BUFFALO STORIES - Joseph Xavier Martin

By jxmartin

Older houses have images of past lives of those who lived within them. Listen to one home that muses on its history.

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Body Images

By jxmartin on Fri, 12 Sep 2008

Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

SUBTITLES

By jxmartin on Wed, 11 Oct 2006

Do Subtitles Really Say Something ? In the early days of the American film industry, before talkies came on the scene, a running string of subtitles would explain, in brief phrases, the action occurring on the film. The correlation between the action pictured and the content of the subtitles offered was sometimes open to question.
Miscellaneous
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Conformity Police

By jxmartin on Tue, 10 Apr 2012

The Conformity Police
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

"9-11" a Remembrance

By jxmartin on Mon, 11 Sep 2006

Coming To America They came by the thousands to stand silently in the cool, September's night air. They were searching for something that they knew
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

"Guess who's coming to dinner?"

By jxmartin on Sat, 27 Aug 2005

"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner The silken strands of the web glistened in the morning sunlight. The dew filled in sections of the web with a silver pane of moisture as artfully crafted as if inserted with a glazier's deft touch.
Other Fiction
Story
Certificate PG

"Senior Discounts"

By jxmartin on Sat, 29 Jun 2013

Unclassified
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Light In The Closet

By jxmartin on Sat, 04 Feb 2006

A Light in the Closet I could see the narrow band of light gleaming from across the open space at the top of the hall closet door, which was slightly ajar. My childhood memories immediately conjured up a visage of something that you might see in those 1950's science fiction movies. You just knew then when you saw it, that something evil was waiting just beyond the door, waiting for you to be dumb enough to go and open it.
Children's
Story
Certificate U

A Bunch of Squatters

By jxmartin on Mon, 17 Jun 2013

A Bunch of Squatters
Unclassified
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A letter for Young, an admirable woman.

By jxmartin on Thu, 04 Mar 2010

Dear Mrs. Young McCoy
Journal
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

A Piece of the Banner. Ch.# XII- College as a catalytic Experience- draft 3

By jxmartin on Tue, 20 Jul 2010

Chapter XII- College as a catalytic experience
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U

A Tribute to Mary's Father, Robert P. Walsh

By jxmartin on Wed, 21 Jul 2010

The Chronicles of Robert W. Walsh
Biography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Woman's "place" in the Church

By jxmartin on Mon, 30 Apr 2012

A Woman's "place" in the Church.
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Amelia Island, Florida

By jxmartin on Fri, 20 May 2011

Amelia Island, Florida Tuesday- May 3, 2011- Bonita Springs, Florida
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

By jxmartin on Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Saturday, 8/25- Anchorage, Alaska
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

ARUBA, DUTCH ANTILLES

By jxmartin on Sat, 01 Dec 2007

ARUBA - DUTCH ANTILLES Saturday, March 30, - Buffalo, NY
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Asheville, N.C.- St. Augustine, Fl.

By jxmartin on Wed, 18 Feb 2009

Asheville, North Carolina- St. Augustine,Florida- Tues. Nov. 7- Amherst. NY.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

August 1997

By jxmartin on Thu, 02 Aug 2007

August 1997
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U

Babcock Ranch- SW Florida

By jxmartin on Wed, 20 Jan 2010

Babcock Ranch Excursion Friday, January 15, 2010- Ft. Myers, Florida
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Badge Of Honor

By jxmartin on Wed, 17 May 2006

Badge of Honor During the late 1950's, in a small Catholic Parish on the South Side of Buffalo,N.Y., a cadre of children daily stood guard on the busy street corners around our grammar school. Our designated assignment was to hold back the overly rambunctious children, at major street crossings, until the adult crossing guard had reached the middle of the intersection.There, she extended her arms fully, stopping all vehicular traffic. Then and only then, we allowed the crowd of children, that we were holding back, to proceed safely across the busy thoroughfare.
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U

Bahamas

By jxmartin on Tue, 22 May 2007

Nassau-Bahamas-March 07 Friday-March 2, 2007- Ft.Myers. Fl.
Travel
Other
Certificate U

Baltimore, Maryland

By jxmartin on Mon, 19 May 2008

Baltimore is Believeable
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Banks Of The Cazenovia

By jxmartin on Tue, 06 Jun 2006

The Banks of The Cazenovia I grew up along the banks of this redoubtable stream in Western New York State. The people who live along this waterway are my friends and neighbors. Over the years, we have watched ice jams and floods wreak havoc on the surrounding terrain. We have also enjoyed its' languorous beauty during late summer and early fall. The history of Western New York is reflected in the growth of settlements up and down the Cazenovia, from the late 1700's to present day. The names of the towns and villages, on its banks, are reflective of America's waves of immigrants.
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U

Baseball

By jxmartin on Sat, 27 May 2006

The Hall of Legends Cooperstown is a small, rural village in upstate New York, just South of Utica. The rolling hills and well ordered farms that surround the town might just as easily be found in Kansas or Iowa.
Journal
Story
Certificate U

BEGINNINGS

By jxmartin on Wed, 11 Oct 2006

B E G I N I N G S I was born on the Fourth of March, a time of year in Buffalo, N.Y. when Winter still locks the area in its icy grip. Spring always seemed a long time in coming. At that time, my family lived at 207 Amber St., in a two-story frame dwelling, on the South side of the City. We lived in the shadow of giant steel plants like Bethlehem and Republic. The air smelled like sulfur and anything left outside would soon be covered by a fine layer of soot and metal flakes. No one noticed. It wasn't until many years later, when I first brought my future wife home for Thanksgiving dinner, that I became aware that there even was an odor. Mary is from Rochester and noticed the aroma as we neared the homestead. I guess we just learned to live with it.
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U

Bora Bora, French Polynesia

By jxmartin on Fri, 24 Aug 2007

Wed. 4/23 Bora Bora- French Polynesia
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

BOSTON, Massachusetts

By jxmartin on Sat, 04 Aug 2007

Boston Excursion- August Thursday, - Amherst, NY.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Brain Farts

By jxmartin on Wed, 23 Nov 2005

" Brain Farts " It was the custom, at our house, to sit quietly around the dinner table, after a leisurely supper, and talk of the events of the day. Subjects as wide ranging as the computer technology, of remote control Dentistry, and the difficulty of raising autistic children, would receive careful analysis and comment. My Father usually led the discussion, but it could often spread with the intensity of a wildfire. Sometimes, the conversation took on a life all its' own, as a barrage of ideas and comments were lobbed back and forth across the peach cobbler. New faces at the dinner table, in the person of friends and relatives, meant new perspectives and differing opinions. We welcomed them all, with the gusto of a pride of lions looking over a prospective kill. Nobody got away with generic statements or half formed opinions. If you were rash enough to open your mouth and offer comment, it was expected that you would explain and if necessary, defend your position. The give and take wasn't acrimonious, just spirited debate and honest curiosity.
Humour
Story
Certificate U

British Isles Excursion- London, day 1

By jxmartin on Wed, 03 Aug 2011

British Isle Excursion -London Thurs. July 12, 2011- Amherst, N.Y.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles- Day 10- Belfast, Northern Ireland

By jxmartin on Wed, 10 Aug 2011

Friday, July 21,2011- Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles- Day 12- Liverpool, England

By jxmartin on Sat, 13 Aug 2011

Sunday, July 24, 2011- Liverpool, England.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles- Day 14- Cork, Eire

By jxmartin on Mon, 15 Aug 2011

Tuesday, July 26,2011- Cobh, Eire (Cork)
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles- Day 15- Guernsey & homeward bound.

By jxmartin on Mon, 15 Aug 2011

Wed. July 27. 2011- The Isle of Guernsey - off the French Coast in the English Channel.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles- Day 2- Windsor Castle, Bath & Stonehenge

By jxmartin on Thu, 04 Aug 2011

Thurs. July 14, 2011- London, England
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles- Day 3- Central London

By jxmartin on Fri, 05 Aug 2011

Friday. July 15, 2011- London, England
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles- Day 4- Boarding the Leviathan

By jxmartin on Sat, 06 Aug 2011

Saturday, July 16, 2011- London, England
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles- day 5- Paris

By jxmartin on Sat, 06 Aug 2011

Sunday, July 17, 2011- La Havre, France.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles- Day 7- Edinburgh, Scotland

By jxmartin on Mon, 08 Aug 2011

Tues. July 19,2011- Edinburgh, Scotland
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

British Isles- Day 8 & 9- Northern Scotland

By jxmartin on Tue, 09 Aug 2011

Wednesday, July 20, 2011- Invergordon, Scotland
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles-Day 13- Dublin, Eire

By jxmartin on Sun, 14 Aug 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011- Dublin, Eire
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles-day 6- Day at sea

By jxmartin on Sun, 07 Aug 2011

Monday, July 18, 2011- aboard the Crown Princess in Britain’s North Sea.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

British Isles. Day 11- Glasgow, Scotland

By jxmartin on Thu, 11 Aug 2011

Saturday, July 23,2011- Glasgow, Scotland
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Buffalo Bills Impeach Iraq

By jxmartin on Sat, 27 May 2006

The Day The Buffalo Bills Impeached Iraq It was the second Saturday in December, 1999. Our football team, The Buffalo Bills, were in a shoot out with our much despised down state rivals, the New York Jets. The game was important in deciding who would get home field advantage in the coming play-offs. The spirited rivalry of the two teams goes all of the way back into the days of the American Football League in the early 1960's, when the Jets were still the New York Titans. Life as we know it came to a virtual halt in Western New York as the faithful got ready to view the contest.
Humour
Story
Certificate U
Cherry

Buffalo's Southern Island

By jxmartin on Sat, 13 May 2006

Buffalo's Southern Island It is a place that exists more in the minds of those who live there, than anywhere else. You won't ever see the designation for it on any map reference. But, you will hear
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

BUS RIDE

By jxmartin on Thu, 04 Jan 2007

The Bus Ride The swaying motion,from side to side as the bus picked up speed onto the interstate, was rhythmic and comforting. The cancelled ticket in my hand was stamped "New York City, from Buffalo.
Other Fiction
Story
Certificate U

BUSCH Gardens- Tampa, Florida

By jxmartin on Mon, 28 Dec 2009

Busch Gardens & Tampa, Florida Wednesday, December 23,2009-Ft. Myers, Florida
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Cabbage Key, Florida

By jxmartin on Fri, 30 Jan 2009

Cabbage Key, Florida Wednesday, January 14, 2009- Fort Myers, Fl.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Cartagena, Columbia

By jxmartin on Tue, 24 Mar 2009

Thursday, 2/26/09 Cartagena, Columbia
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Cell Phones- The New Karaoke

By jxmartin on Fri, 19 Jun 2009

Opinion
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Charleston, South Carolina

By jxmartin on Tue, 29 Jan 2008

Charleston, South Carolina Wednesday, November 27 - Buffalo, NY
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Chasing Liberty

By jxmartin on Mon, 28 May 2007

“ Chasing Liberty”
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U

Christmas Is For Big Kids Too !

By jxmartin on Mon, 06 Nov 2006

Christmas is for big kids too! The magic of Christmas is an often-elusive chimera that can elude the sophisticated. Life, and the vagaries of winsome fate, sometimes condition those of us "on the shady side of forty to look with irritation or indifference on the "hustle and bustle of Christmas. The overt commercialism of the holidays can be sometimes less than appealing. It is a mindset that I think we all would like to get more away from, returning to the religious and spiritual side of the holidays.
Miscellaneous
Other
Certificate U

CHRISTMAS VISIT

By jxmartin on Thu, 01 Jun 2006

The Christmas Visit The wind, blowing across Lake Erie from the west, was chilling on this cold December day in Buffalo, N.Y. The snows had not yet come, but the temperature had fallen to the 20's and the air was frigid. The clouds were a dark, dirty gray and pregnant with snow that was to come.
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U

Christmas Comes To Kevin Leary

By jxmartin on Thu, 24 Aug 2006

Christmas Comes To Kevin Leary Kevin Leary was a bum. He wasn't a homeless person, nor an individual set adrift by physical or mental difficulties, he was just a plain and ordinary bum. He didn't work and he didn't want to. He was a small time pool hustler and an errand boy for a number of local gangsters. He did whatever they needed and he didn't care who got hurt in the process.
Other Fiction
Story
Certificate U

Christmas Day in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

By jxmartin on Tue, 28 Dec 2010

Saturday, December 26, 2010 Christmas Day- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Christmas Eve in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

By jxmartin on Mon, 27 Dec 2010

Christmas Eve Fort Lauderdale, Florida Friday- December 24,2010- Bonita Springs, Florida.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Christmas Eve- Ft. Lauderdale, 2011

By jxmartin on Thu, 29 Dec 2011

Christmas Eve in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida- 12/24/11
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Communion

By jxmartin on Sat, 17 Jun 2006

THE COMMUNION The chilly winds swept over the Lake Erie ice. The mist and damp, of an overnight cloudburst, lingered and added to the feeling of late autumn. It was May 1st in Western New York.
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U

Confession

By jxmartin on Tue, 30 May 2006

THE CONFESSION "Bless Me Father For I have Sinned, was the opening incantation of the penitent. "Ego Te Absolve, In Nomine Patris, Filie, Spiritu, Sancti" was the muffled reply. It came both as an admonition and an inquiry, through the wooden lattice panel, of the confessional. For ease of purpose, The Priest in the middle was able to hear confessions from booths, on both sides. He had but to slide back the wooden shutter, to speak with either of us. Anonymity was hoped for by everyone, but sometimes voices had a way of carrying, in the larger churches with older members whose hearing wasn't very good.
Spiritual
Story
Certificate U

Conversations With Arthur

By jxmartin on Thu, 27 Apr 2006

A Conversation with Arthur The neon green frizbee floated effortlessly, in a lazy arc, across the broad expanse of carefully trimmed lawn.The long haired and graceful collie jumped high in a carefully planned, intersecting parabola and caught the whirling saucer in her teeth,.to the squealing delight of several small children who were playing with this magnificent animal.
Humour
Story
Certificate U

Copenhagen, Denmark

By jxmartin on Wed, 20 Feb 2008

Monday, August 3 - Gothenburg, Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Costa Rica

By jxmartin on Tue, 31 Mar 2009

Saturday 2/28/09- Limon, Costa Rica.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Going to the Dogs

By jxmartin on Sun, 28 Jul 2013

“Going to the dogs”
Unclassified
Story
Certificate U

I didn't forget, just didn't know I knew that !

By jxmartin on Fri, 07 Jun 2013

I didn’t forget. I just didn’t know I knew that.
Unclassified
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Virginia Beach, Virginia

By jxmartin on Mon, 03 Jun 2013

Virginia Beach, Virginia Savannah, Ga. –Sunday May 19th, 2013
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Immigration to Florida

By jxmartin on Mon, 13 May 2013

Immigration to Florida
Unclassified
Non-fiction
Certificate 18

Margaret Thatcher meets Annette Funicello

By jxmartin on Mon, 08 Apr 2013

Annette Funicello, of Beach Blanket Bingo movies and the Mousketeer’s television fame and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” both passed on to their eternal rewards
Unclassified
Story
Certificate PG

The Masters Golf Tournament

By jxmartin on Wed, 10 Apr 2013

The Masters Golf Tournament
Unclassified
Non-fiction
Certificate 18

Picture Box

By jxmartin on Wed, 31 Jan 2007

THE PICTURE BOX Long ago and far away, in a land beneath the clouds, there lived a simple watermelon farmer named Waldo. He was a distant cousin of the famous "Jack in the bean stalk." That relationship made him very sad. He worked hard tending his melons and being good, but no one ever talked of Wally, it was always " Jack " - "Jack and the Beanstalk."
Children's
Story
Certificate U

Washington D.C. Mall

By jxmartin on Thu, 12 Apr 2007

Washington D.C. - May- Fri. 5/26- Buffalo, N.Y.
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Florida Keys

By jxmartin on Mon, 30 Apr 2007

Florida Keys- January- 2007 Mon. Jan. 8,2007-Ft. Myers,Fl.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Southern California

By jxmartin on Mon, 04 Jun 2007

Southern California- Wed. 9/18- Amherst, N.Y.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Rhode Island's Riviera

By jxmartin on Sat, 09 Jun 2007

BLOCK ISLAND RHODE ISLAND'S RIVIERA
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Georgia's Golden Isles

By jxmartin on Thu, 28 Jun 2007

“Georgia’s Golden Isles.” Sun. May 13,2007- Ft. Myers, Fl.
Travel
Certificate U

HONOLULU

By jxmartin on Thu, 19 Jul 2007

Hawaii & Tahiti- Sat. 4/12- Williamsville, N.Y.
Travel
Certificate U

Phoenix, Arizona

By jxmartin on Mon, 23 Jul 2007

Phoenix, Arizona Wed. March 23- Amherst, N.Y.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Seattle, Washington

By jxmartin on Thu, 26 Jul 2007

Seattle Monday. July 22, 2002- Amherst, N.Y.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Hawaii, The Big Island

By jxmartin on Mon, 13 Aug 2007

Thursday, 4/17 Hilo, Hawaii
Travel
Certificate U

LONDON, ENGLAND

By jxmartin on Mon, 20 Aug 2007

LONDON, ENGLAND
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

PARIS, FRANCE

By jxmartin on Wed, 22 Aug 2007

PARIS, France Friday-April 6th -Buffalo,N.Y.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Ketchikan, ALASKA

By jxmartin on Tue, 02 Oct 2007

Thursday- September- Ketchikan, Alaska
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon & Zion National Parks

By jxmartin on Thu, 04 Oct 2007

Monday, March 28- Lake Powell, Paige, Az
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

By jxmartin on Sat, 13 Oct 2007

Savannah, Georgia Sat. Nov. 26 - Petersburg,Va.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

San Francisco & Monterey Peninsula

By jxmartin on Wed, 17 Oct 2007

San Francisco - Monterey Peninsula Thursday,12/19- Buffalo, N.Y.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Red Cash Box

By jxmartin on Sat, 27 Oct 2007

The Red Cash Box
Horror
Story
Certificate U

New Orleans

By jxmartin on Tue, 30 Oct 2007

NEW ORLEANS TRIP _OCTOBER BUFFALO, N. Y.-FRIDAY-10/4
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Stockholm, Sweden

By jxmartin on Sat, 17 Nov 2007

Tuesday, July 28- Buffalo, New York / Wednesday, July 29 - Stockholm, Sweden
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

New York City

By jxmartin on Mon, 19 Nov 2007

New York City- May, 2001 Friday- 5/4- We were up early to finish packing for the trip. At 7:15 A.M., we drove to Bflo International
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Monaco & EZE

By jxmartin on Fri, 23 Nov 2007

Saturday, April 10th Cannes, France
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Venice, Italy

By jxmartin on Sat, 08 Dec 2007

Wednesday,4/8- Venice,Italy
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Ottawa, Canada

By jxmartin on Sun, 16 Dec 2007

Wednesday, July 26- Gananoque, Ontario- Canada
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

St. Maarten, Dutch Antilles

By jxmartin on Sat, 29 Dec 2007

ST. MAARTEN – Easter Fri. 3/22- Williamsville, N.Y. We arose early. It was 15 degrees outside and four new inches of snow had fallen. Aye yei yei! I hit
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

ROMA, ITALIA

By jxmartin on Thu, 03 Jan 2008

EASTER SUNDAY,April 12-Florence,Italy
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

St. Martin, French West Indies

By jxmartin on Wed, 16 Jan 2008

Nathaniel Wyatt, a prosperous, native islander ferried us around the island's narrow roads, in his immaculately kept six passenger cab.($25) He
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Shining Stone

By jxmartin on Fri, 01 Feb 2008

“The Shining Stone”
Other Fiction
Story
Certificate U

Poetry a medium for any message

By jxmartin on Sat, 01 Mar 2008

Poetry is amongst the most treasured of our oral traditions. Hundreds of years ago, poets sat around smoky peat fires reciting tales of their ancestors to an audience of the unlettered.
Opinion
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Legacy

By jxmartin on Thu, 27 Mar 2008

A Play The Legacy Dramatis Personnae: Brother John: 27 year old High School Civics Teacher
Other Fiction
Other
Certificate PG

The Cremation of Sam Mc Gee- a critical look.

By jxmartin on Tue, 08 Apr 2008

"There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the meen who moil for gold"
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Fall of Camelot

By jxmartin on Thu, 17 Apr 2008

The Fall of Camelot There once was a time our nation has now forgot, when American’s stood proud and shining bright.
Opinion
Poem
Certificate U
Cherry

Siena, Italia

By jxmartin on Mon, 12 May 2008

Thurs. April 8th- Livorno, Italia
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Language Of The Brag

By jxmartin on Thu, 15 May 2008

Language of the Brag I have always wanted to fly above the ground, without plane or chute or tendrils to me bound. How would I do this you maybe asking me,
Humour
Poem
Certificate U

Southern Coastal Maine

By jxmartin on Sat, 31 May 2008

Southern Coastal Maine Mon.-7/20-Buffalo,N.Y.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Donovan's Dilemna

By jxmartin on Sat, 07 Jun 2008

Donovan’s Choice
Other Fiction
Certificate U

The Speech Of Babel

By jxmartin on Fri, 13 Jun 2008

"The Speech of Babel” A Frenzied exchange of conflicitng ideas Inquisitive eyes seeking reassurance
Miscellaneous
Poem
Certificate U

The Storm

By jxmartin on Sat, 14 Jun 2008

When all about you is crumbling, And darkness supplants the Day. You must reach deep within yourself, For the resolve and the grit to say,
Miscellaneous
Poem
Certificate U

Niagara On The Lake- Canada

By jxmartin on Wed, 18 Jun 2008

Thanksgiving- Niagara On the Lake Thurs. 11/25/ -Amherst, N.Y.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Troll's Bridge

By jxmartin on Thu, 26 Jun 2008

Troll’s Bridge
Children's
Story
Certificate U

Juneau, Alaska

By jxmartin on Sat, 28 Jun 2008

Wednesday- September 7- Juneau, Alaska
Travel
Certificate U

Idol Worship

By jxmartin on Wed, 02 Jul 2008

Idol Worship Polished ebony, chiseled, tooled and beautiful Finely detailed, carved by a knowing hand. A wondrous figurine, apt for adoration.
Spiritual
Certificate U

Special People

By jxmartin on Mon, 14 Jul 2008

Special People There are people ever among us With a special style and grace. And it seems to take no effort, For they to assume their place. The glow of a warmly winning smile
Other Non-fiction
Poem
Certificate U

Going Home

By jxmartin on Mon, 06 Oct 2008

Autobiography
Certificate U

The Feel Of Home

By jxmartin on Tue, 21 Oct 2008

The Feel of Home There are many exotic places, Where I would sometimes like to be. And there are many interesting faces, That I think I’d like someday to see.
Miscellaneous
Poem
Certificate U

Roll The Dice

By jxmartin on Wed, 22 Oct 2008

Roll The Dice
Opinion
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Elections

By jxmartin on Thu, 30 Oct 2008

Miscellaneous
Certificate U

ITALIA

By jxmartin on Sat, 21 Mar 2009

Due Settimani in Italia Sunday,April 5-1-Amherst,N.Y.
Travel
Certificate U

Panama Canal Zone

By jxmartin on Sun, 29 Mar 2009

Friday, 2/27/09- At Sea approaching the Panama Canal Zone.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Paradise Lost- The Fall of America's Camelot

By jxmartin on Tue, 07 Apr 2009

Paradise Lost- The Fall of Camelot
Other Non-fiction
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Only With Our Own

By jxmartin on Sat, 11 Apr 2009

Only With Our Own!
Humour
Story
Certificate U

The Wiccan's Bank

By jxmartin on Mon, 03 Aug 2009

The Wiccan’s Bank
Humour
Story
Certificate U

Southern Ireland- twenty years ago

By jxmartin on Fri, 04 Sep 2009

Saturday July 30, 1988 (London-England)
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Give me your poor huddled masses

By jxmartin on Tue, 08 Sep 2009

“Give me your poor huddled masses yearning to be free.”
Other Non-fiction
Certificate U

Light The Candle

By jxmartin on Wed, 30 Sep 2009

Light The Candle
Opinion
Other
Certificate U

Westward From Eire- final version

By jxmartin on Sun, 11 Oct 2009

The final version of my book "Westward From Eire" can be found on my web page: http://web.me.com/jxmartin1/JXMARTIN/Home.html I hope it is a good read. J.X.M
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U

The Religious Fist Bump

By jxmartin on Sun, 18 Oct 2009

We were having friends over for dinner on a chilly night in October. They were bringing with them their two adult children and their significant others.
Humour
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Useppa Island Cruise SW Florida

By jxmartin on Wed, 02 Dec 2009

Useppa Island Cruise- SW Florida
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

YBOR City & Dunedin Florida

By jxmartin on Wed, 30 Dec 2009

Thursday- December 24,2009-Tampa, Florida- Christmas Eve.
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

For those who have fallen

By jxmartin on Sun, 30 May 2010

For those who have fallen
Autobiography
Certificate U

Humor In a Golf Injury

By jxmartin on Mon, 14 Jun 2010

Humor in a Golf Injury
Autobiography
Certificate U

The Fear of Fear.

By jxmartin on Wed, 07 Jul 2010

Fear of Fear
Humour
Story
Certificate U

Historic Buffalo River Tour

By jxmartin on Thu, 12 Aug 2010

Historic Buffalo River Tour
Travel
Certificate U

Foreword- " A Piece of the Banner."

By jxmartin on Fri, 03 Dec 2010

Foreword
Autobiography
Certificate U

The Magic of Christmas

By jxmartin on Sat, 11 Dec 2010

Christmas is for big kids too!
Spiritual
Other
Certificate U

The Lament of the Cormorant

By jxmartin on Wed, 26 Jan 2011

In the Avian world, those talented birds that can gather the most fish and feed their young are the ones who survive and pass on their genes.
Children's
Story
Certificate U

The New Salvador Dali Museum- St. Petersburg, Florida

By jxmartin on Sat, 29 Jan 2011

The New Dali Museum- St. Petersburg, Florida
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Passing of a Grand Lady- my Mother

By jxmartin on Fri, 11 Mar 2011

Friday- March 11, 2011- Bonita Springs, Florida
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Saturday Morning Shit Birds

By jxmartin on Wed, 13 Apr 2011

The Saturday Morning Shit birds
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate PG

Vero Beach, Florida

By jxmartin on Mon, 25 Apr 2011

Vero Beach Florida Tues. April 19,2011- Bonita Springs, Florida
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Monsters In The Rough

By jxmartin on Fri, 13 Jan 2012

Monsters In The Rough
Other Fiction
Story
Certificate U

Disney World- Animal KIngdom

By jxmartin on Sun, 12 Feb 2012

Disney Excursion- Animal Kingdom Friday- February 3,2012- Bonita Springs, Florida
Autobiography
Certificate U

Men of Steel

By jxmartin on Fri, 24 Feb 2012

Men of Steel
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Sounds Of Silence

By jxmartin on Sat, 28 Apr 2012

The Sounds of Silence
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Lexington, Kentucky- Horse Country

By jxmartin on Tue, 29 May 2012

Horse Country- Lexington, Kentucky Tues. May 22nd, 2012- Athens, Ga.
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Off Color Solution

By jxmartin on Sun, 12 Aug 2012

The Off Color Solution
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Lessons in micro-management

By jxmartin on Tue, 04 Sep 2012

Lessons in micro-management
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Magic Hours

By jxmartin on Sun, 16 Sep 2012

The Magic Hours
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Taverns

By jxmartin on Wed, 03 Oct 2012

Entering a Tavern, in South Buffalo N.Y., is an experience similar to walking into an old fashioned saloon on the Western Frontier of America, during the mid 1800’s.
Autobiography
Story
Certificate U
Cherry

The Stairs in the Park

By jxmartin on Sun, 14 Oct 2012

The Stairs in the Park
Other Fiction
Story
Certificate U

The "Head- Downers"

By jxmartin on Tue, 13 Nov 2012

“The Head-downers”
Autobiography
Story
Certificate PG

Two Abandoned Bicycles On a Rack

By jxmartin on Fri, 25 Oct 2013

Two Bicycles on a rack We were having coffee on the outside patio of the Panera Bread Company at Coconut Pt. in Estero, Florida. It is one of the...
Unclassified
Non-fiction
Certificate U

John F. Kennedy Remembered

By jxmartin on Wed, 20 Nov 2013

The Fall of America's Camelot It was a time of chivalry, of knights and ladies, performing like actors in an ethereal Brigadoon, evoking visions of a...
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

A Taste For Humans

By jxmartin on Wed, 26 Feb 2014

“A TASTE FOR HUMANS” Fifty thousand barbarians marched in armored array, row upon row of them tramping in deadly unison. Sullen hatred was etched...
Science fiction
Story
Certificate U

Excursion Down Under- part I

By jxmartin on Fri, 25 Apr 2014

Excursion Down under April 2014 Wed. Mar. 26th, 2014- Bonita Springs, Florida We were up at 3:30 A.M to make final preparations for leaving. Our 4 A...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Excursioin Down Under- part II

By jxmartin on Fri, 25 Apr 2014

Monday, March 31st, 2014- Auckland, New Zealand We were up by 4:30 A.M. The Circadian rhythms of our bodies would not adapt for several days yet. We...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Excursion Down Under- part III

By jxmartin on Fri, 25 Apr 2014

Wed. April 2, 2014- Auckland, New Zealand We were up by 5 A.M. eager to begin the day. We had coffee and read the papers in our room, while packing...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Excursion Down Under part VIII

By jxmartin on Sat, 26 Apr 2014

Down Under- part VIII Saturday, April 5,2014 Wellington, New Zealand During the evening hours, The Dawn Princess motored across Hawke’s Bay, rounding...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Down Under- part IX

By jxmartin on Sun, 27 Apr 2014

Sunday, April 6, 2014- Akaroa, New Zealand At night, the great ship sailed SW around the Banks Peninsula and through the Timotumu Head and the Akaroa...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Excursion Down Under- part X

By jxmartin on Mon, 28 Apr 2014

Monday, April 7, 2014- Dunedin, New Zealand The Dawn Princess sailed south overnight, passing between the breakwater and the Tabora Headland and on...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Down Under- part XI

By jxmartin on Tue, 29 Apr 2014

Tuesday, April 8, 2014- Fjords National Park, Southwest coast of New Zealand During the evening hours, the great ship motored through the Fouveaux...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Excursion Down Under- part XII

By jxmartin on Wed, 30 Apr 2014

Friday, April 11,2014 & Saturday April 12,2014- Sailing across the Tasman Sea towards SE Australia. These two days at sea were both restful and...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Down Under- part XIII

By jxmartin on Thu, 01 May 2014

Saturday, April 12, 2014- Tasman Sea off SE Australia The ship had left Melbourne last night, motoring NE through the Bass Strait towards Cape Howe...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Excursion Down Under- Part XIV

By jxmartin on Fri, 02 May 2014

Monday, April 14, 2014- Sydney, Australia We were up by 6 A.M. and made preparations for a long day. We enjoyed a breakfast in the lobby of the Push...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Excursion Down Under- part XV- finis

By jxmartin on Sat, 03 May 2014

Tuesday, April 15, 2014- Sydney, Australia We were up by 6:30 A.M. It was a cool 57 (F) degrees out. We had tea in our room and then a decent...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

How Others View us

By jxmartin on Wed, 07 May 2014

How Others View Us. I had an interesting exchange, with some warm-hearted people making comments about a fallen brother, the other day. It gave me...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

What Will People Think Of Us ?

By jxmartin on Tue, 13 May 2014

What Will Others Think of Us? The thought occurred to me again last week when, for the third time, my e-mail account was hacked. A missive was sent...
Non-fiction
Certificate PG

Let Them Eat Cake !

By jxmartin on Wed, 04 Jun 2014

Let them eat cake ! Most well-read people are aware of the phrase and its origin, Marie Antoinette at the time of the French Revolution. These few...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Big Chill Redux

By jxmartin on Thu, 26 Jun 2014

I recently watched this excellent movie for the umpteenth time. The tsunami of memories flooded through me like with a flood of images that made me...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate 18

Big Chill Redux part II

By jxmartin on Sat, 28 Jun 2014

I did make a number of great friends, some of whom I have shared friendship with for forty years. I have lots of tales to tell of that Delta Kappa...
Non-fiction
Certificate 18

The Goofy Good Will of Families

By jxmartin on Thu, 03 Jul 2014

The goofy good will of families We were sitting in our kitchen one morning drinking coffee and reading the daily paper. “I got a call from my sister...
Story
Certificate 18

The Pull Up Society of Left Turn People

By jxmartin on Tue, 15 Jul 2014

The Pull Up Society of Left Turn People As late as the middle part of the twentieth century in America, we were a nation of small towns with mom and...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

You Can't Go Home Again

By jxmartin on Sun, 03 Aug 2014

“You Can’t Go Home Again” You hear the words often enough, “You can’t go home again.” Novelist Thomas Wolfe is most often credited with the phrase...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Saturday's Rant

By jxmartin on Sat, 16 Aug 2014

“ Man is the only animal that blushes, or needs to,” is a well known quote of American humorist Mark Twain. It occurs to me on any number of...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Annual Physical

By jxmartin on Wed, 20 Aug 2014

The Annual Physical One of the rights of passage, into the golden agers club of humanity, is the ritual of the annual physical. Every year about this...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Fair Skinned Lad

By jxmartin on Tue, 26 Aug 2014

The Fair Skinned Lad Fall was approaching. It was time for my annual dermatological exam. In my earlier years, I would never have thought in a...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Darwin versus Dior

By jxmartin on Mon, 01 Sep 2014

Darwin versus Dior In scientific circles, the debate over whether nature or nurture most influences humans as a species has been batted back and...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Talkmonsters

By jxmartin on Tue, 02 Sep 2014

The Talkmonsters I have always been amazed by the ability of friends and colleagues who can literally talk forever. Most of us are gabbers by nature...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Friendships are Ephemeral

By jxmartin on Fri, 05 Sep 2014

Friendships are ephemeral When we were younger, we had friends that were involved in every aspect of our lives. We knew everyone in their families,...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Work is who we are

By jxmartin on Fri, 19 Sep 2014

Work is who we are. Our jobs are the essence of what we are. You wouldn’t think so when you listen to daily casual conversations. “This Job sucks!”...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Riding up hill, into the wind, both ways

By jxmartin on Fri, 07 Nov 2014

Riding uphill, into the wind, both ways. There are those restless souls amongst us who always seem to be swimming upriver in the mainstream of life...
Rant
Biography
Certificate U

The pleasure of human interaction

By jxmartin on Mon, 10 Nov 2014

The Pleasure of Human Interaction The eminent Psychologist, Sigmund Freud, defined “isolationism” as a mind’s “defense mechanism” against perceived...
Spiritual
Story
Certificate U

What is Christmas, Virginia??

By jxmartin on Tue, 23 Dec 2014

What is Christmas, Virginia? “Oh Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.” These are the words to one...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

New Year's Eve

By jxmartin on Wed, 31 Dec 2014

New Year’s Eve It is the 31st of December in the year of our Lord, 2014. As I contemplate the beginnings of New Year, arriving in a few hours, I...
Spiritual
Other
Certificate U

A Sucker born every minute

By jxmartin on Thu, 15 Jan 2015

“There is a sucker born every minute” is a famous quotation of American circus impresario P.T. Barnum. I always thought his sentiments a tad cynical...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Martin Luther King Day in America

By jxmartin on Sat, 17 Jan 2015

Martin Luther King Day is celebrated every January 15 th in America as a national holiday. Most people like me, who are of a certain age, remember...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Florida Reflections

By jxmartin on Wed, 21 Jan 2015

Florida Reflections We were sitting on our lanai the other night, with a decent cabernet in hand, as we enjoyed the welcome cool of the evening. It...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Vaya Con Dios, Mr. Spock

By jxmartin on Fri, 27 Feb 2015

Vaya Con Dios, Mr. Spock Leonard Nemoy passed on to his eternal reward this Friday, the 27 th of February, in the year of our Lord 2015. The...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Is It LIve or is it Memorex?

By jxmartin on Fri, 06 Mar 2015

Is it Live or is it Memorex ? The above question is a line from a 1982 television commercial, touting the auditory quality of a VHS tape and...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Festa San Guiseppe

By jxmartin on Fri, 20 Mar 2015

Viva San Guiseppe Every year, on March 19 th In Italy, is celebrated the feast of St. Joseph. In particular, Sicilians revere him. In centuries past...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Springtime

By jxmartin on Fri, 20 Mar 2015

SPRINGTIME Even the casual evocation of the name brings a smile to people’s faces and a twinkle to their eyes. “Spring.” It is the harbinger of...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Stairs- a bridgeable chasm

By jxmartin on Mon, 30 Mar 2015

Stairs- a Bridgeable Chasm Like most people, I never gave much thought to a set of stairs. Most of us climb a flight or two daily and think nothing...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Caloosahatchee River Cruise

By jxmartin on Fri, 17 Apr 2015

Caloosahatchee River Cruise It was a bright and sunny spring day in Ft. Myers, Florida. We were heading across town from Bonita Springs to downtown...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Stories From My Dad

By jxmartin on Tue, 05 May 2015

Stories From My Father In my mind’s ear, I can hear the eerie cadence of words even now. My dad would have a flock of us gathered around a campfire...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U

These Boots are made for walking !

By jxmartin on Mon, 11 May 2015

These Boots are made for walkin’ The words from an old Nancy Sinatra song echoed through my head as I left the Doctor’s office this morning. It was...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

This Sucker Ain't Gonna Work No More !

By jxmartin on Tue, 09 Jun 2015

“This sucker ain’t gonna work no more” The above laconic expression was not judgmental. It was the considered opinion of a gifted and licensed...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Carpe Diem, Mes Amie.

By jxmartin on Tue, 16 Jun 2015

“Carpe Diem, Mes Amie” Sheesh, the words on the print out read “removal of a malignant lesion.” That even sounded scary to me and I wasn’t all that...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Poetry Of Life

By jxmartin on Mon, 22 Jun 2015

The Poetry Of Life We were sitting in a writer’s critique group in Amherst, N.Y. discussing a poem presentation that had just been given by the...
Spiritual
Story
Certificate U
Cherry

Keepers Of The Flame

By jxmartin on Mon, 29 Jun 2015

Keepers Of The Flame It was a sunny day, temperature in the seventies, in Western New York. In Buffalo, when the sun shines, all hands are outside...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Look Away. Look Away Dixieland

By jxmartin on Fri, 10 Jul 2015

Look Away, Look Away, Dixieland Most people, over a certain age, remember this catchy tune from the Old South. It is from a difficult period in our...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Buffalo- A Series of Ethnic Villages

By jxmartin on Tue, 18 Aug 2015

A Piece Of The Banner Chapter I A Series of Ethnic Villages It is a place that exists more in the minds of those who live there than anywhere else...
Historical Fiction
Biography
Certificate U

A Gathering Of The Clan

By jxmartin on Mon, 31 Aug 2015

A Gathering Of The Clan It was a balmy Saturday in late August. We were gathered at the sparkling new venue of the Buffalo River Works on Ganson...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Never Mind !

By jxmartin on Thu, 03 Sep 2015

Nevermind ! Saturday Night Live produced a number of iconic characters that resonated with the American Psyche. John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Chevy Chase...
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Satraps Of Sneer

By jxmartin on Tue, 08 Sep 2015

The Satraps Of Sneer It was a solemn occasion, the passing of a friend. We were sitting in church, thinking of the vibrant person that he had been...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Ebenezer Scrooge Was a Jolly Old Soul !

By jxmartin on Wed, 09 Sep 2015

Scrooge was really a jolly old soul! As Christmas time approached us, in the 1950’s, we always looked with great anticipation to watching the 1951...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate PG

Niagara On The Lake- Canada

By jxmartin on Wed, 16 Sep 2015

Niagara On The lake Excursion Sun. Sept. 13, 2015- Amherst, N.Y. We were up by 7 A.M. It was still raining outside. Yesterday, a stalled low front...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Niagara On The Lake- part 2

By jxmartin on Thu, 17 Sep 2015

Mon. Sept. 14, 2015- Niagara On The Lake- Ontario, Canada We were up by 6:30 A.M. It was 49 degrees F and cool. We watched the early news and enjoyed...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

By jxmartin on Tue, 22 Sep 2015

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rage at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. The words are the...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

David versus corporate goliath ?

By jxmartin on Sat, 26 Sep 2015

Hyundai Motors Corp. Dear Managers, Thank you for your latest attempt to communicate with us on Friday, Sept. 24, 2015. While we do appreciate the...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Have you no sense of decency, Gentlemen?

By jxmartin on Fri, 16 Oct 2015

“Have you no sense of decency, Gentlemen?” During the 1954 “Army vs. McCarthy” congressional hearings, there occurred one of the more memorable...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Off With Their Heads !

By jxmartin on Tue, 20 Oct 2015

Off With Their Heads ! Many of us grew up watching the animated cartoon version of the Lewis Carroll fantasy, “Alice In Wonderland.” The greatly...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Happy Days Are here again or are they?

By jxmartin on Mon, 26 Oct 2015

Happy Days are here again or are they ? In a personable tour de force, Donald Trump appeared on ABC’s morning “ Today Show.” The genial Mr. Trump...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Never Look a gift horse in the mouth

By jxmartin on Wed, 04 Nov 2015

Never look a gift horse in the mouth. The meaning of that phrase came to mind one day when we were standing in line at the Panera Bread Company,...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

What Does That Mean?

By jxmartin on Fri, 27 Nov 2015

What Does That Mean? Our language is continually evolving. Every generation contributes its own idioms expressing their collective wisdom. A few...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Christmas

By jxmartin on Fri, 18 Dec 2015

Christmas “Oh Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.” These are the words to one of the more...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Fal of St. Brigid's Hall

By jxmartin on Tue, 29 Dec 2015

The Fall of St. Brigid’s Hall The December 29, 2015 Buffalo News article was prosaic enough. It denoted the razing of St. Brigid’s Community Center...
Romance
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Smitty's

By jxmartin on Thu, 28 Jan 2016

"S M I T T Y ' S" Like most ethnic neighborhoods, there are a few watering holes, in South Buffalo, that act as front line positions, in the...
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Day The Sunset Waited

By jxmartin on Fri, 29 Jan 2016

The Day the Sunset Waited We were playing golf, at the Spring Run Golf Complex in Estero Florida, with friends, Joe & Phyllis Schneider, from...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Playing Golf is not for Mastodon Hunters

By jxmartin on Tue, 02 Feb 2016

Playing Golf is not for Mastodon Hunters The game of golf involves the smooth coordination of a number of the bodies muscles groups and skeletal...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Stepford People

By jxmartin on Wed, 10 Feb 2016

The Stepford People I grew up in a very good home, with eleven brothers and sisters. We lived in a neighborhood where such large families were the...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate PG

Take me out to the Ball Game

By jxmartin on Sat, 27 Feb 2016

Take me out to the ball game It was one of those golden days of late February that make Florida so famous for its mild weather. The temps were a...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Visiting your own wake

By jxmartin on Sun, 13 Mar 2016

Visiting your own wake I have often wondered what it would be like to attend my own wake. After a lifetime in the political arena, I have amassed a...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate PG

The Easter Conundrum

By jxmartin on Sat, 26 Mar 2016

The Easter Conundrum Easter was always a special time for us as children growing up in a Catholic household. New Clothes and a week-long build up of...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Theater of the Real

By jxmartin on Wed, 30 Mar 2016

Theater Of The Real We were enjoying a live, dramatic performance of “Twelve Angry Men.” It was a rendition of Reginald Rose’s powerful tale of...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Turning up the flame on the simmering pot.

By jxmartin on Fri, 08 Apr 2016

Turning up the flame on a simmering pot. At sixty- seven years of age, and living in retirement in Florida, you would think my native Hibernian...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

New York Presidential Primary

By jxmartin on Tue, 19 Apr 2016

For the first time in many years, the New York State Presidential Primary has become a critical benchmark in the American electoral process. Both the...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Rites of Spring

By jxmartin on Thu, 19 May 2016

The Rites of Spring I was making my annual spring pilgrimage to Holy Cross Cemetery in Lackawanna, N.Y. It was one of those golden days of spring in...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Riot of Pastels on a Sunny Day

By jxmartin on Mon, 23 May 2016

A Riot of Pastels on a sunny day. It was one of those golden days of late May in Buffalo, New York. The 80-degree temperature was tempered by a seven...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Truth or Illusion ?

By jxmartin on Wed, 08 Jun 2016

Did the media jump the gun in awarding Hillary Clinton the Democratic nomination before all of the delegates were elected officially? Yes, but the...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Camels Riding on the Moon

By jxmartin on Wed, 08 Jun 2016

Camels Riding On The Moon I was driving down Sheridan Dr. in Amherst, New York. I was stooped at a red light, idling the car and musing. I happened...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Buffalo The Beautiful

By jxmartin on Fri, 24 Jun 2016

Buffalo The Beautiful It is late June of 2016, as I write this missive. These last five weeks in Buffalo have been the most idyllic that I have ever...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Buffalo's Outer harbor

By jxmartin on Sat, 25 Jun 2016

Buffalo’s Outer Harbor It was another sunny, glorious Saturday in the Big B. We loaded up our bikes onto the bike rack and set off for the outer...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Fourth of July in America

By jxmartin on Fri, 01 Jul 2016

The Fourth of July “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal,” is one of the stirring phrases from our Declaration of...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part I

By jxmartin on Thu, 04 Aug 2016

Alpine Adventure We had always wanted to visit Bavaria and see Switzerland and Austria. Dozens of movies, like “Heidi, “ “The Sound of Music,” and “...
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part II

By jxmartin on Fri, 05 Aug 2016

Saturday, July 16 th - Frankfurt Am Main, Germany We were up early, eager to explore Frankfurt. Its history dates back to the time of the Romans...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part III

By jxmartin on Sat, 06 Aug 2016

Part III Sunday July 17. 2016- Frankfurt am Main, Germany We were up early today at 5 A.M., our Circadian rhythms all askew. We watched the British...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- Part IV

By jxmartin on Sun, 07 Aug 2016

Part IV Monday, July 18,2016- Rothenburg to Muenchen We were all assembled and rolling by 8 A.M. We were travelling down the “Romantic Highway.”...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part V

By jxmartin on Mon, 08 Aug 2016

Tuesday, July 19, 2016- Muenchen & Oberammergau We were up and rolling by 8:30 A.M. A local guide, named Elizabeth, had joined us for a tour of...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part VI

By jxmartin on Tue, 09 Aug 2016

Part VI Wed. July 20,2016- Salzburg, Austria We were up and rolling by 7:30 A.M. It was to be a long day, headed south and east into Osterreich (...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Alpine Adventure- part VII

By jxmartin on Wed, 10 Aug 2016

Fri. July 22, 2016- Vienna (Wien) Austria We were up and rolling by 7:30 A.M. for our visit to the Hapsburg Summer Palace at Schonbroen. Gabby, a...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part VIII

By jxmartin on Thu, 11 Aug 2016

Sat. July 23, 2016- Villach, Austria It was muggy and in the 70’s (F) as we left Villach. We were driving west, along the scenic Drau River valley...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part IX

By jxmartin on Fri, 12 Aug 2016

Part IX Sunday, July 24,2016- Innsbruck, Austria An early morning start found us driving along the INN River Valley into Switzerland. The River Inn,...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Alpine Adventure-part X

By jxmartin on Sat, 13 Aug 2016

Part X- Alpine Adventure Mon. July 25, 2016- St. Moritz, Switzerland. A later start this morning allowed us to loll about until 8:30 A.M. The huge...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part XI

By jxmartin on Sun, 14 Aug 2016

part- XI Tuesday, July 26, 2016- Lugano, Switzerland. We were rolling early this morning at 7:45 A.M. driving south and west along the Alta Strada...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part XII

By jxmartin on Mon, 15 Aug 2016

Part XII Wed. July 27, 2016- Zermatt, Switzerland We were up early at 7:00 A.M., conditioned already to the early wake up call, rushed breakfast and...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Alpine Adventure- part XIII

By jxmartin on Tue, 16 Aug 2016

Part XIII Wed. July 28, 2016- Zermatt, Switzerland We got rolling even earlier this morning. We were scheduled to meet Lucy at the Bahnhof, by 7:45 A...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part XIV

By jxmartin on Wed, 17 Aug 2016

Part XIV Saturday, July 30, 2016- Lucerne, Switzerland We were up early. I was able to pack up and get our bags out into the hall or pickup. Ready...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Alpine Adventure- part XV- Finis

By jxmartin on Thu, 18 Aug 2016

Part XV- finis Sunday, July 31, 2016 - Frankfurt Am main- Finis We rose later this day, having caught a full nine hours of sleep and feeling a little...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Alpine Adventure- part VII- oops, forgot a day !

By jxmartin on Fri, 26 Aug 2016

Thursday July 21, 2016- Vienna, Austria We were up early, had breakfast and boarded the bus for a brief City Tour. Gabby, our local guide introduced...
Reviews
Story
Certificate U

Buffalo's Irish Festival- 2016

By jxmartin on Sat, 27 Aug 2016

A Gathering of Buffalo’s Clan Na Gael. From the center of the small hill, at the seaward side of Wilkeson’s Point on Buffalo’s outer harbor, you can...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Their is dignity in work, however humble the position.

By jxmartin on Mon, 05 Sep 2016

Our jobs are the essence of what we are. You wouldn’t think so when you listen to daily casual conversations. “This Job sucks!” might be a bad day...
Rant
Other
Certificate U

The Silly Season

By jxmartin on Mon, 12 Sep 2016

I spent my entire adult life working in the political arena. I have long ago become inured to the nutty and irrelevant comments, charges and counter...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

U.S. Electoral College decides U.S. Presidents

By jxmartin on Fri, 30 Sep 2016

I put this together for a Canadian friend who asked what is the role of the "Electoral College" in naming U.S, Presidents and VPs. 2016 Presidential...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

In The Lee of Hurricane Mathew

By jxmartin on Sat, 08 Oct 2016

In The Lee of Mathew The offshore winds, from the outer rings of Hurricane Mathew, were whipping the waves into a delightful lacy froth. It is...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Super Moon

By jxmartin on Mon, 14 Nov 2016

The Super Moon Meteorologists, t.v. weathermen and pundits of all types have been hyping the arrival of the “super Moon” in the third week of...
Spiritual
Other
Certificate U

Civil Dissent in America

By jxmartin on Mon, 14 Nov 2016

Civil dissent in America “To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Nuclear Chess

By jxmartin on Sat, 07 Jan 2017

We were enjoying a lecture about the life and times of Russian Premier Vladimir Putin. The talented speakers included sections about Russian...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Traffic Lottery

By jxmartin on Sun, 22 Jan 2017

The Traffic Lottery I almost killed someone the other day. That sounds a bit dramatic I know, but it is never the less true. We were driving along...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Land of The Free

By jxmartin on Mon, 30 Jan 2017

“The Land of The Free” During the late 1960’s, our nation nearly came apart at the seams. Dissent and protest sprung up everywhere. Not only was the...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Origin of Stories

By jxmartin on Tue, 07 Feb 2017

My niece, Jennifer Grisanti, a Los Angeles based film and movie script-writing consultant, posted an intriguing comment the other day. “The void...
Surreal
Other
Certificate U

Save it for good !

By jxmartin on Sun, 19 Feb 2017

Save It For Good It is an expression from child hood that I still sometimes use. Growing up in a large family, with limited resources, meant that...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Lenten Fish Frys

By jxmartin on Thu, 23 Feb 2017

Lenten Fish Frys In an Irish Catholic neighborhood like South Buffalo the Friday night fish fry, during Lent, is a ritual as unbending and as regular...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

International Women's Day

By jxmartin on Wed, 08 Mar 2017

International Women’s Day is today. It is a fitting celebration for the most important person in most of our lives. Wife, mother, aunt, sister,...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Tears of the Innocents

By jxmartin on Sat, 01 Apr 2017

I saw a seventeen-year-old girl cry today and it made me angry. The young girl was being interviewed by a local television reporter about the effects...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Grace and Style Under Pressure

By jxmartin on Mon, 03 Apr 2017

I watched a young female golfer on Sunday, named Lexie Thompson. She showed the world what grace under pressure and resilience of spirit are all...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Old Tunes open the gateways of memories

By jxmartin on Thu, 06 Apr 2017

“Oldies” open up the gateways of memory Every once in a while, an old tune from yesteryear will reach out and grab my consciousness. A memorable...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Doorway Effect

By jxmartin on Thu, 20 Apr 2017

The Doorway Effect Have you ever walked into another room, determined to accomplish some task or other, and when you got there, forgotten what it is...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Deja Vu all over again

By jxmartin on Tue, 25 Apr 2017

Deja Vu all over again ! Here we go again. Will the government of the United States of America shut down this Friday? Will the sky fall? As Famed New...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Oh, Canada

By jxmartin on Wed, 26 Apr 2017

“ Oh Canada, our own and greatest friend” “Oh Canada,” I hear in my thoughts and smile. I have heard and sung that Canadian Anthem on a thousand...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Homeward Bound

By jxmartin on Sun, 14 May 2017

Homeward Bound We are setting out tomorrow, headed North to the “Big B.”(Buffalo, N.Y.) It is hot here already in SW Florida, with temperatures...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Sunny Day

By jxmartin on Tue, 23 May 2017

A Riot of Pastels on a sunny day. It was one of those golden days of late May in Buffalo, New York. The 70-degree temperature was tempered by a seven...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Gods, Goblins And Saints

By jxmartin on Wed, 24 May 2017

Gods, Goblins and Saints. A comment from a former neighbor and childhood friend got me thinking. She was remarking upon our collective reliance upon...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Fair Britannia, you do not stand alone !

By jxmartin on Mon, 05 Jun 2017

Fair Britannia, You Do Not Stand Alone. During the darkest days of W.W. II, when Britain stood virtually alone on the European Continent, against the...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

The Candy Bombers of W.W. II

By jxmartin on Mon, 12 Jun 2017

The Candy Bombers of W.W. II The River Main (mine) divides the city of Frankfort, Germany. Unlike most older cities in Europe, Frankfurt’s downtown...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Sainted Amongst Us.

By jxmartin on Mon, 19 Jun 2017

The Sainted Amongst Us. I had an opportunity recently to trade messages, with former Buffalo News Editor Margaret Sullivan, now a respected columnist...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Lake

By jxmartin on Thu, 22 Jun 2017

The Lake It was a magical phrase to those of us in our late teens, during the 1960’s. Several gathering spots, situated along the Lake Erie shore...
Spiritual
Biography
Certificate U

Engine Number Eight

By jxmartin on Sat, 01 Jul 2017

Engine # 8 on Chicago Street The boarded up, red-brick, old building at 176 Chicago Street, in Buffalo’s old First Ward, looked forlorn and crumbling...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Land of Plastic Plants and porcelain Pets.

By jxmartin on Wed, 05 Jul 2017

“The Land of plastic plants and porcelain pets.” It is a name and a sardonic reference to the many rules and regulations, in Florida Golf Communities...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The River of Time

By jxmartin on Wed, 12 Jul 2017

The River of Time The River of Time keeps on flowing along, is probably a song lyric someplace. I have just forgotten where. I had pause to think of...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

FILTERS

By jxmartin on Mon, 31 Jul 2017

FILTERS From an early age of my twenties, in the political arena, I have had to grapple with the notion that many people think differently than I do...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Thanks y'all.

By jxmartin on Thu, 10 Aug 2017

Thanks, Y'all ! Grazie Mille is Italian for “Thanks a bunch.” It is a sentiment that I often express here on ABC Tales for the many readers who take...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Women are too strident in their advocacy.

By jxmartin on Thu, 10 Aug 2017

Women Are Too Strident In Their Advocacy I have seen this canard foisted often in the public arena. Women are deemed “strident” if their advocacy of...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Moonspeak

By jxmartin on Fri, 18 Aug 2017

Moonspeak “Moonies” is the only name that I have been able to come up with to describe the employment of synchronized thoughts, actions and words of...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Political Illusions

By jxmartin on Wed, 30 Aug 2017

ILLUSIONS AND PERSUASIONS Sometimes, in Government and Politics, logic and the compelling cogency of righteousness, are not enough to win an argument...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate 15

Sunday's Rant

By jxmartin on Sun, 03 Sep 2017

Sunday’s Rant Some day’s there just ought to be “someone to see about what is going on.” Like, how do we deal with that megalomaniac child-emperor,...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Hurricane Irma Comes Calling

By jxmartin on Sat, 09 Sep 2017

Hurricane Irma Comes Calling. It was early September, in the year of our Lord, 2017. A monster storm had formed in the Atlantic Ocean, off Cape Verde...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Irma Came calling- part II

By jxmartin on Wed, 13 Sep 2017

Irma came calling- part II Saturday night, the howling monster crawled along the northwest coast of Cuba, devastating that rural area. The Cubans...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

When The Rain Falls

By jxmartin on Wed, 04 Oct 2017

When the Rain Falls It is the beginning, of the first line of lyrics, to a favored Beatle’s tune. The phrase always makes me smile in remembrance. I...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

A Wild Ride To Florida

By jxmartin on Mon, 09 Oct 2017

A Wild Ride to Florida We rolled into Estero, Fl. This morning after a three-day, 24-hour driving time ride, from Western New York. We had seen much...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Trash Piles in Paradise

By jxmartin on Thu, 19 Oct 2017

Trash Piles in Paradise It is mid-October of 2017, in Southwest Florida. Hurricane Irma had passed over the area some four weeks past, leveling trees...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Cremation of Sam McGee"

By jxmartin on Sat, 04 Nov 2017

“The Cremation of Sam McGee” - by Robert W. Service The Poem opens with a rhyming Octet explaining the subject of the work: There are strange things...
Reviews
Poem
Certificate U

Fare well and away fair lad.

By jxmartin on Wed, 29 Nov 2017

Fare well and away, fair lad. We were sitting outside of The Panera Bread Company, at Coconut Point, in Estero, Fl. on a balmy, late-November,...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Thanks For The Memoires

By jxmartin on Wed, 29 Nov 2017

Thanks For The Memories, Bob. We were fortunate enough to watch a Bob Hope retrospective tonight, on the local PBS network. It was a nostalgic and...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

What Price Glory ?

By jxmartin on Tue, 05 Dec 2017

What Price Glory? Watching the entire “Roy Moore” Senate Election travesty unfold in Alabama, I am reminded of a Chapter from the Bible, specifically...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Snow Cannons

By jxmartin on Tue, 12 Dec 2017

Snow Cannons The sun was shining brightly. It reflected brilliantly off the snowy white blanket that smothered the streets and houses of Buffalo and...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Antecedents

By jxmartin on Fri, 15 Dec 2017

I was born on the Fourth of March, a time of year in Buffalo, N.Y. when Winter still locks the area in its icy grip. Spring always seemed a long time...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Please sir, I would like some more !

By jxmartin on Mon, 18 Dec 2017

" Please Sir, I'd like some more. " The words are from a scene in the movie "Oliver." Charles Dickens portrayed the characters in his epic novel "...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

New Year's Eve 2017

By jxmartin on Sun, 31 Dec 2017

New Year’s Eve It is the 31st of December in the year of our Lord, 2017. As I contemplate the beginnings of New Year, arriving in a few hours, I...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

America, a colorful quilt of diversity!

By jxmartin on Fri, 12 Jan 2018

Martin Luther King Day is celebrated every January 15 th in America as a national holiday. Most people like me, who are of a certain age, remember...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Respect For Diversity

By jxmartin on Sat, 13 Jan 2018

I sent this letter out, several years back, to a hard-working, hyphenated American citizen whose worth had been maligned by an insensitive comment...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

To Trump or not to Trump

By jxmartin on Sat, 20 Jan 2018

I worked for over thirty years in the political arena of WNY. Many of those years were spent battling in the super-heated contests of local elections...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Emmanuel's Wake

By jxmartin on Thu, 25 Jan 2018

Emmanuel’s Wake It was just after the turn of the new century, in 1903, that Emmanuel Martin Sr., founder of the burgeoning Martin clan, passed on at...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

By jxmartin on Mon, 29 Jan 2018

"Follow The Yellow Brick Road" In Politics, as in many areas of business, the road to advancement can be a rocky one. Sometimes, double dealing,...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Gemstone of the Adirondack Mountains

By jxmartin on Tue, 30 Jan 2018

GEMSTONE OF THE ADIRONDACKS Winter, in upstate New York, is a cross country skiers delight. The snow cover is usually good. There are lots of...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Breach of Trust

By jxmartin on Sun, 04 Feb 2018

A Breach of Trust I read the current news accounts, about f the Olympic physician abusing his young patients, and am appalled. How could this type of...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Where Do Stories Come From?

By jxmartin on Wed, 07 Feb 2018

My niece, Jennifer Grisanti, posted an intriguing comment on line. “The void between illusion and the truth is where story lives,” she said. It got...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Father Baker's Church

By jxmartin on Mon, 12 Feb 2018

I was born in Our Lady of Victory Hospital, just across the street from the magnificent Basilica of Our Lady of Victory, in Lackawanna, New York. I...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Booze Cruise

By jxmartin on Sun, 11 Mar 2018

It was a sunny and warm Sunday, during late February in Florida. The temperatures were soaring into the mid-eighties, something unusual even for...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Ride to the sound of the guns !

By jxmartin on Mon, 12 Mar 2018

Saddle Up And Ride To The Sound of The Guns To quote the esteemed fab four (Beatles), “I read the news today, oh boy!” Specifically, I was intrigued...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

And a child shall lead them

By jxmartin on Wed, 14 Mar 2018

“And a child shall lead them” is a popular biblical verse, from Isaiah, chapter 11. It is often used as a citation by the religious, advising us that...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

St. Patrick's Day in Florida

By jxmartin on Sat, 17 Mar 2018

St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Florida It was eighty degrees and sunny out, on a clear and beautiful morning in Naples Florida. We were standing on the...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

BOOKS

By jxmartin on Thu, 29 Mar 2018

Books are a passport for me to the ages. When I see one standing upon a library or bookstore shelf, I think of the many ideas that lie within and the...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Good Cup of Coffee

By jxmartin on Sat, 31 Mar 2018

A Good Cup of Coffee We read the announcement, for a “Coffee Tasting,” in our Spring Run online bulletin. Josh Petrovsky, our Food and Beverage...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Posting on the net- new age graffiti ?

By jxmartin on Wed, 11 Apr 2018

Posting on The Net- New age graffiti? As a frequent poster on the net, I sometimes wonder who reads my stories. Like graffiti artists the world over...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

OPINIONS

By jxmartin on Fri, 20 Apr 2018

Opinions-Everybody has them “ Cogito ergo sum” is a Latin, philosophical proposition by René Descartes usually translated into English as "I think,...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

English is a colorful language

By jxmartin on Sun, 22 Apr 2018

English is a colorful language. I have always been fascinated by the use of idioms in the English language. Usually, there is no literal correlation...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate PG

Contest on a windy day

By jxmartin on Sat, 28 Apr 2018

A golfing trial on a windy day It was a lovely, late April day in Southwest Florida. We had been to the gym and the library earlier in the morning. A...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Perspicacity of Aging

By jxmartin on Thu, 03 May 2018

The Perspicacity of Aging It drives the youngsters up the wall when anyone “over a certain age” intimates that perhaps they have a better and more...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Florida Immigrants

By jxmartin on Tue, 15 May 2018

It was the year of our Lord, 1513. The Spanish explorers, who came after Cristobol Colon (Columbus), had pushed further into the Caribbean Sea,...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Harry & Meghan

By jxmartin on Sat, 19 May 2018

Harry & Meghan Like millions of other fascinated viewers, around the globe, we watched the Wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at...
Romance
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Motorized Gophers

By jxmartin on Sat, 26 May 2018

Motorized Gophers It was a busy Friday afternoon in Amherst, N.Y. People were in their cars, traveling in swarms, going hither and yon to accomplish...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Spring in Buffalo, N.Y.

By jxmartin on Wed, 30 May 2018

It was one of those golden days of late May in Buffalo, New York. The 80-degree temperature was tempered by a seven-mph zephyr that cooled the skin...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Slipping Back in Time

By jxmartin on Sat, 02 Jun 2018

Slipping Back in Time It was a gray and dreary day in western New York. The temps hovered in the low sixties. We were up and about early and decided...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Give Thanks for What You Have

By jxmartin on Sat, 09 Jun 2018

Give Thanks for What You Have We were sitting in front of Wegman’s, on a Saturday morning, enjoying coffee and breakfast. We had been to the gym this...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Conversation with North Korea

By jxmartin on Tue, 12 Jun 2018

A Conversation with North Korea Like most of the planet on Monday, I watched the televised hoopla surrounding the meeting of U.S. President Donald...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Niagara on the Lake- Ontario, Canada

By jxmartin on Sat, 16 Jun 2018

Niagara On The Lake, Ontario-Canada We were visiting Niagara On the Lake, in Ontario. This charming village sits along the Niagara River, just as it...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

U.S. Supreme Court Decisions

By jxmartin on Sun, 01 Jul 2018

A thoughtful friend offered an interesting take on the nuanced term “precedence.” Like most media trendy verbiage, this one presumes to offer...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

By jxmartin on Mon, 02 Jul 2018

“He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother” Americans seem to be hurling verbal insults at each other daily, decrying how venomous the “other side” is acting...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Checks and Balances in Government

By jxmartin on Tue, 10 Jul 2018

“We hold these truths to be self-evident” President Donald Trump yesterday nominated appellate Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy, of...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

"You know" ain't y'all !

By jxmartin on Wed, 11 Jul 2018

“You know?” Ain’t Y’all “YOU KNOW?” It is a phrase that you hear increasingly, from television announcers, after an expository statement. I don’t...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

A Drilling from the Dentist

By jxmartin on Sat, 04 Aug 2018

A Drilling from the Dentist One of the more prevalent fears, that most of us have from childhood, is a visit to the Dentist. Most of the apprehension...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Brotherhood of the befuddled

By jxmartin on Mon, 06 Aug 2018

The pressures of paying rent or mortgage, and all of the other collective bills in a family’s life, was a burden that most men carried daily into...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Muscular Thumbs

By jxmartin on Sat, 11 Aug 2018

Muscular Thumbs It was a bright, sunny morning in Amherst, N.Y. We found ourselves in the Fitness 19 gym, on North Forest Rd. At our advancing age,...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Vaya Con Dios, John McCain

By jxmartin on Mon, 27 Aug 2018

Johnny, we hardly knew ye The title is in fact from that of a favored novel about the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. But in many ways, it...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

FAME

By jxmartin on Mon, 03 Sep 2018

Fame An outsized statue, standing tall It sits in a park or monument hall. It speaks of valor in times now past. I wonder how long the memory can...
Surreal
Poem
Certificate U

Equal Justice Under The law

By jxmartin on Wed, 19 Sep 2018

“ Equal Justice under the law.” “Equal Justice Under the Law” is the motto of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. It is a powerful...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Diogenes would be proud !

By jxmartin on Fri, 05 Oct 2018

Diogenes would be proud! Most of us run the financial gauntlet daily. Our eyes are on the lookout for rascals and charlatans in our daily commerce...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Canadian Weed

By jxmartin on Fri, 19 Oct 2018

“Weed is blowing in the wind to the North” Marijuana is now legal to purchase and use all across the grand expanse of La Belle Canada. Who would have...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Crocodile Tears

By jxmartin on Fri, 26 Oct 2018

Crocodile Tears According to Wikipedia, the expression comes from an ancient anecdote that crocodiles weep for the victims they are eating. A...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Landing On Mars

By jxmartin on Mon, 26 Nov 2018

Landing On Mars At approximately 11:30 A.M. (EST) on this Monday, the day of our Lord, November 26 th 2018, The American Space Agency (NASA)...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Cuba-Land of Mystery & Revolution

By jxmartin on Tue, 11 Dec 2018

Cuba, Land of Mystery And Revolution We were off to see the wizard on Fri. November 30 th . That is of course a figurative term, for going to places...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Habana, Cuba- parte dos

By jxmartin on Wed, 12 Dec 2018

Cuban Excursion- parte- dos Sat. Dec. 1,2018- Havana, Cuba We were up early at 6 A.M. hoping to watch the ship enter Havana Harbor. The television...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Cuban Excursion- parte-tre

By jxmartin on Thu, 13 Dec 2018

Cuban Excursion- parte- tre Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018 We were up early at 6:30 A.M. Mary had retrieved coffee and a pastry from the deck five coffee bar...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Cuban Excursion parte- quatro (at sea)

By jxmartin on Fri, 14 Dec 2018

Cuba Excursion- parte- quatro (at sea) Mon. Dec. 3 rd , 2018- (at sea) We were up early at 5:30 A.M. The seas, rounding the southwest tip of Cuba,...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Cuba- parte cinco-Cien Fuegos

By jxmartin on Sat, 15 Dec 2018

Cuban Excursion- parte- cinco -Cien Fuegos Tues. Dec 4 th , 2018- At sea near Cien fuegos, Cuba We were up by 6 A.M. Coffee and a pastry tided us...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Cuba- parte seis- Santiago

By jxmartin on Mon, 17 Dec 2018

Cuban Excursion- parte – seis -Santiago Wed. Dec. 8 th , 2018- Santiago, Cuba We were up by 7 A.M. The ship was sailing towards Santiago, Cuba. The...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Cuban Excursion- parte ocho- at sea

By jxmartin on Tue, 18 Dec 2018

Cuban Excursion- parte-ocho- at sea- Friday, Dec. 7 th , 2018- at sea- windward passage We were up by 7 A.M. It was already 80 degrees out. Coffee...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Cuban Excursion parte siete- Ocho Rios- Jamaica

By jxmartin on Tue, 18 Dec 2018

Cuban Excursion- parte siete- Ocho Rios, Jamaica Thurs. Dec. 6 th , 2018 We were up by 7 A.M as the Sirena drifted into her berth at Ocho Rios,...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Cuban Excursion-parte nueva- Bahamas and home

By jxmartin on Wed, 19 Dec 2018

Cuban Excursion- parte Nueva- Bahamas Sun. Dec. 9 th , 2018- Great Stirrup Cay- Bahamas We were up at 6 A.M. The Sirena was sailing into the Berry...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Skin of a Vampire

By jxmartin on Wed, 02 Jan 2019

It is early January in Florida. It was time for another dermatological exam. In my earlier years, I would never have thought in a million years of...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Great Southern Wall Debate

By jxmartin on Thu, 10 Jan 2019

The Great Southern Wall Debate The great wall of China was constructed over a period of 2,000 years, using at times up to one million men every year...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

By jxmartin on Fri, 08 Feb 2019

A recent article in the New York Times, by Bret Stephens a columnist, offered an appraisal of the collapse of the Venezuelan economic model. The...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

San Antonio, Texas -part one

By jxmartin on Wed, 06 Mar 2019

San Antonio, Texas – Trip Log Thurs. Feb. 28, 2019 We arose early at 3:30 A.M., prepped and set off for Ft. Myers Airport (RSW) by 4:15 A.M. Planes...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

San Antonio,Texas- part II

By jxmartin on Fri, 08 Mar 2019

San Antonio- part II Fri. March 1, 2019- San Antonio, Texas We were up by 6 A.M. It was a chilly 46 degrees out. Coffee and news programs occupied us...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

San Antonio, Texas- part III

By jxmartin on Sat, 09 Mar 2019

San Antonio, Texas- part III Sat. March 2, 2019 We arose early to a gray and damp day. It was 47 degrees out. Like most cities, San Antonio looks...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

San Antonio, Texas- part IV

By jxmartin on Sun, 10 Mar 2019

San Antonio, Texas- part IV Sunday, March 2, 2019 We were up early, on this bleak and cold morning. It was 30 degrees out. Matt Garcia, from...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

John S. Mc Cain- American Hero

By jxmartin on Tue, 19 Mar 2019

Johnny, we hardly knew ye The title is in fact from that of a favored novel about the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. But in many ways, it...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Woodpeckers Bring on the Darkness

By jxmartin on Wed, 03 Apr 2019

Woodpeckers bring on the darkness We were watching a golf match on television one Thursday afternoon, in our place in Estero, Florida, when the TV...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Razing the Roof

By jxmartin on Fri, 12 Apr 2019

Razing the Roof The day for re-roofing had finally arrived. Seventeen months ago, Hurricane Irma had struck South Florida, doing considerable damage...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

My First published story. 25 years ago

By jxmartin on Tue, 30 Apr 2019

The Tiger Gun When we were children, Carl and I used to roam the wilds of Cazenovia Park, on the south side of Buffalo, New York. We walked the creek...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U

DNA. Dance of the Gene pools.

By jxmartin on Thu, 02 May 2019

DNA- Dance of the gene pool. Who are you? My wife Mary had purchased me one of those DNA kits as a birthday present. I dutifully expectorated into...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Kleenex People

By jxmartin on Wed, 29 May 2019

The Kleenex People In the daily struggle, of serving in the public life of elective politics, there are unique individuals who are entitled “The...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

"Post it notes" on your forehead

By jxmartin on Sat, 01 Jun 2019

Have you ever walked into another room, determined to accomplish some task or other, and when you got there, forgotten what it is you were going to...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

THE IMPEACHMENT OF A PRESIDENT

By jxmartin on Sat, 01 Jun 2019

The impeachment of a president Like most Americans, I looked forward with great anticipation to reading of the findings of the “Mueller Report,” a...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Gift of Gab

By jxmartin on Tue, 11 Jun 2019

The Gift of Gab There are few traits more closely associated with those of Irish Heritage than “The Gift of Gab.” Defined by Wikipedia as “the...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Free press in a free land

By jxmartin on Fri, 14 Jun 2019

Washinton Post Columnist Margaret Sullivan’s piece, on the imminent departure of White House press rep. Sarah Sanders, caused me to remember many...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Right of Dissent in America

By jxmartin on Sat, 15 Jun 2019

“The Right of Dissent in America” During the late 1960’s, our nation nearly came apart at the seams. Dissent and protest sprung up everywhere. Not...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Pork or Baloney?

By jxmartin on Mon, 17 Jun 2019

“Pork Chop” is a two hundred-pound, pot-bellied pig who resides in a suburban home in Amherst, N.Y. All was well in the household until the lard-...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Monuments

By jxmartin on Sun, 23 Jun 2019

The entrance gates are a massive, granite and wrought iron affair that would do honor to a Loire Valley Chateau. “Forest Lawn” is emblazoned across...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Democratic Presidential debates

By jxmartin on Mon, 24 Jun 2019

Big Brother is watching and tweeting The first of the Democratic Presidential debates are near. With a crowd of two dozen or more prospective...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Tall Ships

By jxmartin on Fri, 05 Jul 2019

The Tall Ships It was the Fourth of July in Buffalo, N.Y.. We were sitting by the bike path, that runs along the edge of Buffalo’s outer harbor. The...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Perceived Differences

By jxmartin on Mon, 22 Jul 2019

Perceived Differences I remember watching the whole controversy, regarding television chef ‘Paula Deen,” play itself out on television some time back...
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Non-fiction
Certificate U

Tavern Life

By jxmartin on Wed, 31 Jul 2019

"S M I T T Y ' S" Like most ethnic neighborhoods, there are a few watering holes, in South Buffalo, that act as front-line positions, in the...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Education of the rascals

By jxmartin on Thu, 01 Aug 2019

“A Piece of the Banner” Chapter VI The Education of the Rascals All of the kids in our neighborhood went to the local Catholic grammar school, St...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

A Series of Ethnic Villages

By jxmartin on Sat, 03 Aug 2019

A Piece of the Banner Chapter I A Series of Ethnic Villages It is a place that exists more in the minds of those who live there than anywhere else...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The 1950's in Buffalo, N.Y.

By jxmartin on Thu, 08 Aug 2019

“ A Piece of the Banner” Chapter II The 1950’s in Buffalo Within the bounds of our ethnic communities in Buffalo lay the further distinctions of...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

FIRST COMMUNION

By jxmartin on Thu, 15 Aug 2019

FIRST COMMUNION The chilly winds swept over the Lake Erie ice. The mist and damp, of an overnight cloudburst, lingered and added to the feeling of...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Christening

By jxmartin on Sat, 17 Aug 2019

T H E C H R I S T E N I N G The small wooden church is storybook in appearance. It has ornate wooden carvings, with colorful, stained-glass windows...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

For Grandchildren Everywhere

By jxmartin on Sun, 18 Aug 2019

Long ago and far away, in a land beneath the clouds, there lived a simple watermelon farmer named Waldo. He was a distant cousin of the famous “Jack...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U

Conversations With a Blockhead

By jxmartin on Mon, 02 Sep 2019

Conversations With A Blockhead It was a rainy morning in early September, the last throes of summer on Labor Day weekend. We had been to the gym...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Rockwell & Renoir

By jxmartin on Wed, 04 Sep 2019

Rockwell and Renoir Near Stockbridge, in western Mass. You will find the sylvan setting that houses the Norman Rockwell Museum. It sits on a large...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Paying It Forward

By jxmartin on Mon, 23 Sep 2019

Paying It Forward We were playing golf on a sultry, Saturday afternoon in late September. The golf course was very crowded, with all manner of...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Nobody likes a know it all !

By jxmartin on Wed, 09 Oct 2019

The Perspicacity of Aging It drives the youngsters up the wall when anyone “over a certain age” intimates that perhaps they have a better and more...
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Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Sandwich Bag Mayor

By jxmartin on Sat, 12 Oct 2019

The Sandwich Bag Mayor I t is our custom, while staying in Florida during the Winter months, to take as much advantage of the glorious weather as we...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Country Justice

By jxmartin on Tue, 29 Oct 2019

Country Justice Fifty years of keeping daily logs can draw up a wealth of stories. This particular remembrance occurred during the early seventies,...
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Non-fiction
Certificate U

Thanksgiving

By jxmartin on Tue, 26 Nov 2019

In Celebration of Thanksgiving As Thanksgiving Day approaches, our thoughts turn fondly to family dinners, funny looking turkeys, football games and...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Day Interrupted

By jxmartin on Sat, 30 Nov 2019

A Day Interrupted The day started out innocently enough. It was late November in Florida. We were headed to the CME-LPGA golf tournament at the...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Talking with the spirits

By jxmartin on Thu, 05 Dec 2019

Conversations with the disembodied Whenever you start off an article like this, people roll their eyes and say “Oh, boy. Here we go! “But, you can...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

interrupted- finis

By jxmartin on Fri, 06 Dec 2019

Day Interrupted- finis Thursday morning arrived. We were up early and ready to set out by 7 am. Rte. 41 South was decidedly crowded with the daily “...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Humor in adversity

By jxmartin on Wed, 11 Dec 2019

Space Age Prosthetics These last three weeks have transformed our lives, from active participants in the attractive life of, Florida retirees, into...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U

Christmas Magic

By jxmartin on Fri, 20 Dec 2019

The Magic of Christmas The magic of Christmas is an often-elusive concept that can elude the sophisticated. Life sometimes conditions those of us “on...
Spiritual
Other
Certificate U

Murphy's law, in Spades

By jxmartin on Wed, 01 Jan 2020

Murphy’s Law, in Spades I was reading an online post from a friend, whose lakefront cottage south of Buffalo had flooded and the calamity that it...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Writing While Impaired

By jxmartin on Thu, 16 Jan 2020

“WWI” I had a new experience yesterday, that of WWI. (writing while impaired) A largish, double martini had ended a long day. The C2H5OH must have...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Rounding Third and Headed for Home

By jxmartin on Mon, 03 Feb 2020

Rounding Third Base and Headed for Home. It is now almost eleven weeks after the accident that ruined my left arm. And, it is nearly nine weeks after...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Drifting Through Winter

By jxmartin on Tue, 11 Feb 2020

The air is gray and heavy with frost. The snow makes a crunching sound as you trod upon it. It is cold out, at five degrees below Zero. It is early...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Lenten Rituals

By jxmartin on Thu, 20 Feb 2020

In an Irish-Catholic neighborhood like South Buffalo, New York the Friday night fish fry, served during Lent, is a ritual as unbending and as regular...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Wine Country- Southern California

By jxmartin on Sat, 07 Mar 2020

Temecula, Southern California’s Wine Country If you have never heard of this area before, you are in league with us. We were only tipped off to the...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Pani Shoppers

By jxmartin on Fri, 13 Mar 2020

Pandemic Panic? It was just another shopping day for us. The South Beach Diet, that we are on, calls for lots of fresh ingredients. It seems like you...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Red Death Comes Calling

By jxmartin on Sun, 15 Mar 2020

“In your face, Coronavirus.” Poe’s eerie villain, “The Mask of Red Death” has come calling. We are susceptible to its ravishes, like everyone else on...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

St. Joseph's Day Feast

By jxmartin on Wed, 18 Mar 2020

Viva San Guiseppe Every year, on March 19 th in Italy, is celebrated the feast of St. Joseph. In particular, Sicilians revere him. In centuries past...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

LIving in the time of the Red Death

By jxmartin on Fri, 20 Mar 2020

Living in the time of Red Death It is Friday, the 20 th of March, in the year of our Lord, 2020. We are in the second week of a massive assault by...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Steady on lads !

By jxmartin on Fri, 20 Mar 2020

“Steady as she goes, please” Every day we see displays of short temper that are becoming more frequent. It might be an extended blast of a car horn,...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate PG

Rolling with the Punches

By jxmartin on Mon, 30 Mar 2020

Rolling with the punches, was one of my dad’s favorite expressions. Born before the first world war, he lived through the great depression, working...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Yes, I hear you little one

By jxmartin on Thu, 02 Apr 2020

Yes, I hear you little one I see the people standing on the sidewalk below me looking, always looking, at the flowing lines and interesting facade of...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U

Elizabethan Resolve

By jxmartin on Sun, 05 Apr 2020

I watched Elizabeth II give an address this afternoon. She was trying to stiffen the resolve of both Britain and her common wealth allies. This...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Memory's magic carpet ride

By jxmartin on Wed, 08 Apr 2020

Tuesday, April 1, Auckland, New Zealand We were up by 7 A.M. and made ready for the day. The Federal Deli called to us and we stopped in for bagel...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Hooray for scribblers !

By jxmartin on Tue, 14 Apr 2020

Most reasonably intelligent people, who have a good education, are capable of expressing themselves well in written form. Many choose not to because...
Rant
Story
Certificate U

Distance the night away !

By jxmartin on Tue, 14 Apr 2020

“Distance the night away” “Social distancing” has become the new buzzword in the fight with the Corona Virus. It is a simple yet effective tool in...
Rant
Story
Certificate U

Confidence

By jxmartin on Mon, 20 Apr 2020

CONFIDENCE Confidence is contagious. It can spread just as wildly as fear throughout a population, if we but encourage it. Ask any military commander...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona and the new look

By jxmartin on Tue, 21 Apr 2020

Corona and the new look One of the many consequences of the assault of the Corona Virus, on our society, is a new look in hairstyles. In that all of...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Shopping in the Corona Era

By jxmartin on Sat, 25 Apr 2020

Stick ‘em up, give me the money ! We had occasion to shop for groceries at the nearby Publix Supermarket today. It was just after Publix, like many...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

People are a pleasure to be around

By jxmartin on Fri, 08 May 2020

Much needed Human interaction is missing in the “new normal” of the Covid-19 Era The eminent Psychologist, Sigmund Freud, defined “isolationism” as a...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

ABC Tales Rocks !

By jxmartin on Wed, 20 May 2020

ABC Tales Rocks I was fortunate enough to discover this wonderful writer’s enclave several years back. Dutifully, I posted various articles and...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
2 likes
Gold cherry

Springtime is a riot of pastels

By jxmartin on Wed, 27 May 2020

A Riot of Pastels on a sunny day. It was one of those golden days of late May in Buffalo, New York. The 80-degree temperature was tempered by a seven...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Back on the Links

By jxmartin on Tue, 02 Jun 2020

Back on The Links It was a cool, sunny day in early June. We found ourselves in the pleasant environs of the Dande Farms Golf Club, in suburban Akron...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Who is the Dummy?

By jxmartin on Thu, 11 Jun 2020

Arguing with Computers-who is the dummy? I was attempting to enter a health-care portal the other day. It was an opportunity for me to review test...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Living in the time of Corona Virus

By jxmartin on Sun, 02 Aug 2020

These are the opening paragraphs, in a 28,000 word piece, that I am continuing to write about the subject. Anyone volunteering to review and offer...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Faces of Tomorrow

By jxmartin on Fri, 14 Aug 2020

The Fresh Young Faces of Tomorrow Mary and I were out walking in Wilkerson Park, on Buffalo’s outer harbor. It was a brilliantly sunny day in August...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Civility of Discourse

By jxmartin on Sat, 22 Aug 2020

Civility in Discourse There are a few subjects upon which almost everyone is an expert. The weather, religion, politics, sex are the most common...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Living in the time of Corona Journal, Sept.13 entry

By jxmartin on Sun, 13 Sep 2020

Sunday, September 13, 2020 It is opening day in the NFL. The Buffalo Bills will play the New York Jets today in Bills Stadium. The excitement in the...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Latest Journal entry for "living in the time of the Corona"

By jxmartin on Fri, 18 Sep 2020

Latest journal entry for "Living in the Time of Corona" Friday, September 18, 2020 It is a cool, fifty degrees, with brilliant sunshine, here in WNY...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Sept 25th entry Living in the time of Corona

By jxmartin on Fri, 25 Sep 2020

Friday, September 25, 2020 It is a brilliant Fall day in WNY. Temps are in the high seventies. We drove South on Rte.#219 to Ellicottville today. The...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona LOg, 10/2/20- Trump stricken

By jxmartin on Fri, 02 Oct 2020

Friday, Oct.2, 2020 It is rainy, and a cool 46 degrees today in WNY. The biggest bombshell in the news this morning is that President Trump and wife...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

entry "Living in the time of Corona" 10/8/20

By jxmartin on Thu, 08 Oct 2020

Thursday, October 8 th , 2020 It is sunny and cool here in WNY. Media sources are abuzz with analysis of the Vice-Presidential debate last night, at...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Florida Bound

By jxmartin on Mon, 12 Oct 2020

Florida bound Friday, October 9th, 2020 We started out from Amherst on a sunny, cool afternoon. We had chosen to drive eastward, on the NY Thruway,...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Journal entry- Oct.14,2020 Living in the time of Corona

By jxmartin on Thu, 15 Oct 2020

“ Living in the time of Corona” Wed. October 14, 2020- Journal entry It is a warm, ninety-degrees here in Southwest Florida, amidst abundant sunshine...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Corona Log entry- Oct. 19, 2020

By jxmartin on Mon, 19 Oct 2020

Monday, October 19, 2020 It is a warm, breezy and rainy morning here in SW Florida. A two-hour visit to the dentist this morning had taken my focus...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Seaside House.

By jxmartin on Sat, 24 Oct 2020

The house watched unfeeeling, as the turbulent sea crashed upon the slate-gray boulders guarding its shoreline. The sea air was redolent with brine...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log entry 10/26/20

By jxmartin on Mon, 26 Oct 2020

Monday, October 26, 2020 It is a very warm 89 degrees here in SW Florida. We were out biking this morning, enjoying the cooler morning air. Coffee on...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log entry 10/30/20

By jxmartin on Fri, 30 Oct 2020

Friday, October 30, 2020 It is 84 degrees, cloudy and humid here in SW Florida. We started out our day at the club gym for a workout, and then...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log entry- November 6,2020

By jxmartin on Fri, 06 Nov 2020

Friday, November 6- 2020 It is a Balmy 84 degrees here in SW Florida today. We had driven up to the Babcock Ranch this morning. It is northeast of...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Empty Ice cream cartons on a picnic table

By jxmartin on Sat, 07 Nov 2020

We had just purchased two double-scoop, chocolate-chip ice cream cones from the stand on Vanderbilt Beach Rd. We were standing in the 84-degree heat...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U
1 likes

Corona Log entry- NOv. 11, 2020

By jxmartin on Wed, 11 Nov 2020

Wed. November 11, 2020 Veteran’s Day It is a very soggy morning here in SW Florida. We are under a Tornado warning and experiencing heavy rains from...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona log entry Nov. 16,2020

By jxmartin on Mon, 16 Nov 2020

Mon.- November 16, 2020 It is a sunny and very warm day here in SW Florida. The heat and humidity is unusual in mid-November, even for Florida...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

You've Got Mail

By jxmartin on Fri, 20 Nov 2020

Contest entry "portrait of mail boxes in a post office." You’ve Got Mail The precise, rectangular array of the postal boxes was both geometric in...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log Entry Nov. 23,2020

By jxmartin on Mon, 23 Nov 2020

Monday, November 23, 2020 It is a cool and foggy morning here in SW Florida. A welcome cold-front is delivering colder air to us. We stopped by a...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona LOG - Nov. 30, 2020

By jxmartin on Mon, 30 Nov 2020

Corona Log Entry- Nov. 30, 2020 It is warm and muggy this morning in SW Florida. Rain is on the way, followed by a three-day cold front. Our Spring...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona Log- Dec, 7,2020

By jxmartin on Mon, 07 Dec 2020

Corona Log- Dec. 7, 2020 Heavy rains have come to us here in SW Florida. Many northeastern states have just been assaulted by a “snow bomb,” that...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Walking the beach

By jxmartin on Fri, 11 Dec 2020

Wave portraits on the sand When we walk along the golden length of the beach, the feeling of sun and wind on your face and the feral sound of surf...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U

Corona Log- 12/14/20

By jxmartin on Mon, 14 Dec 2020

Monday, December 14 th , 2020 It is sunny and a warm 70 degrees here in SW Florida this morning. Snow storms are hitting areas of the east coast and...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Merry (Happy) Christmas y'all

By jxmartin on Fri, 18 Dec 2020

Merry ( Happy ) Christmas Y’all The magic of Christmas is an often-elusive concept that can elude the sophisticated. Life sometimes conditions those...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

What Price Glory?

By jxmartin on Sun, 20 Dec 2020

Martial Law in The United States Michael Flynn, a former National Security Adviser to the President of the United States, who was also a four-star...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log- Dec. 21,2020

By jxmartin on Mon, 21 Dec 2020

Corona Log- Monday, December 21, 2020 It is a balmy 70 degrees here in SW Florida. It had rained heavily overnight and the grass still glistened with...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Corona Log Entry Dec. 29, 2020

By jxmartin on Tue, 29 Dec 2020

Corona Log Entry -December 29, 2020 It is breezy and cool here in SW Florida this morning. Snow storms are raging across the northern tier of the...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The New Year

By jxmartin on Wed, 30 Dec 2020

The New Year On the 31 st of December in the coming year of our Lord, 2021, we will begin a new year. As I contemplate the beginnings of the New Year...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log 1/4/21

By jxmartin on Mon, 04 Jan 2021

Corona Log – Monday, January 4, 2021 It is 61 degrees and cloudy this morning, here in SW Florida. We hit the gym early, spent time at NY Bagels for...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Sacking the U.S. Capitol

By jxmartin on Thu, 07 Jan 2021

Seditious Conspiracy and Federal Law The federal law against seditious conspiracy can be found in Title 18 of the U.S. Code (which includes treason,...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log. January 11, 2021

By jxmartin on Tue, 12 Jan 2021

Corona Log- January 11, 2021 It was a mild Florida morning today, with temps in the 60’s (F). We had a medical appt. early and then stopped by the...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona Log- Jan. 18, 2021

By jxmartin on Mon, 18 Jan 2021

It is a chilly morning today in SW Florida, at 46 degrees. It is even colder up north. A wintery blast is sweeping through the northeast, dumping...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Presidential Inauguration

By jxmartin on Thu, 21 Jan 2021

Inauguration of President Joe Biden The grand panoply of the American Republic was on display today, January 20, 2021. Early in the morning, outgoing...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log Entry- January 26, 2021

By jxmartin on Tue, 26 Jan 2021

Corona Log Entry- January 26, 2021 We started out the day in SW Florida with a heavy coastal fog in the early morning. Then, as the mist dissipated,...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

River of Grass

By jxmartin on Sat, 30 Jan 2021

Drifting Through a River of Grass About 35 miles east of Bonita Springs, Florida, sits the small agricultural community of Immokalee. A population of...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Yarc and the culture of boot licking

By jxmartin on Thu, 04 Feb 2021

YARC and the culture of boot looking A friend of ours, in the Spring Run Complex in Florida from Massachusetts, gave me this pearl of an acronym. “...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log Feb 11, 2021

By jxmartin on Thu, 11 Feb 2021

Corona Log- Thursday, February 11, 2021 A sea-fog covered much of SW Florida this morning. Temperatures had soared into the mid-eighties range...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

The Vaccine Hunger Games

By jxmartin on Wed, 17 Feb 2021

The Vaccine Hunger Games In the year of our Lord, 2020, the Earth was stricken with a great plague called “The Corona Virus.” Originating in Wuhan,...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log- Wed. February 24, 2021

By jxmartin on Wed, 24 Feb 2021

Corona Log- Wed. Feb. 24, 2021 It is a delightfully cool 62 degrees, here in SW Florida this morning. The heat will be returning in a few days, so we...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log Entry 3/12/21

By jxmartin on Sat, 13 Mar 2021

Corona Log Entry - Friday, March 12, 2021- It was a cool 56 degrees out this morning, as we headed over to the Walmart Store in Sebring, Fl. We had a...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Viva San Giuseppe

By jxmartin on Thu, 18 Mar 2021

Viva San Giuseppe Every year, on March 19 th in Italy, is celebrated the feast of St. Joseph. In particular, Sicilians revere him. In centuries past...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona Log Entry March 27, 2021

By jxmartin on Sat, 27 Mar 2021

Corona Log Entry – Sat. March 27, 2021 It is a sunny and bucolic morning here in SW Florida. The temps will rise to a toasty 90 degrees this...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Journeys the mind world over

By jxmartin on Mon, 29 Mar 2021

Journeys the mind world over Books are a passport for me to the ages. When I see one standing upon a library or bookstore shelf, I think of the many...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Take Away Two Step

By jxmartin on Wed, 31 Mar 2021

The Take Away Two Step In year’s past, when eating out, diners would often sheepishly ask a waiter for a small bag, to package leftovers from their...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Acid dripping onto my soul

By jxmartin on Sun, 11 Apr 2021

Acid dripping onto my soul In the normal course of a day, in the retiree’s world of Southwest Florida, you interact with men and women from many mid-...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log Entry- April 13, 2021

By jxmartin on Tue, 13 Apr 2021

April 13, 2021- Corona Log Entry It has been a few weeks since my last log entry. After a brief period, when it looked like we had the virus on the...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Education of the Rascals

By jxmartin on Sat, 24 Apr 2021

From: “ A Piece of the Banner” Chapter VI The Education of the Rascals All of the kids in our neighborhood went to the local Catholic grammar school...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Learning the Rules

By jxmartin on Mon, 26 Apr 2021

From: " A Piece of the Banner" From: “ A Piece of the Banner.” Learning the Rules The parish priest who inducted us into these various ceremonies in...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

First Holy Communion

By jxmartin on Tue, 27 Apr 2021

From " A Piece of the Banner" One of the major spiritual responsibilities of the nuns was to indoctrinate us in the mysteries of the Catholic...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona Log Entry- May 7,2021

By jxmartin on Fri, 07 May 2021

Corona Log Entry- May 7, 2021 It is a broiling-hot day here in SW Florida. Temperatures have climbed into the 90’s (F) for the last several days. We...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

When the Rain Falls

By jxmartin on Fri, 14 May 2021

When the Rain Falls It is the beginning, of the first line of lyrics, to a favored Beatle’s tune. The phrase always makes me smile in remembrance. I...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Corona Log Entry May 26,2021

By jxmartin on Wed, 26 May 2021

Corona Log Entry- May 26, 2021 It is in the seventies today and sultry here in Western New York. Rain storms are sweeping across the northern tier of...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

June 17, 2021 Corona Log Entry

By jxmartin on Thu, 17 Jun 2021

June 17, 2021- Corona Log Entry It is a cool 48 degrees and sunny here in Western New York. Much of the country is sweltering in 90-degree heat. We...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log Entry July 9, 2021

By jxmartin on Fri, 09 Jul 2021

Corona Log Entry- July 9 th , 2021 It is cloudy and cool here in Western New York. Hurricane Elsa had just dumped massive amounts of rain on Florida...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Corona Log Entry- July 28,2021

By jxmartin on Wed, 28 Jul 2021

Corona Log Entry July 28, 2021 It is a beautiful, sunny day here in Western New York State. The temperature hovers in the high seventies (F). We had...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

U.S. Exit From Afghanistan

By jxmartin on Tue, 17 Aug 2021

U.S. Exit from Afghanistan Twenty years of fighting for, funding and equipping the Afghan Army came to a screeching halt in early August of 2021. The...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Gold cherry
Story of the week

Corona Log Entry - August 20, 2021

By jxmartin on Fri, 20 Aug 2021

Corona Log Entry- Friday, August 20 th , 2021 It is a beautiful summer morning, here in the Miami of the North, Buffalo, N.Y. Temperature are in the...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Celebrating women in the workforce

By jxmartin on Fri, 27 Aug 2021

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually. It is a fitting celebration for the most important person in most of our lives. Wife, mother, aunt...
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Non-fiction
Certificate U

Sic Transit Gloria (fame is fleeting)

By jxmartin on Fri, 03 Sep 2021

Fame An outsized statue, standing tall It sits in a park or monument hall. It speaks of valor in times now past. I wonder how long the memory can...
Spiritual
Poem
Certificate U

9/11 plus 20 years

By jxmartin on Mon, 06 Sep 2021

“ A Terrible Resolve ” On September 11 th , 2001 the world, as we know it, turned upside down in America. Our concept of personal security and...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

9/11/01- A Buffalo Remembrance

By jxmartin on Wed, 08 Sep 2021

9/11- A Buffalo Remembrance They came by the thousands to stand silently in the cool, September's night air. They were searching for something that...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log Entry- 9/8/21

By jxmartin on Thu, 09 Sep 2021

Corona Log Entry- September 8, 2021. (8/9/21) It is a sunny and cool morning here in Western New York. Hurricanes and raging rain storms are still...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The River of Time

By jxmartin on Thu, 16 Sep 2021

Calendars chart the River of Time The River of Time keeps on flowing along. It is probably a song lyric someplace. I have just forgotten where. I had...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona Log Entry- Sept. 28, 2021

By jxmartin on Tue, 28 Sep 2021

Corona Log Entry- Sept. 28, 2021 It is a cool and sunny day here in Western New York. The 48 degree (F) temps this morning augur the arrival of Fall...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The final passage of parents

By jxmartin on Tue, 12 Oct 2021

The final passage of parents Two of my older sisters are currently housed in rehab and nursing facilities. Their conditions continue to improve, so...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona Log Entry October 22, 2021

By jxmartin on Sat, 23 Oct 2021

Corona Log Entry- October 22, 2021 It was a balmy morning here in Southwest Florida. We had started out riding our bikes at 8 A.M. The temperature...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

"Yes, your honor"

By jxmartin on Fri, 29 Oct 2021

Fifty years of keeping daily logs can draw up a wealth of stories. This particular remembrance occurred during the early seventies, in Mt. Morris, N...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Profiles in Courage

By jxmartin on Fri, 29 Oct 2021

Dr. Winford Quick is a quiet man. A child of the rural, “Jim Crow” South, as an African- American, he understood and experienced adversity in all of...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Queen City of the Lakes

By jxmartin on Mon, 01 Nov 2021

During the shipping season, at the Erie Basin Marina on Buffalo’s waterfront, you can often watch the massive bulk of a lake freighter glide by the...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona Log Entry

By jxmartin on Sun, 14 Nov 2021

Corona Log Entry- November 13, 2021 It is sunny, warm and humid this morning in, Southwest Florida, with the promise of rain to come. We were...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Brass Spittoon

By jxmartin on Fri, 19 Nov 2021

The Brass Spittoon When we were younger, my father would sometimes gather up a handful of his Martin urchins, for a brief ride, to visit his parents...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

By jxmartin on Wed, 24 Nov 2021

Thanksgiving As Thanksgiving Day approaches, on Thursday, our thoughts turn fondly to family dinners, funny looking turkeys, football games and for...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Brotherhood of the Befuddled

By jxmartin on Mon, 29 Nov 2021

The pressures of paying rent or mortgage, and all of the other collective bills in a family’s life, was a burden that most men carry daily into jobs...
Talecatching
Story
Certificate U

Corona Log. Entry - 3/12/21

By jxmartin on Fri, 03 Dec 2021

Corona Log Report- Friday, December 3, 2021 It was a sunny and delightfully cool (58 F) morning here in SW Florida. We watched the news programs,...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

"Come From Away" Review

By jxmartin on Sun, 05 Dec 2021

“Come from Away” This afternoon, we were seeing the dramatic production “Come from Away.” We arrived at the venerable Artis Naples complex, that...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Happy Christmas

By jxmartin on Wed, 15 Dec 2021

“Oh Holy Night. The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.” These are the words to one of the more treasured...
Spiritual
Story
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log Entry 20/12/21

By jxmartin on Mon, 20 Dec 2021

Corona Log Entry- December 20, 2021 It is a humid and sultry 80 Degrees (F) in SW Florida today. We are expecting sweeping rains and a cold front to...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Happy New Year

By jxmartin on Fri, 31 Dec 2021

Happy New Year’s It is the 31 st of December in the year of our Lord, 2021. As we contemplate the beginnings of the coming New Year, arriving this...
Spiritual
Other
Certificate U
2 likes

Murphy's law- in spades !

By jxmartin on Tue, 04 Jan 2022

Murphy’s Law, in Spades A few years back, I was reading an online post from a friend, whose lakefront cottage, south of Buffalo, had been flooded and...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Bahama's Excursion - Day One

By jxmartin on Sat, 08 Jan 2022

Bahama’s Excursion Thurs. Dec 23 rd , 2021- Day one- Estero, Florida We were up early this morning. Finishing packing, we loaded our gear into the...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Bahamas-Day two

By jxmartin on Sun, 09 Jan 2022

Friday, December 24 th , 2021 Christmas Eve- at sea in the Atlantic We were up at 5 A.M. It was 69 degrees out, with a light breeze seaward. The rose...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Christmas Day in the Bahamas

By jxmartin on Mon, 10 Jan 2022

Fri. Dec. 25 th - Christmas Day- at sea in the Atlantic Arising early, we enjoyed coffee on the balcony, watching the sun rise over the Atlantic. The...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Nassau, Bahamas

By jxmartin on Tue, 11 Jan 2022

Sunday, December 26, 2021 Nassau, Bahamas We were up early this morning. At 5:30 A.M., we could just see the sky coloring, with the rose of predawn...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Martin Luther King

By jxmartin on Thu, 13 Jan 2022

Martin Luther King Day Martin Luther King Day is celebrated every January 15th in America as a national holiday. Most people like me, who are of a...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
3 likes

Corona Log -14/1/22

By jxmartin on Fri, 14 Jan 2022

Corona Log Entry- January 14, 2022 It is a sunny and cool day here in S.W. Florida. Temps are in the low seventies. A cold front is coming that will...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Kabuki Theater or The Twilight Zone?

By jxmartin on Sun, 06 Feb 2022

Kabuki Theater or the Twilight Zone? Various media sources have attempted to parse the meaning, of former President Trump’s -Kabuki performances in...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona Log Entry 8/2/22

By jxmartin on Tue, 08 Feb 2022

Corona Log Entry- February 8, 2022 It is a cool and foggy morning here in SW Florida. A cold front is just blowing through the area, dropping...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Guess who's coming to dinner?"

By jxmartin on Thu, 17 Feb 2022

The silken strands of the web glistened in the morning sunlight. The dew filled in sections of the web with a silver pane of moisture as artfully...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U

Snowbirds & Sunbirds- welcome guests

By jxmartin on Sat, 19 Feb 2022

It is February in Southwest Florida. The warm Florida sun presides over the gentle sway of palm trees and the rhythmic sussuration of the Seaside...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Oxygen Stealers

By jxmartin on Sun, 20 Feb 2022

The Oxygen Stealers There are many times, during in a long life, when a conversation between others is accidentally over heard. You are usually...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Rituals of The Lenten Season

By jxmartin on Thu, 24 Feb 2022

In an Irish-Catholic neighborhood like South Buffalo the Friday night fish fry, served during Lent, is a ritual as unbending and as regular as Sunday...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Corona Log Entry 27/2/22

By jxmartin on Sun, 27 Feb 2022

Corona Log Report- Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022 It had been a warm and gorgeous day here in SW Florida. Temps had reached the mid-eighties. The blue sky and...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Nurturing yields a riper harvest

By jxmartin on Sun, 06 Mar 2022

I never really thought much about cows and the milk that they produce. I guess I have always known in the abstract that the two were related. It is...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U

Coffee Solutions

By jxmartin on Tue, 08 Mar 2022

At our Spring Run Golf complex, in southwest Florida, we have a wonderful forum for discussion. Every weekday, at 9 A.M., several individuals gather...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Florida Keys

By jxmartin on Wed, 09 Mar 2022

Wed. March 2, 2022- Estero, Florida. We had arisen early, on this sunny Florida morning in Winter. We were headed south and east to the Florida Keys...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Corona Log Entry March 21, 2022

By jxmartin on Mon, 21 Mar 2022

Corona Log Entry- March 21, 2022 It is a cool, 62-degree morning here in SW Florida. The winds are brisk, with 23 mph gusts. It is a nice change from...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Baseball

By jxmartin on Mon, 21 Mar 2022

The Hall of Legends Cooperstown is a small, rural village in upstate New York, just South of Utica. The rolling hills and well-ordered farms, that...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Grace Under Pressure

By jxmartin on Wed, 23 Mar 2022

Grace Under Pressure I have watched the televised Senate hearings, of these last few days, attempting to confirm the President Biden’s nomination to...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Masters

By jxmartin on Sat, 09 Apr 2022

The Masters Golf Tourney The three-story Colonial facade of the “clubhouse” sits amidst manicured, emerald lawns and colorful floral shrubbery. It...
Surreal
Other
Certificate U
Cherry

Corona Log Entry 25/4/22

By jxmartin on Fri, 15 Apr 2022

Corona Log Entry- Friday, April 14, 2022 It is a warm and sultry day here in SW Florida. The temperature should rise up into the low 90’s this...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Chasing Moonshiners

By jxmartin on Thu, 21 Apr 2022

It was the surprisingly loud and unexpected explosion, that accompanied the shattering of my rear windshield, that gave me the first indications that...
Talecatching
Story
Certificate U
1 likes

The Beachers

By jxmartin on Fri, 29 Apr 2022

The Beachers In the 1830’s, Buffalo Mayor Samuel Wilkeson coordinated the erection of the stone “break-wall,” just off the mouth of Buffalo Creek, to...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
2 likes

Grand Opera

By jxmartin on Sat, 30 Apr 2022

When Grand Opera isn’t. The Magic of a successful, grand opera is a mystical experience. It is a poly-euphony of melodious orchestral pieces, the...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Gold cherry

Corona Log- 3 May, 2022- final entry

By jxmartin on Tue, 03 May 2022

Corona Log- Tues, May 3, 2022- Final Entry It is a sultry 92 degrees (F) here in SW Florida. I had started the day out with a congregation, of...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

A Specter of Evil

By jxmartin on Sun, 15 May 2022

A specter of evil visits. A Specter of evil settled upon Buffalo on Friday. In person, it was a deranged teenager who dressed up like a combatant and...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Leadership from the sporting crowd

By jxmartin on Thu, 26 May 2022

“Where Have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” Over the years, I have watched several prominent politicians refer to America as “That shining city on the hill...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Novel solutions on gun control

By jxmartin on Sun, 29 May 2022

I read the news today! Specifically, I was intrigued by the proposed notion of arming teachers in our schools, to prevent future murderous assaults...
Rant
Other
Certificate U
1 likes

Annoying mental pauses in speech

By jxmartin on Thu, 16 Jun 2022

After watching several well-educated staff members testify, in recent Congressional hearings, I thought I needed to comment. The use of the phrase “...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Transitions of power, then and now

By jxmartin on Wed, 22 Jun 2022

I wrote this analysis twenty eight years ago, when Newt Genrich and the Conservative Republicans wrested control of Congressional House of...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

On The Wagon

By jxmartin on Sat, 02 Jul 2022

“On the Wagon” You often hear the phrase “on the wagon” in conversation. It is usually a pithy reference to a now abstemious person who had...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Zero Sum Game

By jxmartin on Tue, 05 Jul 2022

The Zero-Sum Game I have always wondered why some folks seem to resent the success of others. It would seem antithetical to the way that we were...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Colorful idioms spice up the conversation

By jxmartin on Sat, 09 Jul 2022

Colorful idioms spice up the conversation I have written before about my fascination with idioms in the English language. They are both colorful and...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
2 likes

Be Careful What you wish for.

By jxmartin on Thu, 14 Jul 2022

In the Avian world, those talented and industrious and birds that can gather the most fish and feed their young are the ones who survive and pass on...
Surreal
Other
Certificate U
Cherry

The Bank

By jxmartin on Sat, 23 Jul 2022

THE BANK It is a single-story, solid little building that sits on the Northwest corner of Seneca Street and Seneca Parkside, on the South side of...
Talecatching
Story
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Canadian Excursion

By jxmartin on Mon, 01 Aug 2022

Canadian Excursion It was sunny and a warm 72 degrees out (F), as we set off northward for our brief Canadian Excursion. We were leaving in a few...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Literary Criticism

By jxmartin on Thu, 04 Aug 2022

Literary Criticism Everyone has different tastes in Music, food, Art and literature. The preferences are both a reflection and a composite amalgam of...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Rites of Passage

By jxmartin on Mon, 15 Aug 2022

Rites of Passage The chilly winds swept over the Lake Erie ice. The mist and damp, of an overnight cloudburst, lingered and added to the feeling of...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate 12

Canadian Rockies

By jxmartin on Tue, 30 Aug 2022

Canadian Rail Excursion-Overview Canadian Rail Excursion Overview We had set out from the far away flatlands and alligator filled swamps of Southwest...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Sic transit gloria

By jxmartin on Sat, 03 Sep 2022

An outsized statue, standing tall It sits in a park or monument hall. It speaks of valor in times now past. I wonder how long the memory can last...
Rant
Poem
Certificate U
1 likes
Gold cherry

Remembering Elizabeth

By jxmartin on Thu, 08 Sep 2022

I watched Elizabeth II give an address one afternoon about dealing with the scourge of Covid, that threatened her nation. She was trying to stiffen...
Reviews
Other
Certificate U
1 likes

Farewell Elizabeth

By jxmartin on Mon, 19 Sep 2022

Farewell and Adieu, Queen Elizabeth As I watched several hours of Queen Elizabeth’s State Funeral this morning, I was taken by the full panoply of...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Hurricane Ian

By jxmartin on Sun, 02 Oct 2022

The Specter of Hurricane IAN Like most of America, we watched the formation and development of Hurricane Ian, as it drove relentlessly across the...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Gold cherry
Story of the week

Ian- the aftermath

By jxmartin on Thu, 13 Oct 2022

Hurricane Ian - the aftermath As we made our way southward, we could see various signs of Ian’s passage. In the low country of the Carolinas,...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Opinion Pieces in writing

By jxmartin on Wed, 16 Nov 2022

Opinion Pieces in writing One of my books,” As I see it,” is a collection of Essays. Most of the articles in it have been published, at one time or...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Gold cherry

Remembering John Fitzgerald Kennedy- 60 years later

By jxmartin on Tue, 22 Nov 2022

Remembering John F. Kennedy The Fall of Camelot It was a time of chivalry, of knights and ladies, performing like actors in an ethereal Brigadoon,...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Forgotten or intentionally ignored?

By jxmartin on Fri, 02 Dec 2022

The Doorway Effect Have you ever walked into another room, determined to accomplish some task or other, and when you got there, forgotten what it is...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Opera lays an egg!!

By jxmartin on Tue, 06 Dec 2022

When Grand Opera isn’t. The Magic of a successful, grand opera is a mystical experience. It is a poly-euphony of melodious orchestral pieces, the...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Christmas Guests

By jxmartin on Tue, 13 Dec 2022

The 747 circled lazily through the patterned array of clouds that framed the blue of the Atlantic Ocean and the gray of the concrete canyons on the...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Christmas Past- A Dickensian celebration

By jxmartin on Fri, 16 Dec 2022

Kevin Leary was a bum. He wasn’t a homeless person, nor an individual set adrift by physical or mental difficulties, he was just a plain and ordinary...
Spiritual
Story
Certificate U
1 likes

Merry Christmas y'all

By jxmartin on Wed, 21 Dec 2022

The magic of Christmas is an often-elusive concept that can elude the sophisticated. Life sometimes conditions those of us “on the shady side of...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

A remembered ride home in a snow storm

By jxmartin on Sat, 24 Dec 2022

The wind chill in Buffalo right now is in the minus digits. The wind speed is in the 60-mph range. It is dubbed by meteorologists as “a generational...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Buffalo, a magical city of indomitable spirit.

By jxmartin on Tue, 27 Dec 2022

Buffalo, a magical city with an indomitable spirit The Christmas Blizzard of ’22 will go down in Buffalo’s history as one of the worst storms ever to...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Groundhog's Day or a new beginning?

By jxmartin on Sat, 31 Dec 2022

New Year’s Eve It is the 31 st of December in the year of our Lord, 2022. As I contemplate the beginnings of New Year, arriving in a few hours, I...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Frozen beauty of Winter

By jxmartin on Sat, 07 Jan 2023

The air is gray and heavy with frost. The snow makes a crunching sound as you tread upon it. It is cold out, at five degrees below Zero. It is early...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Fellowship of Competitors

By jxmartin on Mon, 09 Jan 2023

We have been fortunate to take many tours and cruises during our retirement. The travel adventures are both educational and pleasure-filled. You get...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Martin Luther King

By jxmartin on Fri, 13 Jan 2023

Martin Luther King I post this article annually, to pay tribute to a very special American leader, Martin Luther King. I think it appropriate to do...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Beachers

By jxmartin on Sat, 21 Jan 2023

For the last few generations, on the outer fringes of Buffalo’s waterfront, sat an old industrial area that had lain waste for generations. Nothing...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Good Intentions

By jxmartin on Fri, 27 Jan 2023

Good intentions often aren’t enough When we were younger, our schools and parents trained us to be of service to others. The practice probably...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Gathering of the Lads

By jxmartin on Wed, 01 Feb 2023

The band played with the ardor of a group of mendicants attacking a free lunch. The bunting and posters were hung in a lavish array of red white and...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Seiche of 1844

By jxmartin on Wed, 08 Feb 2023

From the novel "Buffalo Beachers" -Joseph Xavier Martin 1844 The Seiche rolls across Buffalo In the shore side lee of the wall, a small beach grew...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Buffalo Beachers

By jxmartin on Sat, 11 Feb 2023

Our newest book , “Buffalo Beachers,” is now available for sale at Amazon.com. You can reach the site through our web site http://www.jxmartin.com We...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Bare Knuckles Boxing

By jxmartin on Thu, 23 Feb 2023

Chapter XII- “Buffalo Beachers” Bare knuckle boxing on the beach Boxing was generally illegal in 19th century America, with fights held in secret...
Talecatching
Story
Certificate U

American Civil War

By jxmartin on Sun, 05 Mar 2023

From "Buffalo Beacher's -Joseph Xavier Martin Civil war is coming In the early part of 1860, Buffalo, like most of the nation, knew that war was...
Other Non-fiction
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Recognition

By jxmartin on Sat, 25 Mar 2023

A need to be recognized We live, for most of the year, in a pleasant golf community in Southwest Florida. Though not as flashy, as some of the...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

"Shush, Please !!!!"

By jxmartin on Wed, 29 Mar 2023

I have always been amazed by the linguistic dexterity, of friends and colleagues, who can literally talk forever. Most of us are gabbers by nature...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Happy Easter, y'all

By jxmartin on Fri, 07 Apr 2023

Easter was always a special time for us, growing up in a Catholic household. New Clothes, and a week-long buildup of religious events had us on edge...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Murder of the Innocents

By jxmartin on Thu, 13 Apr 2023

Murder of the Innocents I watched the news a few days back and was stunned that another mass shooting had occurred. This time, only eight adults were...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
2 likes
Cherry

Building character with athletics

By jxmartin on Fri, 12 May 2023

Character in Sports I have followed various stories in the press, about School Sports Teams, at various levels, with a growing sense of unease. What...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Gold cherry
Story of the week

Magic in a marble

By jxmartin on Wed, 24 May 2023

The Maltese Marble It didn't seem like a special marble when I first looked it over, at old Mr. Warner's place. True, it was larger than the other...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U
3 likes
Cherry

Mail Boxes- Magic Portals

By jxmartin on Sat, 03 Jun 2023

Mail Boxes- Magic Portals In the amazing technological marvel of instant communications, that is the 21 st century, you can hook up a computer to a...
Talecatching
Story
Certificate U
Cherry

Amsterdam- Day one

By jxmartin on Mon, 03 Jul 2023

Amsterdam to Buda Pest- A journey through Europe Friday, June 9th , Amherst, New York We were up early this morning, anticipating a long day...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Brugge, Belgium

By jxmartin on Tue, 04 Jul 2023

Monday, June 12 th , 2023- Bruges, Belgium We were up at 4 A.M., still struggling with adapting our Circadian rhythms. Coffee and a muffin in the...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Anne Frank Haus- Amsterdam

By jxmartin on Wed, 05 Jul 2023

Tuesday, June 13 th , 2023- Amsterdam, Netherlands We were up early at 5 A.M. Breakfast in the hotel was wonderful. (15 euros each) We decided that...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Red Light District of Amsterdam

By jxmartin on Thu, 06 Jul 2023

Wed. June 14 th , 2023 Red Light District of Amsterdam We arose early at 5. A.M. A cappuccino in the room prepped us for the day. Our Pal, Brahm...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

The Windmills of Kinderdijk Netherlands

By jxmartin on Thu, 06 Jul 2023

Friday, June 16 th , 2023 Kinderdijk, Netherlands We were up by 4 A.M. We enjoyed coffee and a wonderful chocolate muffin on our balcony. We had...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Gold cherry

Cathedral of Cologne (Koln)

By jxmartin on Fri, 07 Jul 2023

Saturday, 6/17/23- Northern Netherlands, on the Rhine Overnight, the Vali had motored up the Rhine River. We were approaching Cologne (Koln) Germany...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Koblenz, Germany

By jxmartin on Sat, 08 Jul 2023

Sunday, June 18 th - Koblenz, Germany We were up early at 6 A.M. We enjoyed the cool of a Rhine River morning, at 59 degrees (F), with coffee on the...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
2 likes

Miltenberg, Germany

By jxmartin on Sun, 09 Jul 2023

Monday, June 19 th - Miltenberg, Germany We were up by 7 A.M It was a cool 61 degrees out. (F) We had coffee on our balcony, watching the Rhine...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Wurzberg, Germany

By jxmartin on Mon, 10 Jul 2023

Wed. June 21, 2023- Karlstadt & Wurzburg We were up by 7 A.M. Coffee on the balcony was a welcome way to start the day, cruising along the Rhine...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Nurnberg, Germany

By jxmartin on Tue, 11 Jul 2023

Thurs. June 22, 2023- Nurnberg, Germany We were up early, perhaps thinking of all that we had to do today. A light breakfast, on the open air aqua...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Regensburg, Germany

By jxmartin on Wed, 12 Jul 2023

Friday, June 23, 2023- Regensburg, Germany We were up by 6 A.M. It was cloudy out, with a light mist of rain. Breakfast found us joining Madeline and...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Passau, Germany

By jxmartin on Thu, 13 Jul 2023

Sat. June 24, 2023- Passau, Germany We were up by 6 A.M. It was 64 degrees (F) and cool out. We breakfasted, in the first floor dining room, and...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Melk Abbey, Austria

By jxmartin on Fri, 14 Jul 2023

Sunday, June 25th, 2023- Melk, Austria We were up at 7 A.M and joined the Broyles for an early breakfast in the main dining room. Most of the ship’s...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Vienna, Austria

By jxmartin on Sat, 15 Jul 2023

Monday, June 26, 2023- Vienna, Austria We were up early at 4 A.M. We prepped for the day and then breakfasted in the main dining room. Most of the...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Budapest, Hungary

By jxmartin on Sun, 16 Jul 2023

Wed. June 28 th , Budapest, Hungary and on away home We were up early at 5 A.M. and had breakfast in the main dining room. Then, we readied for our...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

OOPS, missed the Wurzburg Prince Bishop Palace.

By jxmartin on Wed, 26 Jul 2023

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 -Wurzberg, Germany We were up by 7 A.M. It was raining and cool out. Our tour, of the Wurzburg Bishop’s Palace, was scheduled...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Muenchen, Deutschland

By jxmartin on Thu, 27 Jul 2023

Munich has many attributes but is most known for the ”Oktoberfest” Celebration. Started in 1810, to commemorate the marriage of Ludwig I and his wife...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Medieval Disneyland

By jxmartin on Tue, 01 Aug 2023

Medieval Disneyland- real or imagined ? We had completed and much enjoyed a Viking “Grand Tour” of Europe, earlier in June. It was wonderful. The...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U
2 likes
Cherry

Free Speech or Treason in America ?

By jxmartin on Tue, 08 Aug 2023

Free Speech or Treason? Most Americans probably can’t quote much of the verbiage found in the United States Constitution. And, if you ask them point...
Reviews
Non-fiction
Certificate U

"Go Ask Alice"

By jxmartin on Sat, 12 Aug 2023

“Go Ask Alice.” Recently, two constitutional scholars, in a published article, have posited that former president Trump is ineligible to run for re-...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

"Not me, I was in Cleveland" defense.

By jxmartin on Mon, 14 Aug 2023

“Not me, I was in Cleveland” Defense To date, almost 600 criminals have been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, tried and convicted by...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

E.T. ,call us !

By jxmartin on Fri, 18 Aug 2023

Where are E.T. and his pals when we need them? Cell phones are the new karaoke. You have only to watch an over loud performance and you will see the...
Rant
Story
Certificate U

Being who you are

By jxmartin on Sun, 27 Aug 2023

Being Who you are “ Who are you ?” is an oft asked question. Sometimes, the inquiry originates from another person, maybe an employer or boss of some...
Rant
Other
Certificate U

"can you hear me?

By jxmartin on Fri, 01 Sep 2023

If a tree falls in a forest, does anyone hear it? Lately, I have received several “friend requests” from people already connected to my FB page. Some...
Rant
Other
Certificate U

Fear

By jxmartin on Fri, 01 Sep 2023

Fear of what lies beyond. One of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s most remembered remarks was delivered during his first Inaugural Speech...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U
1 likes

Tanned to Perfection

By jxmartin on Sun, 10 Sep 2023

The Salon looked innocuous enough. It sat quietly in the corner of a small suburban Plaza. " New Age Tanning Salon" read the corporate logo, in large...
Talecatching
Story
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

The 9/11 attack remembered

By jxmartin on Mon, 11 Sep 2023

9/11 remembered in Buffalo. N.Y. On September 11th, 2001 the world, as we know it, turned upside down in America. Our concept of personal security...
Other Non-fiction
Story
Certificate U

Travel in a mind blink

By jxmartin on Thu, 12 Oct 2023

Buffalo, N.Y. Fort Myers, Fla.-moving in a mind blink We arrived in Florida at Ft. Myers International at 11:00 A.M on a hot and sultry morning this...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Ich bin eine Jude

By jxmartin on Thu, 12 Oct 2023

Ich bi eine Jude In June of 1963, Anerucan President John F. Kennedy, stood before a crowd of West Berliners and issued one of the most iconic...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Bronze Bear

By jxmartin on Tue, 17 Oct 2023

The Bronze Bear of Geneseo, N.Y. As you approach Geneseo N.Y from the west, along rural and scenic Route # 39, you come upon the attractive college...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
2 likes

The Essence of Memory

By jxmartin on Mon, 23 Oct 2023

The house watched unfeeeling, as the turbulent sea crashed upon the slate-gray boulders guarding its shoreline. The sea air was redolent with brine...
Talecatching
Story
Certificate U
Cherry

Who is who at the Zoo?

By jxmartin on Fri, 27 Oct 2023

Who is who at the Zoo? Simon & Garfunkel are among the nation’s most revered folk/rock duo and my personal favorite. They are known for many...
Surreal
Other
Certificate U

Halloween

By jxmartin on Sat, 28 Oct 2023

Annual Posting: Halloween-through a child’s eyes. The pumpkins had ripened to an orange softness that was appealing to the eye and pleasant to the...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

Compassion in a candy bar

By jxmartin on Sun, 12 Nov 2023

Compassion in a candy bar My wife Mary and I were fortunate enough to visit the Alpine Countries in Europe a few summers back. All of the story book...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Group Think

By jxmartin on Mon, 13 Nov 2023

Group Think I grew up in a very good home, with eleven brothers and sisters. We lived in a blue collar neighborhood where such large families were...
Rant
Other
Certificate U

Gift Horses

By jxmartin on Tue, 14 Nov 2023

Gift Horses The meaning of the phrase "never look a gift horse in the mouth" came to mind one day when we were standing in line at the Panera Bread...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Bullies in retail.

By jxmartin on Wed, 15 Nov 2023

Many of us, of a certain age, grew up watching the animated cartoon version of the Lewis Carroll fantasy, “Alice In Wonderland.” The greatly stylized...
Rant
Other
Certificate U
1 likes

Magic Portals

By jxmartin on Mon, 20 Nov 2023

The precise, rectangular array of the postal boxes was both geometric in design and appealing to the appreciative eye. Behind each brown metal door,...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U
Cherry

Whispers From Beyond

By jxmartin on Wed, 22 Nov 2023

Whispers from Beyond I was recently introduced to an interesting feature on Facebook, by a kind friend. She showed me the “memories” feature. When...
Surreal
Story
Certificate U

Golf is not for Mastodon Hunters

By jxmartin on Sat, 25 Nov 2023

Playing Golf is not for Mastodon Hunters The game of golf involves the smooth coordination, of a number of the body’s muscle groups and skeletal...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Puzzle of Language

By jxmartin on Mon, 27 Nov 2023

Our Anerican version of language is continually evolving. Every generation contributes its own idioms expressing their collective wisdom. A few...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

People are interesting

By jxmartin on Tue, 05 Dec 2023

The eminent Psychologist, Sigmund Freud, defined “isolationism” as a mind’s “defense mechanism” against perceived threats. In plain English, that...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Beach Portraits

By jxmartin on Mon, 11 Dec 2023

Portraits on the Beach When we walk along the golden length of the beach, the feeling of sun and wind on your face and the feral sound of surf...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

What is Christmas?

By jxmartin on Thu, 14 Dec 2023

What is Christmas ? “Oh Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.” These are the words to one of the...
Surreal
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

New Year's Eve

By jxmartin on Sat, 30 Dec 2023

New Year’s Eve Sunday is the 31 st of December, in the year of our Lord, 2023. On it, contemplate the beginnings of the New Year. I wonder at the...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Snuffleoffagus Thinking

By jxmartin on Mon, 08 Jan 2024

Snuffleoffagus thinking Mary and I had just returned from a wonderful ten day run through the Southern Caribbean. It was Christmas time. Even the...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Buffalo- The Windy City

By jxmartin on Thu, 11 Jan 2024

Buffalo- THE WINDY CITY As we walked along the banks of Cazenovia Creek, in West Seneca, the wind howled around us like a Banshee's wail. The water...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Forgetting something? Just say London Bridge.

By jxmartin on Fri, 26 Jan 2024

Any number of times during a normal day, I reach into my memory banks for some fact, figure or past memory of a place or event and find only a blank...
Rant
Other
Certificate U
1 likes

Friends in high places

By jxmartin on Mon, 29 Jan 2024

The Day the Sunset Waited We were playing golf, at the Spring Run Golf Complex in Estero Florida, with friends, Joe & Phyllis Schneider, from...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Winter in the Adirondacks

By jxmartin on Tue, 30 Jan 2024

Winter, in upstate New York, is a cross country skiers delight. The snow cover is usually good. There are lots of mountains and high forests to glide...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Queen City of the Great Lakes

By jxmartin on Sun, 04 Feb 2024

Queen City of the Great Lakes During the shipping season, at the Erie Basin Marina on Buffalo’s waterfront, you can often watch the massive bulk of a...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Twilight Zone

By jxmartin on Tue, 06 Feb 2024

The Twilight Zone? Various media sources have attempted to parse the meaning, of former President Trump’s -Kabuki performances in rallies and on...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Redesigning the Past

By jxmartin on Fri, 09 Feb 2024

Redesigning the Past The Buffalo, New York News today featured a lengthy article about the substantial rehab on an old bank building, on the South...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

The Emerald City

By jxmartin on Tue, 13 Feb 2024

T he Emerald City Our plane cruised westward, flying high over Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. In the fading light, the snow tipped, granite range...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Good Vibrations

By jxmartin on Thu, 15 Feb 2024

Good Vibrations We currently live in a golf community in SW Florida. As such, most of our neighbors are somewhat proficient in knocking a small white...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Treachery at Wuhan

By jxmartin on Mon, 19 Feb 2024

Coming out in March Treachery at Wuhan A Novel by Joseph Xavier Martin A daring night incursion, on the North Korean Coast, to rescue two imprisoned...
Story
Certificate 12

Mayhem at Murder Creek

By jxmartin on Fri, 23 Feb 2024

Mayhem at Murder Creek In the Village of Akron Falls, in Western New York State, a small stream named "Murder Creek" runs through an idyllic glen in...
Talecatching
Story
Certificate U
1 likes

Treachery at Wuhan. Ch. # 10 Freeing the Lads

By jxmartin on Tue, 26 Mar 2024

Chapter # 10 - Liberating the Lads Two nights later, another full Special Ops “A Team” would follow Captain Gengler, onto the beach at Wuhan. The...
Talecatching
Story
Certificate 15
Cherry

Managing Political Campaign

By jxmartin on Tue, 09 Apr 2024

Managing Political Campaigns Over dinner one evening, a friend asked me what all of this “campaign stuff” was all about. They had apparently been...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

Pastries with Pattie

By jxmartin on Wed, 10 Apr 2024

Pastries with Pattie For the last dozen years or more, we have made it our custom to stop by the Panera Bread Company, in the Coconut Mall Complex in...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Twice Told Tales

By jxmartin on Thu, 11 Apr 2024

Sorry, did I already tell you that story? In a community like ours at Spring Run, where most of us are “well over 39,” many of us tell stories over...
Humour
Non-fiction
Certificate U

Mulligan Posting- GOLF

By jxmartin on Sun, 14 Apr 2024

Who Says Golf Is Just a Game? The three-story Grecian facade of the “clubhouse” sits amidst manicured, emerald lawns and colorful floral shrubbery...
Talecatching
Other
Certificate U

Thanks y'all at ABC Tales

By jxmartin on Mon, 22 Apr 2024

Day after day, thousands of writers struggle on, trying to improve their craft. Usually they get zero feed back and have to do their best to make...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
3 likes

A Little bit of Happy

By jxmartin on Thu, 25 Apr 2024

A Little Bit of Happy. At a neighbor’s urging, we sought out a rather unique eatery in Estero. Florida. F…K your Diet (Foster Kids) It is a simple...
Spiritual
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes

The Neighborhood

By jxmartin on Fri, 26 Apr 2024

The Neighborhood Living in the beehive like density of our urban neighborhoods in South Buffalo, New York, we had the custom of literally calling on...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
1 likes
Cherry

A Walk With The Wild Ones

By jxmartin on Sun, 28 Apr 2024

Just a short distance to the east of Estero, on Corkscrew Road, you can find a world of adventure in a natural setting. The Corkscrew Nature Preserve...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U

A Test of patience on a windy day.

By jxmartin on Wed, 01 May 2024

A test of patience on a windy day It was a lovely, late April day in Southwest Florida. We had been to the gym and the library earlier in the morning...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

Perceptions

By jxmartin on Wed, 08 May 2024

ILLUSIONS AND PERSUASIONS Sometimes, in Government and Politics, logic and the compelling cogency of righteousness, are not enough to win an argument...
Rant
Non-fiction
Certificate 12
Cherry

A Kodak Moment

By jxmartin on Sat, 11 May 2024

History as a Kodak Moment I was leafing through a volume of historical photos, published by the Buffalo News. They were snapshots of Buffalo, N.Y...
Talecatching
Non-fiction
Certificate U
Cherry

A Trip through Old Florida

By jxmartin on Tue, 14 May 2024

Babcock Ranch Excursion We set out from Estero at 10:30 A.M. and followed Rte. # 75 north. We exited onto Bayshore Rd., following it east to Rte. #31...
Travel
Non-fiction
Certificate U