Tag: love of family

The Road Less Traveled

Our Real Heros

January 30, 2016

Here in the U.S., we’re big on our sports and this time of year, it’s football. Next week, it all cumulates with the final contest of the year, ‘The Superbowl’. Throughout the season, teams have been fighting for the right to play in it. Last week, the final two contenders earned their bid to play in it. One will come out on top.

This week, however, is a lull between the playoff games ending last week to the final game next week. So, to fill the slot, the NFL schedules a no nothing game. An exhibition game that to them has one purpose. To make money for the league.

To the fans, though, it is a final opportunity to watch their heroes play one more time before the season ends. One more time? There’s still a game next week. The best of the best will be playing in it. Yes, that is true but this game, called ‘The ProBowl’, is a last chance for the fans to watch their heroes who play on teams who were not good enough to advance to the championship game. They all lost. One way or another, they all failed. None-the-less, these players are heroes to their fans.

Super HeroPeople all around the world have their heroes, be it those who play in various sports leagues, tournaments or what have you. There are the superheroes such as Superman, Batman or Spiderman. They are fictional of course but fans around the world tend to ignore that fact.

Bigger heroes to me are those who, regardless of what country you live in, defend us from aggressors wishing to impose their ideals upon another or take from us what is rightfully ours. Bigger heroes are those that would stand in front to protect their loved ones and ‘take the bullet’ for them. You don’t have to be an officer of the law, you just have to be who you are.

But do you know who the biggest hero to me is?

Single MotherIt’s the single mother who cares for her children alone but without complaint. It the head of household who works two or three jobs to makes ends meet for the benefit of his or her’s family. It’s the child who will offer their ice cream to another child who has none. It’s the everyday guy who trudges through life, scratching out a meal when he can, determined to never give up, never to surrender. It’s the grandparent, aunt or uncle, the cousin who gives you the day off and babysits your children so that you can rest. It’s the person who makes you happy.

To me, these are the real heroes in our lives. It’s the everyday person you walk by every day, not knowing the gifts they have freely given, without need or want of compensation. They are the unsung heroes of our culture. I think these are the heroes we need to celebrate, to cheer for and praise across social media, the airwaves, or to the friendly neighborhood storekeeper.

BulletI have many of those kinds of heroes in my life. Fortunately, none of them have had to stand in front of me to take a bullet. I would hope that should the day ever come to pass, I would be the one to stand in front of them. I would be devastated if one of my heroes took the bullet for me.

This is my opinion of course. What’s yours? Do you share my thinking or do you think otherwise. I’d like to know. Write me and share your thoughts. I’d love to read them.

This is Richard Verry, reporting to you live from Rochester, NY.

p.s. Is winter going to be over soon? Pennsatawky Phil, what do you say?

fire isolated over back background

How did you come up with the title ‘The Taste of Honey’?

December 7, 2015

The Taste of HoneyHow did you come up with the title? Did the title come first or did the story?

For months, I had a concept of what I wanted to write. I had developed the idea of a future history of the human race dependent upon consuming themselves to survive. Originally, I had thought at it would be the result of a devastating war that put the species on the brink of extinction. It wasn’t until later, that I came up with the GMO angle running wild, systematically wiping out all protein based biologically life on the planet.

Yet that didn’t help me decide on a specific story line. I wanted a story in which I would highlight a main character who would by the end, decide to be live roasted and her meat consumed by her family and close friends. I wanted the live roasting to be the character’s choice and not forced upon the character. Further, I wanted the other main characters to feel comfortable with consuming the meat of one who had been one of their own. I struggled over months to find a way to carry out that goal.

In that time, I wrote draft after draft but none of them spoke to me. Then one day, while sitting on my deck, enjoying roasting under the summer afternoon sun, the phrase ‘The Taste of Honey’ hit me. It was a eureka moment. As I reflected upon the phrase, I decided immediately that it would be the title of the story.

Blonde with open back tshirt facing wallNow, at that time, I wasn’t even thinking about publishing the story. I just wanted to write it. Now that I had a title, the rest of the story came together in a flash. Within minutes, I was furiously writing notes, capturing thoughts and ideas before they flashed out of existence. For me, it was a race to document the ideas, never mind whether I would use them all.


A couple of hours later, I had a clear concept of what I wanted to write and I began writing anew. Honey was not only to be the subject of the title but she would be a main character in the story.

It was a journey of self discovery, of retrospection and of desire. Desire in the sense of curiosity of seeing the story come to its conclusion. I knew what I wanted to write but I wanted to see it written on paper. The story took on a life of its own and before I knew it, it was no longer a short story but a full length novel.