A Message to Young Readers & Rockers

To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure what year I ended up graduating from the illustrious "Home of the Blue Devils", Northampton High School. I do remember being in a humanities class during my Junior Year and--in front of all my classmates-- being told by the instructor for the billionth time that I was "a completely worthless individual and that I was wasting the classes' time, his time, your time, my time, etc". He then went on to tell me that "I should consider a serious change in my lifestyle".

I considered my alternatives for about 5 seconds, perhaps even less, as I felt the eyes of thirty classmates burning through me, waiting for my typical wise-guy response. I slowly got up from my chair, dropped my schoolbooks at the teachers feet and walked out the front door of N.H.S. Yes Sir, I quit school at age 15. After all, I knew that I was gonna be a rock star and school was a disappointing DRAG! I sure showed him, didn't I? He'd be sorry............ Yeah, right.

I marched through that front door, got myself a one-room apartment, a high-paying job, and flew straight up the corporate ladder to the coveted position of "Chief gas-pumper" at Fran's Gas Station which was conveniently located at the bottom of High School hill. Once there I began an interesting series of exciting daily events; these included but were not limited to: washing windshields, checking oil levels, adding air to questionable tires, and my all-time favorite, killing flies on the plate glass window with a can of WD-40, that little red straw/extension thingy and a BIC lighter. Yes sir, now that was the way to live. Life on my own!

I soon discovered the true meaning of the word "misery" however. Watching my life-long classmates and friends walk through the front door of NHS as I added a quart of 10W-40 to a 65 Chevy wasn't exactly the way I wanted life to be. I stuck my tail between my legs and went back to school the next year, but it wasn't the way it should have been. My mates were all gone and I was left behind--going to class with a bunch of little kids. At the time I didn't consider it THAT important----but it was. Your classmates are, indeed, the folks who mold you and influence many of the ways that you think and feel. They're your partners in all areas of early exploration. It's too bad that it takes some of us such a long time to figure that out. Life marches on---some get it, some don't. I let some FABULOUS people walk out of my life 30-something years ago.

Did I make it big as a top-selling Rock Star with 8 busses and a crew of roadies and devoted groupies?? Well, not exactly. I've since made a career out of being a penniless hobo and traveling across the continent aboard freight trains. When times get tough I often sing, play a bit of harmonica and do a little soft-shoe for my supper---which is exactly what I'm doing in the picture shown here. My humanities teacher was right, I WAS a loser and I wasted some of the best years of my life. I could, probably, have something to do with you wasting yours as well..............if I didn't come clean and try to steer you in the right direction. :-)

The part where I sound like your Father: Should you be a student who's contemplating quitting school to enjoy REAL freedom and life in the fast lane........call me, collect, ...........we need to talk.

OK, so you've heard about a possible down-side to life............but then, as always, there's a good side as well..... and James Taylor has some of the best tunes in the world when it comes to changing our lives and making them MUCH more enjoyable. When I've got a case of the blues I often put this tune on and it seems to weave its magic with every visit.

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Any fool can do it
There ain't nothing to it
Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill
But since we're on our way down
We might as well enjoy the ride

The secret of love is in opening up your heart
It's okay to feel afraid, but don't let that stand in your way
'Cause anyone knows that love is the only road
And since we're only here for a while
Might as well show some style
Give us a smile

Isn't it a lovely ride
Sliding down, Gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It's just a lovely ride

Now the thing about time is that time isn't really real
It's just your point of view
How does it feel for you
Einstein said he could never understand it all
Planets spinning through space
The smile upon your face
Welcome to the human race

Some kind of lovely ride
I'll be sliding down
I'll be gliding down
Try not to try too hard......It's just a lovely ride

Isn't it a lovely ride
Sliding down
Gliding down
Try not to try too hard, It's just a lovely ride

Now the secret of life......... is enjoying the passage of time

"I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift
us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

Makes you stop and think, doesn't it? Now, I know what you're thinking, Rich is some kind of a "Holy-Roller" and I need to hit delete as fast as I possibly can. :^>)...Nope not me. A Rock & Roller?? Yes.......a Holy Roller?? No. I'm not here to sell you on anything....just happy that you could make it here.

The first time I saw the picture above the tears just flowed down my face. While it will forever remind us all of that "Day in September", I also saw it as a reflection of a very painful and personal tragedy that I was going through at the time. I discovered something life-changing as a result of that tragedy however;...... no matter how big the crisis in your life might seem at the time, you have friends to help you through it.

There are days when you wish that you'd simply roll over and disappear because life hardly seems worth living. You're not alone, many of us have been there........and the place is hell on Earth. However, that's when you need to open your heart the most. You'll get through it and you'll be a better person for what you'll learn on your journey.

You'll also discover that you have friends out there. Some of the "friends" you may know well, some you might not even be aware of right now, but they'll manage to find you. They sometimes seem to appear out of nowhere. They'll place a hand on your shoulder and gently remind you--as they have me--that no matter how bleak life can get, we each have our own sense of place in the world, and the ability to share that special place with someone who will hold it close to their own heart, guard it with love and care......and treasure it as dearly as we do ourselves. Don't EVER give up, my friend.

"Through the Fields of Gold" © SuperStock, Inc.

Fields of Gold

Sting

You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in fields of gold
So she took her love for to gaze awhile
Upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
Among the fields of gold

Will you stay with me, will you be my love
Among the fields of barley?
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we lie in fields of gold
See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold

I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left
We'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold

Many years have passed since those summer days
Among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
Among the fields of gold
You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky

When we walked in fields of gold...
When we walked in fields of gold...
When we walked in fields of gold...

Life--The Other Side

It's a bit strange ya' know...........the way that a Rock and Roll band can shape your life, but these guys changed mine. Everything that I've done throughout my entire life has been altered in some way by Rock & Roll music, much of it by the Beatles.

I think back to songs like: If I fell, Help, And I love her, If I Needed Someone........and the list goes on and on. I can still see the places that I was when I heard these tunes, the people that I was with and remember the impact that music had on my life. I find myself turning back to their music even more now.......forty-something years later........and it gets me through one day, and then another.

There are places I’ll remember
All my life--though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain

All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new

Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them

In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more

Photo Copyright © Paul Miller

One thing I really enjoy about animals is their honesty, their purity. Animals DO what they were placed on the Earth to do; some are predators and some are prey.....and they each know the category into which God has placed them. Unfortunately I live in what I hope is the last stronghold of stupidity. I know that the "sport" of hunting is dieing everywhere else in this country but here, if you don't drive a pick-up truck with a gun rack in it, "you're either a commie or a fag"....not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. Bit by bit we're winning the battle with these bubba's, but it is, indeed, frustrating at times.

Life here at Oakley Corners is a never ending series of changes. The parts that I seem to enjoy the most are often related to WildLife. Animals of all shapes and sizes are continuously knocking at my door.

Canada Geese have become regular guests here in the yard. Some folks find them "dirty". I find them to be kind and very protective of their mates and offspring. They DO know the meaning of "Til Death do us Part". Several years ago I nursed a sick female back on her feet. The male stood by through much of the process, hissed at me each time I brought her food and yet he instinctively knew that I was there to help. They now continue to "shop" for corn here in the yard and bring their goslings through the woods from the pond and up the hill to the yard each spring.

Say hello to my departed companion, Edgar.

As Edgar got older he began to take on some rather odd characteristics. As you can see here, he began carrying out the duties of a beaver and this tree WILL soon fall. After spending about 15 years together, Edgar passed away...........and will be missed very much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Winter brings with it a beauty that city-dwellers seldom see. I must admit that with each passing year, however, I wish that snow would stay on the ground at, say, 70 degrees.

Christmas in the Country

I took this shot of my house during a snowstorm and it remains VERY close to my heart. It represents ALL that is comforting about the Holidays for me; the shadows, the light, the freshly-fallen snow on the wreaths and the tenderness of the night.

THIS gives me a sense of place, a reason to live........ and reminds me how lucky I am to be able to share this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Since you only get one very-short opportunity here on Earth to enjoy it and the company of good friends---try not to blow it.

After all, there's much more to life than simply making money".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Mother had a great phrase that she'd use whenever
I started "freakin' out" under the pressures of everyday life:

"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Rich----and don't forget, it's ALL Small Stuff".

Years later, a book came out with that title and it became, and rightfully so I might add, a Best Seller. Should you not already have it, get it. It's an interesting collection of short chapters on how we live our lives. It also offers some pretty good views on what we might do to become more productive and successful while we actually spend less time worrying about how we're going to get there. The book's written by a very talented individual, Dr. Richard Carlson.

During a particularly wacky period of time I discovered this book and it's done quite a bit for me. I saw myself being described in many chapters and came to a number of conclusions almost immediately; the things that I truly believed were the MOST important to my "success" were, in fact, the LEAST important.

Hard Work is truly important indeed, don't get me wrong, but hey, no matter how many hours a day you put into your "job or career", your "in-basket" will never be empty. Do me a favor, would you? Take a break this very evening and go sit quietly on a hill and watch the sun set. No beepers, pagers, cell phones, fax machines or computers allowed. Enjoy it---just sitting there and traveling aimlessly with your thoughts. See how you feel after the experience. Now, do it again next week. And then bring someone along to enjoy it with you---your wife or your kids perhaps---but do it without saying a word to one another. Who knows, you just might like it.

Back, Back, Back in Time!!

I had several heroes back in the 50's, guys that I thought were absolutely tops. These Super Heroes included the usual kid collection--Davy Crockett, Wyatt Earp, Roy Rogers and my own personal favorite--Sgt. Joe Friday from Dragnet. I think that every kid should have heroes. But, if I had it all to do over again-----Elmer Fudd would have been my guy. He was well aware of his "limitations" but always got what he wanted.

The photo shown below represents a time when I was cute and cuddly. I've since become kind of crotchety and I often hear my own family members refer to me as an "Old Goat".

I especially like the very dapper "young executive look" and the shifty smile in this picture. I still own the tie and the matching vest and I sometimes try to convince friends to play dress-up with me so that I can put them on. So far, I've been unsuccessful in this quest as they tell me that I'm strange and instruct me to leave them alone before they call the cops.

Sadly, from this point on it was pretty much downhill for little Richie Briere. It's rumored that about a year after this photo was taken I was kidnapped from my home by a troupe of traveling Gypsies and forced to wear long pants adorned with brightly colored ribbons and bells. I'd have to dance and sing in a saloon in Salt Lake City while the members of the Bohemian clan picked the pockets of those in attendance. I knew from the beginning that a gypsy's life was not for me however. I was later abandoned by the troupe and raised by a wolf pack in Northern New England.

Hey, I'm just a Kid!

I really enjoyed being a kid--- most of the time. My Grandmother, Elizabeth (Betty) Finn, remains a personal all-time favorite of mine in spite of the fact that it was she who "introduced" me to Brylcreem, (you remember "a little dab'll do ya"), at approximately the age of nine. I resisted, she persisted, and, after all, I was just a little kid! I blame the Brylcreem experience for any mental inadequacies or strange personality traits that I may still carry with me today. I'm sure that the two quarts of the greasy kid's stuff that were smeared all over my noggin' on Sunday Mornings had something to do with my hair falling out in clumps at such an early age as well.

It's Partyyyyyy Night!

I used to spend the occasional weekend staying with my Grandparents at their home on Conz Street in Northampton and I loved it. Not only were Fred and Betty pretty cool people but they were part of the "famous" Finn Family who started the E&J Cigar Company. Don't let the name fool you---they were a big-time Candy Distributor too!! On Friday afternoons my Grandfather and I would stroll over to the warehouse and pick out the snacks for "Party Night". I could suck down three bottles of Coke, a couple of bowls of Gram's world-class popcorn, at least two boxes of Chocolate Babies and 258 Orange Slices--all at a single sitting!!

How did I pull this amazing culinary feat off, you might ask? It was easy. I just waited for the two of them to fall asleep in front of the TV. They'd turn on Lawrence Welk and even before the Lennon Sisters came on, their heads would begin to bob, their eyes would slowly close and they'd be drifting away to sleepy-land. Party-Time!

I'd jump up off the couch, change the channel on the TV, fiddle a bit with the nifty roof-mounted antenna rotor until I found a show which was more to my liking, pig out like a maniac and my Grandparents wouldn't even wake up until a couple of hours later. They were none the wiser--each thinking that the other had helped me demolish the delicious goodies --and we now got ready for bed. Zowie! I loved 'em.

I believe that this is the only item that I've ever actually WON!
I liked it and as I recall it was one of my favorite toys.

Say Hello to my first girlfriend, Jane O'Connor. She will always be one of the most beautiful women that I've ever known. Please note, as well, the torn out knees on my jeans. It appears that I was HIP long before it became fashionable to be seen wearing these as a "statement". I just noticed that I'm also wearing KEDS sneakers.

As I recall these could be had for about $6, had no flashing lights or bells and buzzers on them, and carried me up mountains and through valleys. They drowned in the Mill River a few times too.

So, you'll love this one: As all teenage boys know, things WITH motors are cool, things WITHOUT motors are NOT cool. Right? OK, my Dad goes out and spends his hard-earned $$$ on a NEW 16' Penn Yan runabout. We then immediately take off on a family vacation to the St. Lawrence Seaway to enjoy the spiffy new boat. Wow! We were going to have fun!! I say "going to have fun" because my Dad, nice fellow that he is, let me take the boat out while I "cruised for chicks"!!!

Two hours after our arrival, I smashed into a rock that was about a foot below the surface and tore the entire motor apart. Have you ever seen a more depressed bone-head in your life? Here I am with the wounded Penn Yan as we're both TOWED back to port.

Cathy Davis: We were as close as two people could be. Then, as happens to so many couples, we split up. I looked for her for 35 years to no avail. Something inside me just needed to be certain that she was OK. I ended up finding her when she signed into my guest book on this site. I nearly fell out of my chair.