The 2011 Colony City Chase--A Race Recap

     The Colony City Chase is a 5K race hosted by the Rotary Club of Fitzgerald, Georgia. They have been hosting and putting this race on for 23 years and it shows. The registration is fast and efficient. The course is well-marked and exactly 3.1 miles (few courses are exactly even in this day of constant GPS reliability). And the volunteers are very helpful and courteous. The Colony City Chase has served as the primary fundraiser for the Fitzgerald Rotary Club and they seem genuinely happy that you have come to their race. 

     Fitzgerald is named the Colony City because after the Civil War, the War Between the States, the War of Northern Aggression, or whatever you are calling it now, it was founded as a refuge for Union veterans fleeing drought conditions in the Midwest and it quickly became a symbol that both Northern and Southern people could peacefully live together during the Reconstruction years; which is why they start both the 5K and the one mile fun run by the firing of muskets by a couple very authentic reenactors who will scare the bejesus out of you if you aren't paying attention. I wasn't!

   A not so great picture of me running! A good picture, but boy do I look rough!

     The 5K is not my favorite race distance for many, many reasons. I like the 10K and the 15K much better because it seems like you are getting more for your money. However, I really wanted to do well at the Colony City Chase for a lot of reasons and I felt that Fitzgerald would be a great place to try and do well because I knew the course would be exact, I had run the course many times, and I know the Fitz. to be fairly flat. I really want to get back to letting my body remember what running fast felt like and felt like this was the race to do it in. So, I found a good training schedule for the 5K race and trained as hard and as faithfully as I could. My goal was to finish the CCC in 20:5?. My previous 5K PR was 21:26, set at last year's Jingle Bell Jog in Macon. I did the speedwork. I did the long runs. I did the tempo runs. I did the easy runs. I felt like all was going well, except that many of my workouts seemed to be almost too hard to complete, but as the race loomed nearer and nearer, my body got stronger and the workouts became a little easier. I even bought a cheap pair of racing flats and secretly felt they would be my secret weapon and actually believed the "facts" on the box they came in about them taking seconds off your time. I need and needed all the seconds I could get.

   Race day came and I ran to where the race would start. This is my Fitzgerald race tradition. I use this as my warm-up. It gives me time to think, not be nervous, wake up, and get ready to race. I then got my number, put it on my jersey, ran a little more, stretched a good amount, changed into my other shoes, reset my watch, and then nervously took my place in the second tier of people at the starting line. I looked down to double check everything and that's when they shot the muskets. It shocked me into action. Every race starts too fast and this one was no different. There were several high school and college cross country runners in the front and they shot off and took an early lead that only grew as the race continued. I was feeling good and ran the first mile in 6:30, which was a little faster than I needed to be going, but I really wanted to break into the 20 minute range. I caught several people who were in front of me and then hit mile 2 in 13:20, which meant I ran the second mile in 6:50 due to some nasty shake and bake pavement and more inclines than I remembered. Then my body said in very plain English, "Are you serious my boy!" and began to fight against me. The third mile I kept trying to get back to my needed pace, but it was a no go. There was a guy in a red shirt ahead of me and I was in passing range a little after mile 2, but then he started increasing his pace and I started decreasing mine, which is not a pleasant experience. I felt a little better when I rounded a bend and saw the finish line and tried to finish with a strong 400 meter rush to the finish line, but my body was finished and I crossed the finish line in 21:20; six seconds off of my PR time, but still 21 seconds from where I wanted to be. I crossed the finish line thankful to have run a better time, but still severely disappointed in my time. I went and grabbed some water, changed my shirt and shoes, pouted a little, and then my sweet wife found me and told me what an awesome job I did. (I am not quite sure what I would do without my Sweet Melissa, but know it wouldn't be much.) I then told myself to get over myself and be happy that I am getting better even if it may be just by a little bit.

   Mel and her parents left the race and went and got some breakfast and I stayed behind and ran the one mile fun run. It was a real big booster. Sometimes, you need one even if you know how silly it really is. I took the lead about a quarter mile into the race and even passed the pace car and finished in 7:15, but didn't cross the finish line. I hadn't paid for the race and I had really only beaten a bunch of little kids, moms with strollers, and dads who were carrying their kids; like I said, it was very silly, but it is not often when you are an average runner to be right behind the pace car and I had to take advantage of that, right? I turned around and ran to a place about 0.10 away from the finish line and cheered the finishers in.

   Mel and her parents came back kindly bringing me some very delicious food from Sonic and we went to the awards ceremony. They finally got to my age group (which sadly is taking longer and longer to get to these days. I am so old!) and they called out first place for ages 30-34 and Donald Dark had won. He wasn't there, so I went and accepted his award. I am glad to know Donald ran that race, so that David could go home happy with a trophy and a Sonic breakfast burrito!

   Overall, I really enjoyed the CCC and hope to run it again. I will hopefully pass Donald in the last mile next time and still get the breakfast burrito. If you see Donald please tell him to train harder. He really sucked it up in mile three.

Thanks for reading and keep running,

David


  

 

Throwing the Yellow Dodder--Snippet 8 (A Return to Fiction)

* This is a continuation of a work of fiction.

...Lucy pushed Mable along the gravel path talking and listening, teaching and learning, judging and learning. They each knew that they would have been fast and close friends had time not separated them, but where you enter this earth is yet another choice that is made for you. Primwillow Place was not exactly a great place for true friendships. It was usually a place of shallow acquaintances at best; it was full of people who had been slapped on the hand far too many times for allowing themselves to get close to someone else. They could still feel the sting and burn. They both wondered why people always thought that just because people were about the same age then that makes for quick friendships. They both knew this statement wasn't true about any age group. This thought went along with the many reasons why it was so great to put elderly people in "rest homes". Just because people are old and their bodies are a little tired and slow doesn't mean that they could be friends with other old and tired people or that they even wanted some rest. Mable knew that was the case with her and Lucy knew that she would be in the same boat with Mable.

  The path led around a bend and it had a small bench overlooking a vast stretch of the lake. They didn't say anything, but silently agreed to stop for awhile. Lucy sat on the bench and watched the water lap the many small rocks that littered the shoreline. Mable watched a flock of what she thought looked like sea gulls, but they would have to have been really lost. Primwillow was a long way away from the ocean. A long, long way.

  "I wish I could record this sound, Mrs. Mable, or sit a bed out here. I know I could sleep out here like one of those rocks."

   "You'd better settle for a tape recording. Come Saturday you'd be wanting to slaughter a whole mess of men who've got nothin' better to do than ride around a lake like this lookin' for fish in the dark. There should be some saying about nobody being happy if a man is lookin' for something 'cause that's the truest thing I know besides nobody being allowed to smile if their momma ain't happy. And at least ya' can turn the tape off when you started feeling a little sick from all the foolishness; spend a whole day looking for something that only weighs several pounds. Just plain silliness."

 "Ain't the first time men done somethin' foolish, Mrs. Mable, and it ain't the last. You and I both know that's true. Men is always tryin' to noise up a quiet place. Seems they ain't happy till you are havin' to holler over something that could be quiet."

"You said a good word there, Mrs. Lucy. A true and good word. You see those gulls, Mrs. Lucy, or have my eyes just gotten that bad?"

"No, they haven't gotten that bad yet. I was just thinking that same, crazy thing. Those loony birds are sure a long, long way from home. If I was a betting woman, I'd bet a heap of money they were followin' a man who was swearin' he knew the way. I been led in the wrong direction by a man more times than I'd like to admit."

"I know the feeling. Ridin' down some road for the hundredth time hopin' to see some sign you are going in the right direction and just knowin ya' ain't and the whole time with somethin' like cold, chicken salad getting too warm and tryin' not to cuss. Ya' don't have to tell me a thing 'bout that. I've lived it a million and one times."

"Me too, Mrs. Mable. Seems when been takin' rides from the same batch of men. Hard ta' believe most of the world got discovered by them. Guess it's not hard to find somethin' new if you're lost."

"You said it right there, Mrs. Lucy. You said it right there."

Snippet 9 on the way,

David

Things I'd Like To Be Paid For

  There is an old saying that I hear a lot, but have only recently considered why it is such a good saying. The saying goes, "If I had a nickel, dime, quarter, dollar, etc,....for every time I've heard that, I'd be rich." I know that you've heard it. So, I began thinking of all the things I hear people say or talk about and I've decided that I need to cash in on this valuable and rich word. (No puns intended!) Here is my list (for now) of things I'd like to get paid at least a dime for hearing. I don't want to seem too greedy.

1. Presbyterians quoting or bringing up Tim Keller in almost any conversation.

2. My 8th grade students who use the word "like", like it needs to be in every sentence like a period.

3. That Cross Country isn't a sport.

4. That this is the year that the Georgia Bulldogs/Alabama/Auburn are going to win the National Championship.

5. "Did I watch Idol last night?"

6. "Mr. Dark, don't you think that Leonardo DiCaprio is the best actor ever?"

7. "Mr. Dark, how many days till summer?" This count begins in November.

8. "Mr. Dark, did we even talk about this in class?"

9. "Mr. Dark, Mr. Dark, Mr. Dark, Mr. Dark, Mr. Dark, Mr. Dark, Mr. Dark, Mr. Dark......"

10. "Have you run Boston?"

11. "Isn't that in the ghetto?" (In reference to where we live.)

12. "Don't you just love jeans?"

13. "Have you seen (fill in the blank) video on YouTube, it is the funniest thing ever?"

14. "Mr Dark, aren't you so jacked up about the new Pirates movie?"

15. Presbyterians quoting Piper, but first reminding you that he is a Baptist.

    I could keep going, but as I said, I don't want to seem too greedy. I will be on my way to millions with these little jewels alone. What are some things you hear too often?

4 Days Till Summer,

David

Doing the Hard Things

    Lately, it seems for me, life has been about doing the hardest of things. Everyday seems like the last three miles of my marathon or the month prior to my marriage when I was trying to finish renovating half a house, be in another state at the same time, and finish teaching a 3 prep semester. I know life is hard. but it seems like it is especially so right now. So, if you are like me, watch this video and maybe remember a little why we must do the hard things. This speech gets me every time. What can I say, I'm a sentimental sucker.




Enjoy,

David

For the Love of Music--3

         First of all, I know that I am dating myself severely by the albums I am choosing, but what can I do? The 80's and 90's were my time. I had no choice in the matter. And I also know this may seem an odd post to come after my last post, but if you know me, it may not be. All I can say is that I am forgiven, but not perfect or holy.

        The album that is pictured is, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", by the British band Oasis. This album came out in 1996 and in the moments when I was pretending to be in the Jars of Clay, I pretended I was in Oasis. I thought and still think this record is one of the best ever made. I thought and still think that Noel Gallagher, the main guitarist of Oasis, is one of the coolest guys in music:

   Much of the music that came out in the 90's was not so good, or at least I thought so. I wasn't a big fan of the Grunge movement, I was never that angry and the Spice Girls were exactly what I wanted to be ever caught listening to. Oasis was not any of that. They were supposed to be the, "saving sound of Rock and Roll"--Rolling Stone 95'. I was naive and believed they would. They didn't. But they were the biggest rock band for most of the 90's and the early 2000's. Their song, Wonderwall, is still a mega-hit.

  I got this tape and listened to it till it broke. I then bought another until it broke and then I bought the cd. I still listen to this album courtesy of my iPod (circa 2004). The songs are still great. The sound is big. The lyrics are nonsensical. The guitar solos are loud, long, and tight. They took the music of the Beatles and The Rolling Stones and turned up the volume and got better guitarists (Sorry, Paul, John, George, and Keith). It is an incredible album. I have listened to it probably a thousand times and will continue to do so. (I should probably apologize to my mom, sisters, and wife for the amount of times you have had to listen to this! I'm deeply sorry.)

  I learned to play most of the songs. I bought a hollow-body guitar because of Noel. I hated that the Gallagher brothers fought so much that they ended the band. I downloaded every possible song of the band off of Napster (I miss you so badly)! I took my youngest sister to see them play at the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando and was mesmerized for several weeks afterwards. (If Sarah is warped in some bad way, I am probably to blame. Sorry!)

  Give this album a listen. You will either hate it or love it. And you can listen to it knowing that if the year were 1996, you would be oh' so cool for listening to it. And you can also know that Noel is one of only a few guitarists that can use the feedback generated by an amplifier to his advantage!

Don't Look Back With Anger,

  David

A Good Word

"Elijah was afraid and ran for his life......And the Word of the Lord came to him: 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'...."   I Kings 19:2-19.


  I am very priviledged to know the men who I hear these kinds of words from.They are so much more wise than I am and I learn from them each weekly. The Bible verse/chapter is from the chaplain from the school I work at. He is also a friend. (An odd part is that Mel and I used to teach with his wife at the last school we were at. A very small world, right?) The other man is my Bible study leader who I have spoke about in other posts.

Whenever, my Bible study leader (Chuck) hears something he likes or something that is good, he'll say, "That is a good word." or "I have a good word for you.". I love it when he says that and secretly try to get him to say it. Mel and I have even started saying it around the house. Yes, we are kind of using it jokingly, but I still love it. When Chuck says something is a "good word", it is. I have never heard him use the phrase flippantly. He only uses it on "good words".

So, this is a "good word" that I want to share with you...

  Last week, my school had our monthly faculty meeting. I hate the meetings so much. They are a complete waste of time. I have NEVER learned something of true value during one of them. I do love the way we start our meetings though. We start it with a devotion. I ALWAYS get something of deep value out of the devotions. Always. Last week, I got something I already knew, but it is something that I too often forget. It is something that I should NEVER forget. It is that I have but one, single goal in life and that is to bring glory to God. I have but one boss and that is God and He has given me my job and my job is to bring Him glory. My job is not to teach, coach, be a good husband or son, fix up my house, etc. My job is to bring glory. I am to enter every situation with that in mind. There is nothing more and nothing less. I don't have to love my job, love my boss, respect the people I work with, love the kids in my classroom, etc. I have to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

   My friend, the chaplain, began and ended his devotion by reading all of 1 Kings 19. Elijah had obeyed God ,but then started thinking about his own safety, desires, comfort, etc. and then became very, very afraid and ran and hid deep inside a cave. God finds him there and sends him outside and shows him examples of power through the wind, an earthquake, a fire, and finally a still, small voice. The only thing the Lord is in is the still small voice that asks Elijah again why he is hiding in a cave and Elijah tells God how bad everything is, how bad everyone is, how no one loves God, how Israel had reject God, how Jezebel wants to kill him, etc. And then God points to all the examples of power and says that He is not in those things, but controls them, so why is he hiding from all these little things.

  I need to read this chapter everyday. I am Elijah, except that I am not as bold. I am in hiding and sitting there deep inside the cave in fear wondering what I'm going to do because everything is so bad and seemingly hopeless. God is not surprised or worried. He is in complete control and the world has never done anything that God has not controlled. Nothing good or bad has ever happened to me that He did not allow. I have a lot of questions, but I have only one job and one thing to trust in. God is in control and He has given me one job. God cannot not be faithful. God cannot not be in control. God cannot not be just. God cannot not be wise. God cannot not be kind. God cannot not be love. If any of that were so , then God cannot be God.

"What doest thou here Elijah (David)?"

Rest in the good word,

David

Living Inside a Pressure Cooker--A Post For Teachers

  * This is a post only teachers may get.


   The end of the school year is like no other time of the year. I have had several different types of jobs and there are always busy and stressful times of the year in each job, but the end of the school year tops them all. The number of meetings increase. The parent conferences increase and become far more crucial, heated, and stressful. The paper work increases. The kids are all climbing the walls, figuratively and at times literally. Most of the students have already begun their summer with usually a full month of school left. The graded assignments are more important to you and much less important to the students. The parents start emailing, calling, stopping by to discuss grades that you gave their student as far back as August. Principals start asking you nominate students based on their integrity and scholarship when you both are at your lowest. The weather goes from being 70-80 degrees and ramps it up to 90-100 degrees. End of the year banquets start stacking up and the number of little speeches you have to give start adding up. Emails from the Administration go from a couple a week to double digits daily. Kids cry for extra credit. Parents corner you at the grocery store about some comment you made in August about Georgia football that made them angry. Other teachers start asking you to cover their classes in your "free periods" ,but they do not return the favor. I could keep going, but will save us all.

  All of this to me feels like what I can imagine it would feel like to be stuck inside of a pressure cooker. Everyday you feel a little more "cooked". You find yourself coming to work earlier and earlier only to find you are still late to work. You find yourself leaving later and later only to know each day you really are leaving too soon. You find yourself always behind. The stack of papers begins growing till it could easily overtake me and you. Every night you find yourself at a banquet giving a speech being watched and critiqued by hundreds of eyes. It is all a little much. In terms of canning or radio, I am ready to put this year in the can. It is all seeming a little overcooked or at least I am feeling that way. How about you?

The end is in sight, (I hope!)

  David

For the Love of Music--2

  The sensors here at Hines Terrace Herald felt like my idea for the title of these posts was a little audacious for this place, so I have decided to keep the title the same because I do love music. I understand their concern, I think. We don't want to scare anyone off. Alread kind of doing that sometimes. Sorry.

  The above picture is the album cover for the Jars of Clay's debut album titled as most debut albums these days: Jars of Clay--Jars of Clay. It contained 10 regular songs and one secret track that was only on the cd. I didn't know about it for a long time because yours truly was a tape guy. Still am. Have a box of cassettes I keep in my car and still listen to. Not trying to bring it back or under the delusion that they are better. Just not ready to get rid of them. (Pray harder for sweet Melissa.)

  The first Jars of Clay album came out, or as they say in the music biz, dropped, in 1995. I am 100% biased, but the album contains not a single weak song. Each song is good and the album became an almost overnight sensation due to the songs, Flood, Love Song for a Savior, and Worlds Apart. The song, Flood, is still a hit for them and has been since 1995, both on Christian and Secular music charts. And this is where I want to park.

  This song provided me with one of my most vivid memories concerning music. I was a fifteen year old guy and my family was traveling back home after a very awkward (meaning awkward like it was meant to represent) weekend spent in Myrtle Beach, SC with my Uncle Bobby. We were driving through Atlanta and listening to the radio on scan; something I still do and this drives my poor wife insane. Then out of nowhere we get to a song that sounded like nothing else and for three minutes and thirty seconds I was captured. I had that feeling of wanting to hear a song a hundred times in a row. The song ended far before I wanted it to and then the station made a brief statement about the new band and a little about the new album coming out. I quickly memorized it. (This is one of the few things I am good at. I can memorize things very well an quickly. This was a young Melissa's greatest downfall. She told me her number and just knew I would forget it. Big mistake!)

 When we got back to Florida, I had my mom drive me to the local, Christian bookstore and I bought the tape. I listened to it until it broke and bought another and then when that one broke, I broke down and bought the cd. This album made be start listening to what would become CCM, Contemporary Christian Music. It shaped the way I wanted to learn about how to play my guitar. I learned how to play almost all ten songs. My friend and I started a band while in high school and tried with every bone in our bodies to BE the Jars of Clay. I was obessed. Still kind of am.

  The Jars of Clay are still making music. I am still buying it. I still love to play the songs I learned so long ago and am learning the newer songs. Their newest release, The Shelter, is a great album that I listen to often. It is the album I listened to while warming up and stretching for my only marathon. I am so glad we caught that radio station playing, Flood, sixteen short years ago.  I believe my life would have been different.

If you haven't heard this album, go and do so,

  David

A Short Guide to How to Earn Hardware at Your Next Race-#1

    This past Saturday, my sister Amy ran a 5K. I was and am very proud of her for doing this. She called me and texted me to let me know she had finished. Her best time for the 5K distance before this race was an even 43 minutes. Her times for this past Saturday's race was 39 minutes; not too bad considering she had to run with a 4th Grade student that is in her class. I hung up the phone and was happy she had completed the race and that she had done it well.

   Then....about four hours later, the phone rang again. This time my sister screamed that she had, "won some hardware...". For those of you who don't know what this means, it means that she had won a trophy or a medal and it wasn't an Upward event where everyone gets a trophy. She was elated. She had come in first for her age group. She had won a medal. I was also very happy for her. It is fun to do well, but it is even better to win a little something for doing your best.

   However, what makes this a great story is that my little sister was eager to see what she could really do all on her own at the 5K distance and there was a local 5K race the next day. She consulted her coach. He told her to pull the trigger on the race. She obeyed and finished the race in 36 minutes; a full six minutes off her previous best time of 43 minutes. And to make it even better, she once again won a medal for coming in third for her age group. Two medals in one weekend is nothing to ignore. I run a lot and I've only done it once and the second one was for coming in second in my age group and there were only two people including me IN my age group in the race! 

  If you want to do this too (Win Some Hardware) at your next race, you can follow her advice and her path to greatness. Here are some excerpts from a future, exclusive interview that she only gave (in my mind) to the good folks here at Hines Terrace Herald:

HTH: What is one piece of advice you would give someone who wants to follow your footsteps to achievement?

AEB: I would tell them that they have to sign up for a race. You can't run anything unless you sign up. You have to have a goal in order to work towards it.

HTH: Did you have a coach or did you follow a training plan?

AEB: I did have a coach, but even though he was very good looking, he didn't really know that much about running. So, I wisely went to runnersworld.com and designed a (free) training plan and blended that with some other things and began my march to my medals.

HTH: What helped you the most during your training?

AEB: My husband. He paced me like no other on my bike, gave me time updates, and promised me Slurpees if I would finish my current workout.

HTH: What was the hardest part about training?

AEB: Having to train while on vacation and making time for each workout.

HTH: What was the best part of you training besides winning your two medals?

AEB: Getting to drink as many Slurpees as I wanted.

HTH: What is next for the you?

AEB: I think that I am going to focus on a longer distance and I plan on running a half marathon that is in Chicago in September with my older brothers, younger sister, and brother in law.

AEB: Are we about finished? My friends Parker and Allie really need me to take them to Target. Animal Planet just came out with a Box Set Collection.

HTH: Yes, just one more question. What was it like when you heard your name called letting you know you had won?

AEB: At first, I was surprised. These two medals are my first, but then again, I wasn't surprised. I trained hard for these races and my hard work, determination, channelling of my inner Tebow, and my family really pulled me to the finish of each of the races.

HTH: Thanks for your time.

AEB: No, problem, Can I go get a Slurpee now? .....

  Well, just know you read it here first.

David

Death in the Woods and Other Stories--A Book Review

The front cover of my copy begins with a quote from Malcolm Cowley (a lead literary critic of the 30's-60's) and after reading these 16 stories you will understand:

"The only storyteller of his generation who left his mark on the style that followed.....Hemingway, Faulkner, Wolfe, Steinbeck, Miller...each of those owes an unmistakable debt to Anderson."


    Reading Sherwood Anderson in these 16 stories and in general is like listening to a young boy describe his experiences at his first pro/college sporting event. He will tell you about everything, but may never tell you who won and really may not know, or even care. He will tell you about the fat man in front of him, the loud lady who drank too much, the weird old man who kept looking at him while he ate, how much the food was, how his dad treated the ticket people, how his dad interacted with the pretty lady at dinner, how much his dad paid for parking (or didn't), etc. He will tell you a multitude of things, but may never end up telling you the final score. Anderson writes like this. And listening to young boy's story or when you read Anderson is better than knowing who won or the simple formulaic version of an event. It is what really happened at the game or a situation. And I would rather hear all of this information than a quick reply of who won or lost or a bullet point version of an event. I like details and Anderson provides them for me.

   However, you must not write Anderson off because his stories are easy to read or that his sentence and story structure appear simple because that would greatly limit what Anderson did for American literature and it would limit the depth of each of these stories. Anderson writes with what has been called a, "second simplicity", where he turns the everyday, the mundane, the most common of occurrences and he makes these things shine with a new depth and meaning. He writes about the common man and women and the little things they do, encounter: the small moments. He writes with a knowledge that life, real life, is not filled with dire emergency and life changing event after event, but is filled rather with small choices and daily obligations that in the end define who a person is. Anderson makes the small moments seem to be as important as they are, but he does not write about them with an artificial air of importance as is sometimes the case. He unpretentiously writes simply about the simple things. He does not downplay their importance nor does he magnify them in their lowly stature. They remain what they are and where they are.

Some of the example of this "second simplicity" are:

                                   "...I know too much and not enough..."
and
                                   "....Being alone doesn't mean being where there are no people. It means being where people are all strangers to you....."

and

                                "...The Butcher-like man has taken his sister's arm. That is a gesture of tenderness. Such people make such gestures when someone in the family is dead..."



   No, not every sentence is gold (Please read this sentence again channeling Kenny Bania from Seinfeld, That's gold, Jerry, pure gold...) And not every story is wonderful. There are a couple that are not even kind of good, but out of the 16, most are good, and several are very good. And one, Brother Death, just may be one of the finest short stories I have read in awhile. To me, the best stories in this collection are: The Return, In a Strange Town, A Sentimental Journey, and A Meeting South. The most under-rated story for me was, The Jury Case, I didn't understand it and didn't like, but then reread it and found out that I did like it and it was much more that it appeared to be.

    I would suggest this collection to anyone who likes a good story and who is interested in seeing who laid the foundation for those who came after him. I would not suggest this book to those who hate reading about common events and people or for those who need closure at the end of each story they read. Many of these stories are just brief glimpses into the lives of people most of us pass by and continue on our own way.

Read and Enjoy,

   David