I love car rides!

I love car rides!
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Sea Poetry...Sea Paintings...Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee.....and, Me

Charles Soubre - An Afternoon by the Sea

William Merritt Chase - An Afternoon by the Sea

Alfred Stevens - Moonlit Seascape

Alfred Stevens - La Via Lattea

Alfred Stevens - Girl on the Beach at Honfleu

Alfred Stevens - Le Coup de Vent

Alfred Stevens - Lighthouse at Dusk

Alfred Stevens - Sunset at Sea

Small Sound of the Sea - Karl Gussov

Alfred Stevens - Moonlit Stroll

Annabel Lee

by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee (Ashley E?);

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea:

But we loved with a love that was more than love - 

I and my Annabel Lee (Ashley E?);

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee (Ashley E?);

So that her high-born kinsmen came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,

Went envying her and me - 

Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud one night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee (Ashley E?).

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we - 

Of many far wiser than we - 

And neither the angels in heaven above,

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee (Ashley E?);

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee (Ashley E?);

And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee (Ashley E?);

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling -my darling -my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea - 

In her tomb by the sounding sea

Farewell to my sister's dog....Nikki

My twin sister, Carson, had sweet Nikki for 13 years.  She got him when she was in law school...and was stressed out and lonely.

Nikki was an extension of Carson......and, a close part of our family.

He was smart and sweet and mischievous and elegant........a fancy 'lap dog' who was not above stealing meat out of the trash can when he thought no one was looking....hence, earning him the nickname 'the hamburgler'.

My late father had been an outdoorsman and hunter....and always had a penchant for large, hunting dogs.  When his own children starting growing up...moving into apartments...having children of their own.....smaller dogs were introduced to the family.  Daddy put on airs that he could not appreciate 'small dogs'...but, he came to love and adore all of them.

Each Christmas, Daddy would always ask 'You're bringing Nikki, right?'.........and, would always take him and the other 'fancy' dogs on 'journies'.........be it on foot, or in his car when he went for long rides in the country, or just down the road to the hardware store, or convenience store for a pack of cigarettes, or charcoal for the grill.

Dad would slip them bones, and teach them how to 'speak'.  All dogs, including Nikki, loved my father.

It is with great sadness that 'ole Nikki has now left us for that great dog park in the sky.  We receive comfort in the fact that he is most assuredly sitting devotedly at my father's side......next to Hey Boy, Prince, Maverick, Toby Peanuts, Jimmy-Crack-Corn, Bugsy and Bandit..........receiving an endless amount of pats on the head, playful fetch sessions, bowls of homemade brunswick stew, premium grade-A bones, and endless journies every day into the great outdoors.  RIP, sweet Nikki..........the Epes family will miss you greatly, and we will always love you.  Thank you for bringing us many years of joy, smiles, and laughter.

'A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.'
— John Grogan (Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog)

'Animal lovers are a special breed of humans, generous of spirit, full of empathy, perhaps a little prone to sentimentality, and with hearts as big as a cloudless sky'
— John Grogan (Marley & Me Illustrated Edition: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog)

'A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. As I wrote that farewell column to Marley, I realized it was all right there in front of us, if only we opened our eyes. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see.'
— John Grogan