Grandfather

By Richard Ault Such was the experience of the young Hans Castorp. He had not meant to take the journey seriously or to commit himself deeply to it; but to get it over quickly, since it had to be made…to take up his life at the point where, for the moment, he had to lay it down. — Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain, “Avoid Prologues. They can be annoying.” ― Elmore Leonard, 10 Rules of Writing Prologue Let’s keep my name out of it. This is Henry’s story. When writing an account of life and death matters, you can never say with certainty that it started here or there — there are…

Eccentric artist — my Grandad, my muse — My grandfather was an eccentric and I adored him! The son of New Zealand Itinerant Artist, William George Baker 1864–1929, Grandad carried the family arty-farty genes. He, too, was an excellent artist but he generally made his living creating beautiful wooden furniture with inlaid images, patterns, and designs.

My grandfather was a schoolteacher and a farmer. He was born in the house (pictured here) where he died at 101. The house is now about 161 years old. A remarkably healthy man, he never visited a hospital his entire life (like many of his generation). The secret to his…

The new person in my online Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) group a couple of weeks ago was Mophath, who lived in Nairobi, Kenya. It’s cool to study the scriptures each week with men from all over the world. Some members of my small group live on the east and west…