Today we shall begin a tour of Pigeons Roost.

Back entrance of Deer Crest Manor

It's a gathering of empty chairs waiting for friends. We often sit together in the cool of the afternoon/evening to exchange ideas or make general complaints to no one in particular. We swap stories and most of the time we laugh at ourselves and each other. We are simply like other human beings who find themselves looking into the end of the journey and wondering if we made a difference.

My car has never been lost in a parking lot.

This is my seaworthy 1995 Oldsmobile, Juliet. She has been a loyal frigate and carried me safely to many near and distant shores. I require no crew to sail from port to port. When a wind from fancy catches itself in the belly of her sail we simply depart.  We set our sails without fanfare or even a glimmer of astonishment, for our journeys have been full of wonder and I marvel no more at what may occur on any given day. She is also capable of time travel... backward and forward, too.  Ah, well. That's another story for another day.

Broken T-rust.

Juliet is sick with rust but she continues to carry me onward and upward.  I cover some of her wounds with carefully selected bumper stickers so she will not be embarrassed by captions that do not appeal to her high standards. This is a particular favorite of hers for in 1994 I traveled to Chiapas and met with many of these stalwart rebels.

Three Marines

There are three Marines in the family now: Charles, Annie and Royal. 

Brandon

On the day before Brandon was murdered I had taken his mother/my daughter, Wallis to the store for groceries. On our return to the house, Brandon came out to help carry the bags inside. He stopped and looked at the Marine stickers on the car and asked if I would have room for his stickers when he joined the Army. I took him to the other side of the car and showed him where his stickers would be attached. He laughed softly and was satisfied. As I backed out of the yard he stood on the porch and gave me his beautiful smile accompanied by a grand wave and a smart salute. We laughed together. It would be the last time I'd see him alive. But I have put stickers on the car as I promised. This is the place where his military symbols would have been attached had he survived. You don't have to go to war to be shot down. You can be killed right in your own home town.