The Storyteller

I descend from a long line of shanty Irish, each of us capable of crying over a good steak. There are events, people and places in my life, the memory of which causes me to well up, often to the bafflement of those around me. Tuesday's get together with ADG, formerly of Maxminus will forever be one of those occasions.

I did not, even a second, consider or attempt to talk him into returning to the fray. He stopped for the same reasons you will. When I retired he hounded me back, and I won't return the favor. Nor will I stop, for fear of his promise to hound me back again. He does know of, misses, appreciates, and returns the love and depth of feeling of his many readers.

Should you be interested, you can peek here to see what he is up to on Tumblr.

So what did we talk about? Family, kids, holes in our library shelves, mine you will notice were filled in by the pile of books in my arms.

Then he bowled me over with a feather. "You need this", he said and handed over a small box.

Wm Hocker is an architect turned tin model soldier maker. This is one set of a very limited edition called The Storyteller which includes Mark Twain and some of his creations.

Tom and Huck

The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

The Man in White

I have tears in my eyes writing this. Meeting the likes of ADG is why I show up here most days. It was one of the highlights of my life.

Toad

the white suit is from Perlis, in NOLA. The tie is Ellie Stager's