Vet's Tribute

a moving audio tribute to Veterans by long-time radio personality and proud Vietnam Veteran, Bob Leonard.

Follow the link below.

Vet's Tribute

Thank you, Bob!

Laudizen

Where youth and laughter go- Memorial Day

A poem for Memorial Day


You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.

-Siegfried Sassoon, poet(1886-1967)

Story for Memorial Day, 2011

Every Memorial Day, a US Army veteran looks back on a special detail at Fort Bragg.

Read it at the link below.

Burial Detail

Thank you!

Laudizen

Memorial Day 2011, quote 9

Abruptly the poker of memory stirs the ashes of recollection and uncovers a forgotten ember, still smoldering down there, still hot, still glowing, still red as red. –William Manchester, historian, biographer (1922-2004)

Memorial Day 2011, quote 8

You can't use no eraser where you want to go. –Michael Herr, writer (1940-)

Memorial Day 2011, quote 7

Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. –Winston Churchill, British statesman (1874-1965)

Memorial Day 2011, quote 6

The real war will never get in the books. -Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892)

Memorial Day 2011, quote 5

I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell. -William Tecumseh Sherman, soldier (1820-1891)

Memorial Day 2011, quote 4

I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious and sacrifice and the expression in vain. We had heard them, sometimes standing in the rain almost out of earshot, so that only the shouted words came through, and had read them, on proclamations that were slapped up by billposters over other proclamations, now for a long time, and I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it. -Ernest Hemingway, writer (1899-1961)

Memorial Day 2011, quote 3

There were many words that you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity. Certain numbers were the same way and certain dates and these with the names of the places were all you could say and have them mean anything. Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates. -Ernest Hemingway, writer (1899-1961)

Memorial Day 2011, quote 2

One strange feeling, which I remember clearly, was a powerful link with the slain, particularly those that had fallen within the past hour or two. There was so much death around that life seemed almost indecent. Some men’s uniforms were soaked with gobs of blood. The ground was sodden with it. I killed, too. –William Manchester, historian, biographer (1922-2004)

Memorial Day 2011, quote1

Everything up there was spooky, and it would have been that way even if there had been no war. You were in a place where you didn’t belong, where things were glimpsed for which you would have to pay and where things went un-glimpsed for which you would also have to pay, a place where they didn’t play with the mystery but killed you straight off for trespassing. The towns had names that laid a quick, chilly touch on your bones: Kontum, Dak Mak Lop, Dak Roman Peng, Poli Klang, Buon Blech, Pleiku, Pleime, Plei Vi Drin. Just moving through those towns or being based somewhere above them spaced you out, and every time I’d have that vision of myself lying dead somewhere, it was always up there, in the Highlands. –Michael Herr, writer (1940-)

Popcorn

'Popcorn', a story about family, memories, my father, and my youth. Oh yeah, and popcorn, too.

Read the story at the following link:
Popcorn

Laudizen

Leigh Lake

Read the story, 'Leigh Lake', in 'Mosaics', an ebook from Laudizen King.

'Mosaics' is a collection of travels, essays, and memoirs that includes many of my best-known works, including 'Leigh Lake', the account of a backpacking trip to the Cabinet Mountains of Montana where I almost met a violent end, twice.

This ebook also contains several stories from my days in the US Army: the savage killings of James Workman and Eugene Cox in Saigon (Murder at Midnight), a night mission in Vietnam (Bridge Inspection), and an emotional assignment at Fort Bragg (Burial Detail).

Within this collection are stories celebrating the singer Joan Osborne, Richard Brautigan, Blood Mountain in Georgia, and Mt San Jacinto near Palm Springs.

Timeless and emotive, these 41 stories hold something for everyone.

'Mosaics' is available at Smaswords and Amazon, or at your favorite ebook retailers everywhere.

'Mosaics' at Smashwords

'Mosaics' at Amazon

Chapters
Breakfast in Pahrump
The Dreams of a Young Man
A Special Cup of Coffee
Joan Osborne
The Ocean House
Bobby Fischer - In Memoriam
The Cosmic Bridge of November 1999
Talking to Carla Jean
Maizie
Reunion
Murder at Midnight
Blood Mountain
Brautigan Gift
Dog-Day Afternoon in the Laguna Mountains
Salters Pond, Beau Geste, and the Return of the Vikings
Suit
Snow Day
A Husband Dies
Worms
Passages in Stone
Cheers and Slainte
Shoehorn
Burial Detail
Bridge Inspection
On a Beach on Nantucket
La Grange
Mt San Jacinto, Winter 1991
Mt San Jacinto, Summer 1992
September 1959
Out of a Blue Sky
Mt San Gorgonio
Leigh Lake
Paper and Fire
Manchester Redux
Remembering the Dugout and Larry Lisciotti
Empty Bottle
My AMC White Mountain Guides
Through the Past Darkly with Sven Saws and Candle Lanterns
Pilgrimage
I'm Seeing Keith Richards in the Morning
In the Grass of Mt Diablo

Thank you!

Laudizen

AT on Blood Mountain in Georgia

a Collection of Images showcasing one spot on the Appalachian Trail, a picture taken in every season.

AT on Blood Mountain

Laudizen

Listening to: Gone Again

Dino Valente of Quicksilver Messenger Service sings 'Gone Again'

Gone Again

the stranger the brewing, the sweeter the brew......

Signposts to Afghanistan - 2011

A former Afghanistan intelligence analyst looks back at his military years, and at dreams gone by.

Although I created this piece in January of 2007, I am surprised at how well it stands and reads today, how germane it remains in the harsh light of current events. I once served in Military Intelligence as an Afghanistan Analyst with the US Army (1970-71) and I can't help but compare those years with the situation today. This story is part history, memoir, essay, and personal lament. It also voices my heartfelt and public concern over the opportunities and quality of life issues that face all of our current and future veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These have been tough years for soldiers. How does a young family survive, financially and emotionally, through tours of duty with numerous combat deployments? What dreams do these veterans harbor for themselves and their families in the life that follows after military service?

Read Signposts to Afghanistan at the link below

Signposts

Laudizen

Dino Valente

Today, I'm drifting through the 60's and 70's, remembering old friends with names like Danny West, Gerry Coley, and Dave Reed, recalling those Army days at Fort Bragg, lost in the music and words of Dino Valente, like the song below.

Dino Valente sings 'Time' -- Time

suddenly, these dreams are behind you.....

Success

What does it mean to call an expedition a 'success'? For me, a backpacking and hiking trip to the mountains never required that I stand atop a summit. 'Success' wears many faces, and striving and companionship leave an abundance of memories that are cherished years later.

Read my account of two summit attempts on the highest peak in Southern California (Mt San Gorgonio), one that reached the summit and one that did not.

'Mosaics' is a work of creative nonfiction: stories, memoirs, and essays of travel and adventure that celebrate the human spirit and honor the diverse moments that comprise a human life. Timeless and emotive, these 41 stories hold something for everyone.

'Mosaics' is available at Smaswords and Amazon, or at your favorite ebook retailers everywhere.

'Mosaics' at Smashwords

'Mosaics' at Amazon

Chapters
Breakfast in Pahrump
The Dreams of a Young Man
A Special Cup of Coffee
Joan Osborne
The Ocean House
Bobby Fischer - In Memoriam
The Cosmic Bridge of November 1999
Talking to Carla Jean
Maizie
Reunion
Murder at Midnight
Blood Mountain
Brautigan Gift
Dog-Day Afternoon in the Laguna Mountains
Salters Pond, Beau Geste, and the Return of the Vikings
Suit
Snow Day
A Husband Dies
Worms
Passages in Stone
Cheers and Slainte
Shoehorn
Burial Detail
Bridge Inspection
On a Beach on Nantucket
La Grange
Mt San Jacinto, Winter 1991
Mt San Jacinto, Summer 1992
September 1959
Out of a Blue Sky
Mt San Gorgonio
Leigh Lake
Paper and Fire
Manchester Redux
Remembering the Dugout and Larry Lisciotti
Empty Bottle
My AMC White Mountain Guides
Through the Past Darkly with Sven Saws and Candle Lanterns
Pilgrimage
I'm Seeing Keith Richards in the Morning
In the Grass of Mt Diablo


Laudizen

Creative Nonfiction of Laudizen King

The eBooks of Laudizen King are now available for purchase and download. These are works of creative nonfiction: stories, memoirs, and essays of travel and adventure that celebrate the human spirit and honor the diverse moments that comprise a mortal life.

The books are available at Amazon, Smashwords, and other fine eBook retailers.

For download to the Kindle from Amazon, follow the link below to reach the Laudizen King author page at Amazon.

Laudizen King at Amazon

Laudizen King's eBooks are also available at Smashwords, where they can be downloaded in all the formats used by the most popular digital readers. Follow the link below to reach the Laudizen King author page at Smashwords.

Laudizen King at Smashwords

Thank you,

Laudizen

Kindle for Android

Using (and enjoying) the 'Kindle for Android' app on my LG Optimus phone, a free download from Amazon.

The 'Pee' Cup

Every now and then, Shirley gets a cup of coffee in the 'Pee' cup; a special day indeed.

Read the story, 'A Special Cup of Coffee', in 'Mosaics', an ebook from Laudizen King.

'Mosaics' is a collection of travels, essays, and memoirs that includes many of my best-known works: discovering pool as a teenager and meeting the great Larry Lisciotti (Remembering the Dugout and Larry Lisciotti), a fire and its emotional aftermath (Paper and Fire), the story of two ascents on the highest peak in Southern California (Mt San Gorgonio), and the account of a backpacking trip to the Cabinet Mountains of Montana where I almost met a violent end, twice (Leigh Lake).

This ebook also contains several stories from my days in the US Army: the savage killings of James Workman and Eugene Cox in Saigon (Murder at Midnight), a night mission in Vietnam (Bridge Inspection), and an emotional assignment at Fort Bragg (Burial Detail).

Within this collection are stories celebrating the singer Joan Osborne, Richard Brautigan, Blood Mountain in Georgia, and Mt San Jacinto near Palm Springs.

Timeless and emotive, these 41 stories hold something for everyone.

'Mosaics' is available at Smaswords and Amazon, or at your favorite ebook retailers everywhere.

'Mosaics' at Smashwords

'Mosaics' at Amazon

Chapters
Breakfast in Pahrump
The Dreams of a Young Man
A Special Cup of Coffee
Joan Osborne
The Ocean House
Bobby Fischer - In Memoriam
The Cosmic Bridge of November 1999
Talking to Carla Jean
Maizie
Reunion
Murder at Midnight
Blood Mountain
Brautigan Gift
Dog-Day Afternoon in the Laguna Mountains
Salters Pond, Beau Geste, and the Return of the Vikings
Suit
Snow Day
A Husband Dies
Worms
Passages in Stone
Cheers and Slainte
Shoehorn
Burial Detail
Bridge Inspection
On a Beach on Nantucket
La Grange
Mt San Jacinto, Winter 1991
Mt San Jacinto, Summer 1992
September 1959
Out of a Blue Sky
Mt San Gorgonio
Leigh Lake
Paper and Fire
Manchester Redux
Remembering the Dugout and Larry Lisciotti
Empty Bottle
My AMC White Mountain Guides
Through the Past Darkly with Sven Saws and Candle Lanterns
Pilgrimage
I'm Seeing Keith Richards in the Morning
In the Grass of Mt Diablo

Thank you!

Laudizen

Through the Past Darkly

Divorce, Martinis, and out on the trail at 1:00am with a candle for a light; what could go wrong?

Through the Past Darkly with Sven Saws and Candle Lanterns

The entire story is available only in 'The White Mountain Chronicles', a collection of 22 travels, memoirs, and adventures from New Hampshire, the Granite State. The eBook may be purchased and downloaded from Smashwords or Amazon, and at other premium digital stores as well.

Enjoy!

Two hyperlinks appear below; visit Smaswords to download the eBook in any format or visit Amazon to download the eBook to your Kindle.

'The White Mountain Chronicles' at Smashwords

'The White Mountain Chronicles' at Amazon

(approx 53,900 words)

Chapters
My AMC White Mountain Guides
May Camp
Red Flannel Hash
In the Shadow of Monadnock
Carter Notch in Winter, the First Trip
Through the Past Darkly with Sven Saws and Candle Lanterns
Winter Night at Hermit Lake
How Things Come to Pass
Second Sojourn
Camp 16
Ghosts and Summits
Golden Girls
Pilgrimage
Mt Garfield Dream
Closing Galehead
Remembering Ray Evans, 1909-2001
Mountain Pond and Carter Dome
Riddle of New Hampshire
Mt Carrigain Trilogy
On the Garfield Ridge with Jack Kerouac
Out of the Fog
The 48 Summits