Levi watched as the sleigh rose into the sky and then, turning north, disappearing into the clouds. Kevin blocked his path as he started to make his way back into the cave of the Heart of Darkness. The look on the dog’s face said it all: disappointment.
“Look, Kevin, I had to send her back. It’s the only way I can get this, this, whatever he is to trust me. You’ll have to keep yourself out of sight until I can find out where Santa’s list is hidden. Until then, I have to play along. Understand?”
While Kevin and Levi had developed a deep understanding of each other, it wasn’t like he expected what would happen next.
“I’ll be nearby all the time,” Kevin said. “Just say my name, and I’ll be there for you.”
Levi took a step back. “Wait, you can talk? How come you never said anything before this?”
“Of course I can talk. How do you think I keep Mrs. Claus updated on your shenanigans? Oops.”
“What do you mean, updated? Were you spying on me?”
“Not spying. She was worried about you being alone with the reindeer and wanted somebody, or some dog in my case, to keep an eye on you. She worries about you, you know. You’re one of her favorites.”
Levi took a moment to take this all in. “You mean she’s not really mad when I play one of my jokes?”
“Well, some do go too far. But she knows you have a good heart. Just like most kids on the naughty list, they have good hearts; they just made poor choices. And nobody is perfect. She knows you’re capable of great things, so she picked you for this job.”
“I thought Santa did that,” Levi said, scratching Kevin’s belly, sending him into a spasm of leg movements.
“Mrs. Claus lets Santa believe he makes the choices, but she put the idea in his head. She really does run the show.”
“Unbelievable,” Levi said.
“Nothing is unbelievable if your heart wants it to happen. And she wants good things for everyone.”
Levi stood back up and brushed leaves off his pants. “Okay, let’s head back. We’ve got to find out where the list is as quickly as we can.”
“Then what?” Kevin said, shaking the leaves and twigs from his back.
“Then, and I hope I am right on this, Jane will find her way back here to help us.”
“You think she’ll come back?” Kevin said, shrinking himself down to field mouse size and falling in line behind Kevin.
“Oh, I know she will,” Levi said. Then, he thought to himself, I hope. “Okay, let’s go.”
The real Jebidiah Joseph
Making their way back inside, they passed by more of the swirling ghost-like apparitions. Then, Levi stopped short in his tracks. Sitting at a desk where he’d last seen Jebidiah Joseph was gnarly old elf looking at several sheets of paper.
“Who are you?” Levi said.
“I’m Jebidiah, that other stuff is just for effect. This is the real me.”
“You’re an elf?” Levi said, stunned by his appearance.
“Was an elf, a long time ago. Did you get rid of her as I commanded?”
Levi nodded. “Is that the list? I thought you said it was somewhere else?”
“This is my list. A list of things we’re gonna do to make sure Christmas never happens again. Come here, Levi, I have something else for you to do…
*****
Mrs. Claus and Jane gathered in the kitchen. Mrs. Claus had a huge batch of Christmas cookies cooling on the counter and was mixing the next batch.
“Why don’t you let the elves help with this?” Jane asked. “Don’t you have other things to do?”
Mrs. Claus winked. “Have to keep up appearances, dear. Some of the older elves might not like it if they found out it’s me running the show and not Santa. Some old ideas take a long time to fade. Plus, I like doing it. But now we have to figure out what Levi is up to.”
The home of Santa and Mrs. Claus
“You don’t think he really went over to the other side, do you?” Jane asked.
Mrs. Claus shook her head. “Levi can be a bit troublesome sometimes, but he has a good heart. I think he sent you away because he wanted to protect you. But this little game of his won’t last long. The Heart of Darkness will test him.
“They’ll try to make him do something so evil Levi’s true nature will show, and they’ll be onto him. We just have to hope he finds out where the list is first then figure out how to help him.”
“Well, I am going back there right now,” Jane said, heading toward the door.
“Wait, Jane. Let’s think this out. The Heart of Darkness will expect us to come back there. If we do that, they might figure out Levi had it planned all along. I think we need to find a way to just keep an eye on Diamond Hill and hope they lead us to the list.”
“You think they really hid it somewhere else?” Jane asked.
Mrs. Claus nodded. “I do, but it won’t be far. And they won’t wait long to go get it. While they may think Levi is on their side, they won’t be certain we won’t find the list on our own.”
Sliding the last cookie tray into the oven, Mrs. Claus wiped her hands. She motioned for Jane to follow her into the living room.
“I have come to a cataclysmic decision,” Mrs. Claus said.
“A cata what decision?” Jane asked.
“Cataclysmic, it’s from one of my favorite movies, The Wizard of Oz, when the wizard says he will take Dorothy home himself.”
“What’s it mean?”
Mrs. Claus shrugged. “I don’t know, I just like the sound of it, but it must be something big.”
“Oh,” Jane said, plopping down into a chair in front of the fire.
“And you and I will be doing something similar.”
“What’s that?” Jane asked.
“You and I, my dear, will return to the land of E. Pluribus Unum together and help Levi. Here’s what we’re gonna do…”
Here’s a revised version of a short story I wrote while hiking the AT. I thought perhaps it would offer a little diversion from the usual noise of the online world.
The End of the Trail
Originally published December 2014 after I completed the 2,184 mile Appalachian Trail. Five millions steps I will remember my whole life.
I wrote this as I hiked the trail. The main character, trail name Spirit, is based on an interesting hiker we met in the Smoky Mountains. I hope you enjoy it. As always, all comments, criticisms, or thoughts are welcome. Without readers, there would be no reason to write.
Spirit of the Trail Magic on the Appalachian Trail
By Joe “Miracle” Broadmeadow
NOBO 2014Appalachian Trail March 26, 2014-September 3, 2014
Kieran Murphy waited a long time for this day to arrive.
His wife, suffering through endless discussions on why and how he would do this, supported him. Their daughter, grown and independent, encouraged him.
The time was now.
March 15th would be his last day on the job. Two days later, he would begin his journey; thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. Two thousand one hundred eighty-five miles, following a footpath from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine.
Kieran loved being a police officer. But it was time to go. Leave before he became one of those, bitter, distrustful, burned-out shells of a human. The job can eat you up inside.
Not him, he was making sure of that. One more shift, eight short hours, he was out the door, retired, and on his way.
He would spend tonight sorting his equipment, rechecking his pack, and going over the resupply drops with his wife. They would cook a big dinner; enjoy one last meal at a real table, then get to bed early.
His flight left at 8:00AM. He would be at the hostel by 2:00 and at the trailhead first thing the next morning. It was all coming together.
After roll call, he delivered the roster copies to dispatch and the Officer in Charge. Stopping to speak to the Patrol Commander, he headed out to his cruiser for one last tour of the city.
On the way to his car, several of the brass shook his hand. “Lucky bastard.” Kieran just smiled. He knew they would never leave.
Once in the car, he headed for Dunkin and the first of his many coffees. Medium regular in hand, he headed south on the Wampanoag Trail to loop through Riverside.
As he reached the Barrington Line, a call came out for a suspicious vehicle in the lot of the Mobile station at Mink Road. Kieran turned around and headed to the gas station.
He was the first unit on the scene. Getting out of the car, he walked toward the clerk standing outside the door.
“Hey,” a voice called from near the pumps, “how are you?” Kieran turned to look and felt a headache coming on. “Not enough caffeine yet,” he thought.
His head pounded as he became aware of other units arriving on the scene.
He noticed Lieutenant Williams standing next to him.
“Listen, Kieran, we got this. You go hike. We got this.”
Kieran was not one to leave early, but if the L T said go, why not?
The next day was a blur, and then he was on the plane. His daughter kept saying, “Please come back to us, please.”
He told her not to worry, a quick walk in the woods, and he would be back.
The flight seemed over even before he realized it. The excitement building, the adrenaline rushing through his veins, could it be happening?
In a flash, Kieran stood on the peak of Springer Mountain, the beginning of the Appalachian Trail.
“And so it begins,” he said aloud, “my long walk home, there and back again.”
“And where might home be?” a voice replied, startling Kieran.
“Oh, sorry,” Kieran said, “I thought I was alone up here.” He watched as the old man came out of the trail and leaned next to the stone marking the peak.
The man looked to be in his sixties, but Kieran suspected he was older. With a Hemingway beard and wild, uncontrolled head of hair, he was a cross between the writer and Albert Einstein.
He carried an old external frame pack, various pieces of equipment attached in no discernible pattern, covered with American and Canadian flags.
“My boy, on the trail, you are never alone,” the man answered. “You may walk alone, camp alone, but you won’t be alone.”
Kieran nodded, wondering how he could extract himself from this conversation and head out.
“Spirit,” the old man said as if in introduction, reaching out his hand, “my name is Spirit, and yours?”
“Spirit, that’s your name?” surprised by the old man’s firm grip.
“Trail name, don’t you have one?” The man leaned on his hiking stick, watching him.
Kieran had read about trail names, but gave little thought about it, “No, not yet. I mean, I hadn’t thought it necessary.”
“Well, it’s not a rule,” the old man smiled, “but it is a tradition out here. Why don’t we let the trail decide? It has a way of doing that.”
Kieran thought a moment, “Okay, I guess. My real name is Kieran, Kieran Murphy.”
“I knew you were Irish, good to have a companion Celt on the trail. My name, in the real world, is Alan Mackenzie. However, I prefer Spirit out here. Adds an air of mystery, don’t you think?”
Kieran hoisted his pack and adjusted his walking poles. “I think I’ll head out. Are you on a day hike?”
“No,” the old man replied, “I am walking home just like you. Mind if I tag along?”
Kieran could see no reason to refuse the request, so he resigned himself to having an unplanned companion. By the looks of him, he didn’t think Spirit would make a mile.
“I don’t want to slow you down, though. First few days on the trail, I plan to take it slow. Build up my trail legs.”
“Not to worry, I’ll scout ahead and find the good spots to camp. Been on the trail a few times now, so I know it well.”
Kieran headed out, followed by the old man. Within the first half-hour, the “old” man had put several hundred yards between himself and Kieran. As he struggled up even the smallest rise, he would come upon the old guy sitting on a rock or log waiting for him.
Not a sign of fatigue or weariness.
It would take time before he got his trail legs.
Over the next few days, as Kieran discovered just how strenuous hiking the AT could be, he came to appreciate the man’s familiarity with the trail.
He knew all the water sources, flat camping areas, and good shelters.
When Kieran would struggle with the effort, Spirit would offer encouragement, “Not to worry, it never gets easy, but it gets easier. You are doing well. Take it slow; the miles will come when they will. Let the trail teach you. Stay with me, son, and you’ll make it.”
As their daily mileage increased, Kieran became more comfortable and confident.
A month into the trail, hiking through the Smoky Mountains, they stopped to admire a striking view. Standing on the slab of rock, looking down into the valley and surrounding hillsides, Kieran took out his camera and shot pictures.
As he looked down to put his camera away, he stumbled and fell toward the edge of the slide. Spirit reached out and caught him by the side strap of his backpack.
“Hang on there, kid. No taking shortcuts off the trail.”
“Jesus, that was close. Thanks, you gave me a second chance,” trying to hide the fear in his eyes.
“Jesus has nothing to do with this. Why do people invoke such nonsense? Clumsiness and inattention, on your part, and quick reaction by me saved the day.” Beaming, “Hmm, second chance, I like that. I think we have found you a trail name, Second chance. What do you think?”
“I suppose it will do, not magical, but let’s hope I don’t need a third or fourth chance,” Kieran replied.
“Like I said, my boy, stay with me, and you’ll make it,” turning to the trail and disappearing into the woods.
The speed Spirit could hike amazed Kieran. The old man would vanish into the woods. Sometimes, Kieran would come upon him sitting on a rock as if he had been there for hours. Other times, he would not see him all day until he got to a shelter or campsite.
The old man was in his environment on the trail.
Hiking the trail is a life-changing experience; it gives one time to think a great deal. You realize what matters in this world. Walking along, Kieran came to appreciate all he had in his life, and he resolved to show it more to those most responsible.
He regretted the time away from family and friends, despite their unwavering encouragement. Time was the limiting factor in life. Once gone, never reclaimed.
He would waste no more time.
They made good progress on the trail. Hiking in Virginia, they came to McAfee’s Knob, one of the most photographed spots on the trail.
Sitting on the edge of the knob, Kieran had Spirit take his picture. “You want me to take one of you?” taking his camera from the old man.
“No thanks, I prefer to just keep images in my mind.”
“But how about sending something to a friend or your family?” Kieran asked.
“They know what I look like, and they know why I spend my time out here. No need for anything else.”
Kieran thought about the man’s reply, then moved on. As he started toward the trail, he stumbled and went down. Spirit was there again, grabbing his arm, preventing the fall.
“You’ve got to stop trying to toss yourself off mountains, my boy.”
“I thought I was… I thought it was over.” His heart racing, the acrid taste of adrenaline in his mouth, Keiran tried to calm himself.
“Look, Second Chance, there are parts of this trail where you’ll only have your determination to continue. We’ll get through this; I promise you’ll make it.” Smiling, he headed back down the trail.
Kieran sat on the rock, overlooking the three thousand feet fall he had avoided, thanks to Spirit. How am I ever gonna make it another fifteen hundred miles?”
Every night, in camp, Spirit would take out a worn leather notebook and write. Some nights for a few moments, other times for an hour or more.
“What are you working on, the great American novel?” Kieran asked.
“No,” Spirit answered, putting the book down for a moment, “I write about the people on the trail and the things we experience.”
“I suppose you write about saving my life two or three times over?” Kieran smiled.
Spirit looked at him, pausing a moment, “Who’s to say you’re not saving my life? We all get something from each other, some good and some bad.”
Soon, they reached into Pennsylvania. Everyone who has hiked the trail will tell you it is a love-hate relationship with Pennsylvania.
The southern part of the state, up to Duncannon, is beautiful, rolling hills. Oft times hiking through cornfields and wildflowers.
After Duncannon, the rocks turn it into one of the seven circles of Hell. Big rocks, little rocks, sharp rocks, slippery rocks, rocks that move, rocks that slide. Northern Pennsylvania is where hiking shoes go to die.
Climbing over one of the pointless ups and downs, or PUDS as the hikers call them, Kieran reached up to pull himself over a large boulder. He felt something move.
Pulling his hand back and screaming, he tried to peer over the rock’s edge.
Spirit peered down from a rock cliff a few yards ahead. “Try a different route around that rock. I think the Timber Rattlesnake prefers to be left alone.”
“Rattlesnake?” Kieran replied, “Jesus Christ, I grabbed a rattlesnake?” making his way around the boulder, clearing it by 30 yards.
“I would suggest you look first before you reach blindly above you. It may not kill you, but it won’t help you either.” Spirit answered, laughing.
“How the hell am I going to do this without dying?” Kieran said.
“One step at a time, son. One step at a time. Follow my path, I have done this before, and I haven’t lost anyone, yet.”
Walking into Palmerton, Pennsylvania, Kieran looked forward to a real meal and a beer. “Where do you want to eat first?” he asked.
“I’ll just stay at the next trailhead,” Spirit replied. “I prefer to stay on the trail when I’m out here. It’s where I am most content.”
Kieran hesitated a moment, “You sure, I think I need a real meal.”
“Go, no one’s stopping you. When you are ready, come back here and meet me. I have some repairs to do on my equipment. I’ll take my zero-day out here. Go.”
Kieran shrugged his shoulders, turned, and headed toward the town. As he got to the road, he tried his hand at hitching a ride. The first car stopped for him.
“Need a ride to town?” the driver asked.
“That’d be great,” Kieran said.
“How long you been on the trail?”
“About, ah, two months. Kinda hard to remember,” Kieran laughed in reply.
“I know what you mean. Hiked it back in the ’60s when I got back from ‘Nam. Different trail then,” steering the car back onto the road. “Helped me get my head on straight. You got a place to stay?”
“Nah, thought I’d go to the hostel,” Kieran said.
“We got a room at our place; my wife loves to feed hikers. Waddya’ say?”
“Trail magic, I love trail magic. Thanks, I’ll take you up on it.”
The trail magic rest accomplished its purpose. Kieran headed back onto the trail. Spirit sat on a rock about a hundred yards in.
“Been waiting long?” Kieran laughed.
“Nope, I knew you’d make it back. Ready to finish this thing?”
“We have some ways to go yet, don’t we?” Kieran replied.
“We do but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, can’t you?” picking up his pack and walking stick. “Why don’t you take the lead for a bit? Think you’re up to it?”
“Follow the white blazes, right?” Kieran said, heading up the trail.
“All there is to it.” Spirit smiled.
The climb out of Palmerton, while not the most difficult on the trail, is still challenging. Kieran struggled to lift himself, and the weight of the pack, over the many scrambles up the steep climb.
Pausing after hard climbs over large boulders, he tried to sit on a flat rock facing outward. Placing his pack on the rock, he pulled his water bottle from the side of the pack. Losing his grip, the pack rolled over, picked up speed, and tumbled several hundred yards down the rockslide, stopping just before the edge.
“Son-of-a-bitch. Now what?” Kieran said.
Spirit sat on the rock next to him. “Well, it seems you have two choices. Quit, or climb down over there, get your gear, and keep going. Your call.”
Kieran looked at the pack and the steep rocky way down to it. “I don’t know. Looks dangerous.”
Spirit leaned back, closed his eyes, and remained quiet.
Glancing at the old man, Kieran took another appraisal of the route down and descended. It was a combination of lowering himself, sliding on the loose gravel, and clinging for dear life, but he made it to the pack.
Looking up, he could not see the old man. He must have continued on. He thought.
Grabbing his pack, he examined it, looking for any damage or missing gear. The backpack was in good shape. Pulling the pack back on, he climbed again.
“Try this way,” a voice came from behind him, startling him.
“Nice form on the way down, but I suggest you follow my lead. I have done this before, remember.”
Kieran adjusted the straps, cinched the weight-bearing belt, and fell in behind Spirit.
Now I know where he gets his name, Kieran thought, he is like a ghost appearing out of nothing.
The two hiked in silence for twelve more miles, stopping for water and a snack. As they approached a small rise in the trail, Kieran said, “You want to continue to the next shelter, or find a spot to camp?”
Spirit stopped, took out his map, and studied it for a moment. “The water sources around here are not too reliable. The next shelter has a good spring. Let’s shoot for that. The weather looks good, only another four miles.” Placing the map back, he drank from his water bottle, “You up for that?”
“Sounds good to me.”
Kieran was lost in thought over the next hour and a half until they reached the blue-blazed side trail to the shelter. Checking his own map, he groaned. “Man, it’s almost a half-mile to the shelter off the main trail.” Peering down the side trail, “Looks like it’s down all the way, which means climbing back up in the morning.”
“Part of the joy, my boy. We have little choice. We are both low on water, and the next reliable source is six more miles. I have been to this shelter, it’s almost brand new. A better caliber of mice live in the new ones,” smiling at his own humor. “Onward my boy, or downward as it were.”
After setting up their sleeping bags, Kieran walked to the spring and filled both water bags. Returning gave him a good look at the shelter. It was only a year old. The distance from the main trail left it lightly used. There was a covered front platform with a picnic table, plenty of space to cook, and there were few signs of mice.
“It is a nice one,” he said.
Spirit smiled, “Often, it pays to take a little detour. The rest here will be a good one. I would imagine down here, surrounded by these ridges, it would block out most of the moonlight. Should be a nice, dark, restful sleep.”
Finished with their favorite dinner, Mac & Cheese, both crawled in their sleeping bags as the last of the light disappeared over the hills, plunging them into almost total blackness.
Off in the distance, an unfamiliar bird sang, the sound barely audible. Melodic and soothing, Kieran drifted off.
“Whippoorwill.”
“What?” Kieran lifted himself on his elbows, turning toward the sound of Spirit’s voice.
“That is the sound of the Whippoorwill. The sound is its name, Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill.” The voice of his invisible hiking compatriot continued.
“It is nice.” Pulling the bag tighter around himself and burying his head in his makeshift pillow.
“Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill.” The song now coming from atop the shelter.
“How long with this go on?” Kieran asked. His voice muffled by the sleeping bag pulled over his head.
“Until he is satisfied he has warned off any other males from his territory… “
“Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill.”
“Or until sunrise. Whichever comes first.”
“Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill.”
“No, I am not.”
“Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill, Whippoorwill.”
Enduring the song for most of the night, Kieran managed a few hours’ sleep. “Please tell me the Whippoorwill is an uncommon species of bird,” Kieran said, packing his backpack.
Spirit smiled. “Let’s just say they are not the most common,” handing Kieran the shelter logbook. “Did you sign it?”
The logbooks are in almost every shelter along the trail. They serve as an informal method of keeping track of those that stayed at the shelter and to see the progress of others you have met on the trail.
Kieran opened the book and flipped through the pages. He saw several hikers he had met on the trail listed, Hydro, Mary Poppins, Two-sticks, Racewalker, Miracle, Redbeard, Reboot, and a few others. Not all the names were familiar, but it was nice to see many were still on the trail.
Turning to the last page, looking for a blank one to add his name, he burst out laughing.
Spirit looked at him. “Something funny?”
“You know how people sometimes put quotes or messages next to their names?”
Spirit nodded.
“Look at this one,” handing him the book.
In beautiful, cursive handwriting, someone had written,
Will someone please kill the Whippoorwill!
“A true AT hiker if ever I knew one,” Spirit said, tossing the book onto the sleeping platform and hoisting his back.
Over the next few weeks, Kieran saw less and less of Spirit during the day. Coming upon the old man sitting on a log, Kieran asked, “Is there something wrong?”
“On the contrary, my boy, something is right. You have learned along the way here. Do the rest of this on your own.”
“But aren’t you going to finish? Aren’t you going to Katahdin?”
“Listen, Second Chance, I’ve been to Katahdin many times. The end of the trail is not what matters to me; it is what I do on the way. The people I meet, the lives I encounter. It is why I am out here.”
Kieran took off his pack and sat next to the old man. “So, you think I can handle this?”
Spirit looked at Kieran. “I never doubted you’d get there. I knew from the start. I can always tell when I meet them. Those that will make it, and those that will not. Sometimes, it takes a few falls before you realize it has always been your choice to finish or quit.”
Spirit stood up, using Kieran’s shoulder to brace himself, leaving his hand on Kieran’s shoulder for a moment. “Go finish this. Your wife and your daughter need you to come home.”
Slinging on his backpack, he headed south on the trail, disappearing into the trees.
Kieran crossed over the border from New Hampshire to Maine, arriving soon at the Mahoosuc Notch. AT hikers recall the notch one of two ways, the hardest mile or the most fun, depending on their idea of fun, or level of fear.
Climbing over the boulders, descending the steep declines, squeezing through narrow passages by the end of the notch, Kieran still was not sure.
Those who hike the AT, consider New Hampshire and Maine the most challenging section on the trail. The final portion, known as the 100-mile wilderness, ends just before Katahdin.
Kieran looked forward to hiking this. It would be the culmination of his dreams. As he entered the wilderness, the fatigue and cumulative effect of the long journey sank in.
He struggled to do 10 miles a day, this after routinely hiking 18 to 20. He fought doubts; His daily routine became more and more difficult. Yet, he struggled on.
10 days into the wilderness, he caught an inspiring vision, his first view of Katahdin, a lone giant rising in the distance out the green Maine woods.
At that moment, he knew. All doubt erased. He knew he would stand on that peak.
Four days later, he crossed the Tableland on the Hunt trail about a mile before the summit. He could see the small figures of people standing on the peak.
He could see the famous sign marking the end of the Appalachian Trail.
He was just about there.
He heard his daughter’s voice. “Come on, Dad, you promised you’d come back…”
I must be hallucinating,he thought. Dehydrated or something. He sat on a rock, pulled out his water bottle, closed his eyes, and drank, feeling the water relieve his fatigue.
The light blinded him as he opened his eyes. He could not focus. Trying to stand, his legs wouldn’t move.
He felt a hand take him in a warm caress. Voices, loud voices, frantic movement, just shadows in his clouded vision.
Then, he saw his wife’s face. She was crying and smiling.
What is going on…?
“Shot? What do you mean I was shot?” he heard himself say. Nothing made sense.
“I was on Katahdin; I was almost to the top….”
Yet, here he was, in a hospital, hooked up to a thousand wires and lines.
“Shot, how is this possible?”
His wife and daughter were on either side, nurses swirling around him. He could make out uniform officers standing just outside the door peering in as the nurses tried to push them away.
A doctor came in and explained he had been in a coma. He had suffered a head wound, and they had induced a coma to help control the swelling. They had reversed the coma hoping for just this result.
They expected a full recovery.
“But I was hiking. I was there. I saw things on the trail. It was real,” Kieran said to his wife.
“We read to you, your daughter, me, and a bunch of officers from many departments. We read stories of hiking to you. We wanted to help you come back, to give you a reason to come back,” breaking into a gentle sob.
The weeks passed, and the doctors decided Kieran could go home. As he sat on the end of the bed, waiting for the attendant with the wheelchair, his wife and daughter walked in with one nurse.
“Ready to go?”
“What do you think?” Kieran replied, jumping off the bed.
“Whoa there, big fella. Wait for the wheelchair,” the nurse scolded, smiling at his determination.
The attendant arrived, loaded Kieran into the chair, and headed to the elevator. They came off the elevator, greeted by several uniform officers applauding. Kieran smiled, his wife and daughter had tears in their eyes.
“Your escort awaits, Sergeant,” Captain William Barlow announced.
The attendant started toward the exit, passing by a large glass display case., Kieran noticed something. “Hang on a minute, what’s that?” pointing to the display.
“It’s a bunch of stuff from a hospital benefactor. He was a world traveler.” The attendant answered. “The wing of the hospital you stayed in is named for him, Alan MacKensie.”
Kieran looked at the attendant, then back at the leather-bound notebook.
“I saw that book. He had it on the trail. Alan MacKensie was his name.” Kieran said to his wife. “But it wasn’t real, was it. I must have imagined it.”
The nurse came running over to him, handing Kieran a small envelope. “This came this morning. I almost forgot to give it to you.”
Kieran took it, looking at the symbol of the Appalachian Trail, conjoined letters A T, embossed on the envelope.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” his wife asked.
“When I get home, I just want to get out of here,” placing the envelope in his pocket.
“Dad, open it,” his daughter said.
Kieran smiled and took the envelope out. Tearing open the flap, he pulled out a small note card. The same A T letters adorned the front of the note.
As he opened the card, tears welled up in his eyes.
“What’s it say, Dad?” His daughter put her arm around his shoulder, leaning in to read the note.
Second Chance, I told you. I knew you would make it…
Now available at the pre-release price of $2.99 for Kindle, the long-awaited story of Jerry Tillinghast as only he could tell it. Click here for the Amazon link. Order it before the price jumps on release date and stay tuned for more formats and deals as they become available. Sign up for my email list and win one of five signed first edition print copies and the ebook version. Click here for the signup form.
Jerry Tillinghast talks about his life and the choices he made.
Battling alongside his brothers on the streets of Providence.
Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps, fighting in Vietnam, and becoming a victim of the politics of that war.
His return to Providence an angry young man and his choice to hang with the wiseguys.
His reputation as a “feared mob enforcer” and the effect on his family.
Meeting Raymond L.S. Patriarca and how he came to embrace him as a father figure.
His brushes with the law and the two most infamous cases he is
forever linked to;
Bonded Vault and the George Basmajian Homicide
Silent no more…
Check out my website for my other books and exciting news on book signings and upcoming appearances.
Green Beret First Lieutenant Harrison Bennett stalks his latest target, an elusive Viet Cong Colonel. After weeks of hunting, the man’s face fills the rifle scope.
A deep breath, a partial exhale, a tap from the observer confirming the target.
The trigger squeeze and rifle recoil meld into the muscle memory of training, the pink mist replaces the man’s face, and it is done….
March 2016, Providence, Rhode Island.
Attorney-at-Law Harrison “Hawk” Bennett sits at his desk going over his morning schedule. His phone rings….
His world is about to change forever.
Walking into the reception area, his memories go into overdrive. His eyes see what his mind cannot accept.
A saffron-robed Buddhist monk stands and smiles. A face he last saw seconds before he ended its life stares back at him. A specter from his nightmare lives.
“It has been a long time, Lieutenant Bennett, and a long way from our time in Dalat.”
“I thought you were dead, Colonel. They gave me a medal for killing you.”
Bennett finds himself thrust into a world of treason, double-cross, and a justice department bent on vengeance. Those he once fought alongside have become the enemy.
Forced to choose between his dedication to the law and the memories of the dead and dying in the jungles of Vietnam, Hawk faces his greatest challenge; defending a man he believed he killed from a government gone rabid over protecting its secrets.
A Change of Hate: A Harrison “Hawk” Bennett Novel. The latest work by Joe Broadmeadow coming soon to Kindle and print on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Check out the latest editorial review of my novel, Silenced Justice
Author: Joe Broadmeadow Published: July 2015 by JEBWizard Publishing Category: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller Lieutenant Josh Williams is back in this latest thriller from Joe Broadmeadow, Silenced Ju…
Here’s a sneak peek at my latest novel, A Change of Hate.
I am working toward the release of this next novel featuring Harrison “Hawk” Bennett Attorney at Law from the Josh Williams series.
Hope you enjoy.
March 1966, Dalat, South Vietnam.
Green Beret First Lieutenant Harrison Bennett stalks his latest target, an elusive Viet Cong Colonel. After weeks of hunting, the man’s face fills the rifle scope.
A deep breath, a partial exhale, a tap from the observer confirming the target.
The trigger squeeze and rifle recoil meld into the muscle memory of training, the pink mist replaces the man’s face, and it is done….
March 2016, Providence, Rhode Island.
Attorney-at-Law Harrison “Hawk” Bennett sits at his desk going over his morning schedule. His phone rings….
His world is about to change forever.
Walking into the reception area, his memories go into overdrive. His eyes see what his mind cannot accept.
A saffron-robed Buddhist monk stands and smiles. A face he last saw seconds before he ended its life stares back at him. A specter from his nightmare lives.
“It has been a long time, Lieutenant Bennett, and a long way from our time in Dalat.”
“I thought you were dead, Colonel. They gave me a medal for killing you.”
Bennett finds himself thrust into a world of treason, double-cross, and a justice department bent on vengeance. Those he once fought alongside have become the enemy.
Forced to choose between his dedication to the law and the memories of the dead and dying in the jungles of Vietnam, Hawk faces his greatest challenge; defending a man he believed he killed from a government gone rabid over protecting its secrets.
A Change of Hate: A Harrison “Hawk” Bennett Novel. The latest work by Joe Broadmeadow coming soon to Kindle and print on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Here is a bit of a perspective for my fellow members of the Cumberland High School Class of 1974.
In 1974:
The President of the United States was Richard Nixon, until August 9th, and then Gerald Ford after Nixon resigned due to the Watergate hearings. Ford pardoned Nixon. Both Ford and Nixon are dead
The Soviet Union was intact, armed with nuclear weapons, and still our sworn enemy. Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin was the premier. He is dead
There were no cell phones, internet, or cable television
We landed on the moon for the first time 5 years before in 1969 and for the last time in 1972. Only 12 men have ever walked on the moon. We have not been back since nor do we have a real timeline for returning.
The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Patty Hearst. She later joined them and participated in a series of bank robberies. She is now 61.
Muhammed Ali fought George Frazier in the Rumble in the Jungle. Ali is 73 Foreman is 66.
A gallon of gas was $.55
The speed limit was changed to 55 to conserve gasoline.
President Ford announced an amnesty for Vietnam War deserters and draft evaders.
The Kootenai Native American Tribe in Idaho declares war on the United States. It settled peacefully. The only time a war was declared and resolved without a shot being fired or anyone killed.
The World Population: 4 billion. (now 7 billion)
India successfully tests a nuclear weapon. They become the 6th Nuclear power. (There are 9 now, 15923 total estimated nuclear warheads in the world as of 2015)
The first MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is developed.
After 84 days in space, the American astronauts aboard Skylab return to earth.
A 3.2 million year-old hominid skeleton, 40% complete, is found in Ethiopia. She is named Lucy. Dr. Johanson, the paleontologist who found her, says he named her for the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
The pocket calculator goes on sale. (I got one as a graduation present, it cost my parents 84$)
Bar codes are used for the first time.
Salty Brine was still on WPRO announcing “No school, Foster Gloucester.”
Movies of 1974
The Sting, The Exorcist, Blazing Saddles (my favorite), Serpico, Death Wish
#1 Song of 1974
The Way We Were
Other songs:
Time in a Bottle, Hooked on a Feeling, Band on the Run, Can’t Get Enough of You Babe, Kung Fu Fighting
(How many of you sang these songs as you read them?)
1974 holds the record for the most #1 Billboard hits in one year, 35.
TV Shows:
Kojak, The Price is Right, The Six Million Dollar Man
Here’s one that may bring some of you to tears
Born in 1974:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Alanis Morrisette. Jimmy Fallon, Victoria Beckham
So why the walk down memory lane? The end of a year lends itself to a momentary review of things. A recap of the path of our lives. We have come a long way from 1974, some of those class members didn’t have the opportunity to reach 2015.
As time moves on, as the year changes from 2015 to 2016, as we all approach our 60th birthdays, I thought I would remind us of where were all those years ago, the events that shaped us, and, more importantly, get us all to make the most of the time we have left.
The reality of life is that most of us will not be around when a Cumberland High School Class of 2016 graduate writes a similar memoir of his or her graduation year. It is important for all of us to be mindful of today and use the time we have wisely.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year, I apologize for reminding those of you trying to ignore the significance of 2016 age-wise, and hope you all have many more memories yet to create and cherish.
This is from a series of short stories I am working on. Posted here for your reading pleasure and review. All comments welcome.
My cell rang. I didn’t recognize the number. Thought about ignoring it, then decided to give the telemarketer some shit.
“Hello.”
“Tommy, AJ.”
“AJ? What’s this a new phone?”
“I need your help.” AJ’s tone imparted a more serious patina to the four simple words.
“You always need my help,” I answered. “What is it this time, you get thrown out again?”
“Come outside, I’m parked in the lot across the street.
“Why are you parked across the street?” I asked. Silence. After a moment, I realized he’d ended the call.
Grabbing my jacket, I walked to the door. “Where are you off to?” my wife asked.
“I don’t know. That was AJ, said he needs help with something.”
My wife put her hands on her hips, “Tommy, I don’t care what he’s done this time, no money. Promise me.”
I smiled, “No money, I learned my lesson with his last scam,” I opened the door, the cool fall air rushing in. “I’ll be right back.”
Walking down the driveway, I looked across the street. AJ was leaning against the hood of his car, arms folded around himself, staring at the ground. As I got closer, he heard my footsteps and stood.
I’ve read that ninety percent of communication is non-verbal. AJ’s body was telling me this was not one of his ordinary, self-created problems.
“Hey man, what’s up?”
“Tom, Tommy,” AJ stuttered, glancing around. “I need help buddy. Big time. Can you take a ride with me?”
I saw something in his eyes I’d never seen before, genuine fear. This was a man who once took on three bikers in a bar and got his ass kicked. He returned two days later looking for the three bikers. The same thing happened. He went back several more times, but the bikers never showed up again.
They must have recognized crazy.
AJ wasn’t afraid of anything.
“A ride, where?”
“Please man, just come with me.” His body language now in full alarm mode.
“Ah, okay. Let me call Karen. Tell her I’ll be gone for a bit. Where we going anyway?”
“No,” AJ shouted, then glanced around. “No calls.”
“No calls?” I replied. “If you want me to go with you I will after I call my wife. A philosophy you should have adopted years ago. Saved yourself a ton of trouble.”
I could see AJ’s mind racing as he paced back and forth. “Okay, tell her I need help moving something, that’s all.”
I stood there a moment, holding my phone, studying my now frantic friend. Shaking my head, I pushed the call button. “Hey, it’s me. AJ needs me to help him move something. What? I don’t know, hang on,” holding the phone away from my ear I said. “She wants to know what you need moved. How long will it take?”
AJ threw his arm up, slapping them back to his side. “I don’t know, something heavy. You’ll be back in, ah, a couple of hours.”
“There’s a bunch of stuff, I guess. Won’t take long,” listening to her response I smiled at AJ. “Yeah I know; I don’t have any money anyway. I’ll call on the way back.” I walked to the passenger side. “Okay AJ, tell me the story. What’d you do?”
“First, turn off your cell.”
“I’m not turning off my cell, asshole. What is this about?”
“Look, trust me on this. You’ll understand shortly,” pointing with his hand at my phone. “Turn it off and pull the battery. Then I’ll tell you what this is about.”
*****
“You what?” I said, shaking my head and looking out the window. “I don’t believe this. You’re kidding,” trying to gauge the look on his face.
“I’ll show you,” he said as we pulled into a dirt road used by off-road vehicles.
“You can’t drive this thing down here,” I said, my hand on the dash as AJ dodged the ruts and dips in the dirt track.
“Yes I can, I checked this out before.”
“You checked this out… I don’t believe this.”
Checking the rearview mirror, AJ drove several hundred yards. Making sure we were far beyond the houses bordering the property.
“Ready?”
“AJ, please tell me this is all bullshit.”
“Look,” he said, opening the door.
I watched as he walked around to the back of the car, motioning for me to join him
I opened the door, put one foot on the ground, glanced over my right shoulder at AJ as he looked all around the area.
I got out and stood next to him.
“Ready?”
I laughed. “Okay, you got me. What’s the joke?”
I heard the click of the trunk release, watching as it popped up. AJ reached over, opening the trunk.
As I looked in, my mind went into denial.
I looked from the trunk to AJ and back. Voices in my head screamed, ‘Run, you idiot, run.” But my legs remained paralyzed in place. I tried to speak, but my throat was sand. I tasted the adrenaline rushing through my body. The fight or flight response to my brain’s recognizing a problem.
A big problem.
“I had to do it, Tommy. He beat her, put her in the hospital, he molested my granddaughter.”
Words eluded me. I backed away, trying to absorb the reality.
“Tommy, I need you to help me here. I need help getting rid of it.”
For fifty years, AJ had been my best friend. We had grown from GI Joes and baseball to girls and beer to married with kids, together. We’d spent twenty years together as cops, righting wrongs, trying to make a difference.
He’d been there when my first wife died of cancer. He held me in his arms, covered in my blood from the bullet wound in my arm, when they drove me to the hospital.
Never leaving my side.
But this? This was beyond it all. This was too much. I knew the stories. The hospital visits to his daughter. The on again off again boyfriend sliding through the system.
But this? They say friends will be there when you most need them. But this?
As my heart rate slowed, the rationale me resumed control. The panic passed and the realization of the choice I faced came clear.
I knew what I had to do.
I looked at my friend. The tears welled up, the emotions uncontrollable. I took a deep breath and walked back to the car.
“AJ, I’m sorry.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, walking to the side of the car, away from my best friend.
His eyes showed regret as the enormity of what he asked, what he’d done, set in.
I tossed the phone on the seat. Reaching into the back seat, I grabbed the two shovels and the bag of lime. I’d spotted them when I got in the car. Hoping I was wrong.
As we grow through the various stages of our lives, we develop a memory of aromas. Over time, our experiences accumulate and a familiar fragrance or aroma causes a reaction in our minds, invoking a memory or making us aware of something with which we are acquainted.
Those of us from New England are intimately familiar with the smell of snow, a certain aromatic essence in the air, predicting its imminent arrival. It may be true in other areas of the world but certainly familiar to us here.
Soon, we all hope, we will be able to enjoy the smell of spring. The emerging buds of the trees, early blooming flowers, grass returning to a vibrant growing green, the aroma of a warm sun.
Human beings are visual creatures; we rely on our vision more than any other sense. Those among us that are blind need to rely more on the other senses. Yet, we all have the ability to use them; we often do it without realizing it.
For me, the smell of approaching snow brings mixed feelings. As a native New Englander, I think we suffer if we are too long separated from four seasons, no matter how much we may complain.
I am guilty of fleeing winter more frequently as I have grown older, my tolerance for cold weather diminishing with age. Nevertheless, there is something integrated deep within my psyche that needs a little of each season and the associated smells differentiating them.
The smells of a recent rain, freshly mowed grass, flowers in bloom, the ocean mist, all of these enhancing our experiences here in this world.
Just the hint of any of them, brings forth memories of other days, other storms, other walks in the rain, other moments of rolling in fallen leaves, riding waves, sliding sleds down snow covered hills.
Like most of you, I am ready for the smells of winter to fade away for now. Let the new, yet familiar, aromas of spring take over. I look forward to that first feeling of a warm sun on my face, as I smell the emerging new growth pushing out of the ground.
I know that the pattern will remain; the one I have come to know so well. The rains of spring, followed by the grass and beaches of summer, the changing leaves of fall, and the return of those first hints of snow repeating itself once again.
While we may be tired of the hazy shade of winter, to borrow a line from Paul Simon, ready to move on to spring, keep in mind those aromas of the seasons. I hope we all have any more winters to complain about, many more aromas of approaching storms. Inhale them, savor them, and hold their memories because the winter of our human life marks a real end without the chance of a following spring.
