Posted By: Actor
A Writing of Miine.... - 12/11/19 08:09 PM
Although I have been on this site for 11 years, many years very active at other times, not so much. I don't really know many of you personally. One of my favorite things, other than trapping, (NO NOT THAT) ... I enjoy writing. I have been writing and publishing outdoor articles since 1971 and have published approximately 200. I have published in Fur, Fish & Game, Ohio Fisherman, and a regular monthly contributor the Outdoor Beacon for about 8 or 9 years, and Trappers Post. I also did articles for several newspapers and other magizines that are no long being published.
I also did the book called "Muskrats", that is being printed by Dakota Trappers Supply and can be purchased from several of the well known trapper supply companies. I also have a novel I wrote that is an adventure, with some hunting and trapping thrown in. I published it as an Ebook on Amazon.
Even before I was doing outdoor articles I was writing poetry. Most of it was of a rhyming style, but some as story style and some plain free verse. I am in the process of putting all of these writings together, hoping to publish it through Amazon, in Ebook and maybe printed form.
Why am I telling you this? Because I want to get to know some of you better, so what better way than you getting to know me better. I see what a lot of you are doing through photos of projects, etc., so I am presenting to you one of the last pieces I wrote, in a story form. It is one of the pieces that I enjoy reading over and over again. I am hoping that some of you will enjoy it, although I am sure some of you aren't interested in this type of writing, and that is okay too.
I am also using this to encourage others of you, to tell your stories of some of the unusual things you enjoy doing, so we all may get to know one another better.
Yours truly,
Garry-
PS - in case you are wondering, my user name Actor came from the 32 years of stage acting I did, but that is another story.
A Magical Day
Garry L. McLaughlin
As green as emeralds were the lush thick grass. Sprinkled throughout the carpet of greenery, were flowers of every kind, shape, and size, their sweet fragrance wafted through the air and titillated my senses.
The regal oak trees softly whispered their approval as they gently beckoned for all in their domain to participate in this joyous day. Shards of sunlight eluded the oak’s crown and pierced the ground all around me. The weeping willow trees dipped and weaved gently touching the pool of life-giving water, forming ringlets; one after another they raced across the otherwise placid surface of the water.
One sense after another stimulated my being, to my delight. Then a voice echoed from a faint whisper in the breeze. “Come to me, come to me.” With great trepidation and trembling, I at first hesitated and then slowly I began to rise to a sitting position. Peering in the direction of the pool, I could see nothing, but the sunrays that illuminated the mist rising from the water’s surface.
Intently I listened, but I could hear nothing except two rival birds dueling back and forth with their melodic calls.
Having held my breath so as not to let the sounds of my breathing interfere with the mystical voice, I sighed, a deep and wistful sigh, that must have astounded even the regal oaks.
Knowing that I had let my imagination twist and contort nature’s sounds into something that can be read about only in fairytales, I started to recline to my original position with my eyes closed, so as to absorb all that was around me. When all went quiet.
A chill went through my body, as though I had been pierced by a bolt of lightning. My breath left me. My eyes opened as quickly as the lens on a camera when the button is actuated.
I gazed at my surroundings. Slowly looking for anything I thought was out of place. I listened so intently, I imagined I could hear an orchestra of violins and harps playing a rhapsody with Mother Nature's creatures and plants being the participants. My senses were alert and ready for any sign of movement or sound.
There, it was again. “Come to me, come to me.” I slowly raised myself to a sitting position. I notice that mist that had been hanging listlessly over the water had now started to gather at a place in the middle of the pond. As it gathered it formed a vortex and slowly descended, down into the water.
All my senses had now reached a peak of awareness. I was full of apprehension but cautiously rose to my feet. My mind was whirling faster than the vortex of mist as I approached the edge of the pond. I looked, into the water at the point of the vortex and it was milky white in appearance and was slowly encroaching on the clarity of the surrounding water. The water at my feet was clear and I could see the bottom a few inches below the surface … What was happening?
My eyes quickly shifted to the vortex … “Come to me, come to me,” the voice whispered from the water. I could now hear it was an Angelic voice of a young female … or was it?
“Where are you, what do you need,” I cried out?
"Help me, come to me, help me," the voice responded. As the voice wafted into silence, I observed a delicate, feminine hand and arm reach up from the water.
Oh, Dear Lord, someone is drowning and I must try and save her … Without hesitation, I leaped from the bank of the pond. When my feet came down they didn't light on water … they landed abruptly on ice. Quickly I looked around. I had landed about 6 to 8 feet from the bank. Everything in front of me was covered by ice, and everything behind me was, as it had been.
“Help me. Please come help me,” the voice pleaded.
I could see the vortex had subsided and formed an ever-expanding cloud of haze over a jagged hole in the ice, twenty feet in front of me. I could see the hand and arm rise from the hole and slowly vanish back into the water. I was fearful of the of the ice and was becoming quite chilled. I must go on I thought and edged toward the hole. Almost to the hole, I noticed the delicate white arm was becoming blue.
As I reached the edge of the hole, the arm reached up, I grabbed it and with a swift and straining pull lifted the beautiful young being from the water and into my arms. With one swift motion, I had pulled her from the water and she ended up in my arms curled into a ball with her head tucked in.
Holding her was like holding a very large piece of ice. I hadn't realized how cold I was until that moment. My eyes were to the point of freezing shut and the water that dripped from her expulsion from the water had drenched me and immediately froze into cakes of ice and ice cycles hanging from my arms. I slowly moved toward the shore. Aware of the ever-increasing cracking of the ice beneath my feet, I moved forward.
As I reached the bank, I was relieved, but almost entirely blinded by the ice. I carefully stepped up onto the bank and the ice melted away almost immediately. I could feel the body that was cradled in my arms begin to warm but without any movement. As I walked, my breathing and warmth were returning to my body.
I opened my half-shut eyes to look at the beautiful creature I had so instinctively rescued … And she was gone. I had just felt her arms around my neck and her body and weight in my arms …. Where had she gone?
Totally amazed, I stood there with my arms at my side. Then I saw a movement on the front of my shirt … I looked down and there was a beautiful butterfly. Its wings were golden with streaks of a rainbow running through them. I reached my hand down to it … it crawled onto my fingers … flapped its wings … and flew away.
I turned around and looked at the pond, and the tree, the sun was shining through its branches … this truly has been a magical day.
September 14, 2017
I also did the book called "Muskrats", that is being printed by Dakota Trappers Supply and can be purchased from several of the well known trapper supply companies. I also have a novel I wrote that is an adventure, with some hunting and trapping thrown in. I published it as an Ebook on Amazon.
Even before I was doing outdoor articles I was writing poetry. Most of it was of a rhyming style, but some as story style and some plain free verse. I am in the process of putting all of these writings together, hoping to publish it through Amazon, in Ebook and maybe printed form.
Why am I telling you this? Because I want to get to know some of you better, so what better way than you getting to know me better. I see what a lot of you are doing through photos of projects, etc., so I am presenting to you one of the last pieces I wrote, in a story form. It is one of the pieces that I enjoy reading over and over again. I am hoping that some of you will enjoy it, although I am sure some of you aren't interested in this type of writing, and that is okay too.
I am also using this to encourage others of you, to tell your stories of some of the unusual things you enjoy doing, so we all may get to know one another better.
Yours truly,
Garry-
PS - in case you are wondering, my user name Actor came from the 32 years of stage acting I did, but that is another story.
A Magical Day
Garry L. McLaughlin
As green as emeralds were the lush thick grass. Sprinkled throughout the carpet of greenery, were flowers of every kind, shape, and size, their sweet fragrance wafted through the air and titillated my senses.
The regal oak trees softly whispered their approval as they gently beckoned for all in their domain to participate in this joyous day. Shards of sunlight eluded the oak’s crown and pierced the ground all around me. The weeping willow trees dipped and weaved gently touching the pool of life-giving water, forming ringlets; one after another they raced across the otherwise placid surface of the water.
One sense after another stimulated my being, to my delight. Then a voice echoed from a faint whisper in the breeze. “Come to me, come to me.” With great trepidation and trembling, I at first hesitated and then slowly I began to rise to a sitting position. Peering in the direction of the pool, I could see nothing, but the sunrays that illuminated the mist rising from the water’s surface.
Intently I listened, but I could hear nothing except two rival birds dueling back and forth with their melodic calls.
Having held my breath so as not to let the sounds of my breathing interfere with the mystical voice, I sighed, a deep and wistful sigh, that must have astounded even the regal oaks.
Knowing that I had let my imagination twist and contort nature’s sounds into something that can be read about only in fairytales, I started to recline to my original position with my eyes closed, so as to absorb all that was around me. When all went quiet.
A chill went through my body, as though I had been pierced by a bolt of lightning. My breath left me. My eyes opened as quickly as the lens on a camera when the button is actuated.
I gazed at my surroundings. Slowly looking for anything I thought was out of place. I listened so intently, I imagined I could hear an orchestra of violins and harps playing a rhapsody with Mother Nature's creatures and plants being the participants. My senses were alert and ready for any sign of movement or sound.
There, it was again. “Come to me, come to me.” I slowly raised myself to a sitting position. I notice that mist that had been hanging listlessly over the water had now started to gather at a place in the middle of the pond. As it gathered it formed a vortex and slowly descended, down into the water.
All my senses had now reached a peak of awareness. I was full of apprehension but cautiously rose to my feet. My mind was whirling faster than the vortex of mist as I approached the edge of the pond. I looked, into the water at the point of the vortex and it was milky white in appearance and was slowly encroaching on the clarity of the surrounding water. The water at my feet was clear and I could see the bottom a few inches below the surface … What was happening?
My eyes quickly shifted to the vortex … “Come to me, come to me,” the voice whispered from the water. I could now hear it was an Angelic voice of a young female … or was it?
“Where are you, what do you need,” I cried out?
"Help me, come to me, help me," the voice responded. As the voice wafted into silence, I observed a delicate, feminine hand and arm reach up from the water.
Oh, Dear Lord, someone is drowning and I must try and save her … Without hesitation, I leaped from the bank of the pond. When my feet came down they didn't light on water … they landed abruptly on ice. Quickly I looked around. I had landed about 6 to 8 feet from the bank. Everything in front of me was covered by ice, and everything behind me was, as it had been.
“Help me. Please come help me,” the voice pleaded.
I could see the vortex had subsided and formed an ever-expanding cloud of haze over a jagged hole in the ice, twenty feet in front of me. I could see the hand and arm rise from the hole and slowly vanish back into the water. I was fearful of the of the ice and was becoming quite chilled. I must go on I thought and edged toward the hole. Almost to the hole, I noticed the delicate white arm was becoming blue.
As I reached the edge of the hole, the arm reached up, I grabbed it and with a swift and straining pull lifted the beautiful young being from the water and into my arms. With one swift motion, I had pulled her from the water and she ended up in my arms curled into a ball with her head tucked in.
Holding her was like holding a very large piece of ice. I hadn't realized how cold I was until that moment. My eyes were to the point of freezing shut and the water that dripped from her expulsion from the water had drenched me and immediately froze into cakes of ice and ice cycles hanging from my arms. I slowly moved toward the shore. Aware of the ever-increasing cracking of the ice beneath my feet, I moved forward.
As I reached the bank, I was relieved, but almost entirely blinded by the ice. I carefully stepped up onto the bank and the ice melted away almost immediately. I could feel the body that was cradled in my arms begin to warm but without any movement. As I walked, my breathing and warmth were returning to my body.
I opened my half-shut eyes to look at the beautiful creature I had so instinctively rescued … And she was gone. I had just felt her arms around my neck and her body and weight in my arms …. Where had she gone?
Totally amazed, I stood there with my arms at my side. Then I saw a movement on the front of my shirt … I looked down and there was a beautiful butterfly. Its wings were golden with streaks of a rainbow running through them. I reached my hand down to it … it crawled onto my fingers … flapped its wings … and flew away.
I turned around and looked at the pond, and the tree, the sun was shining through its branches … this truly has been a magical day.
September 14, 2017