princess

Writer Guru

  • Pocket Full of Words Holly Lisle: author and creator of How To Think Sideways

NaNoWriMo 2017

NaNoWriMo 2013

NaNoWriMo 2012

NaNoWriMo 2011

JulNoWriMo 2011

So Say We All

read the printed word!

Goodreads

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 61 other subscribers

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • The Salamander's Quill
    • Join 61 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Salamander's Quill
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...