Memories accumulate consistently with the passing of time.
They, being our greatest treasure are stored in a vault hidden somewhere within the vast chasm of self. Here our past life dwells and here love and laughter take precedent to everything else. Then at our leisure, on special occasions, or whenever there is a need, we draw upon that warehouse of what was, and replenish warmth and goodness once more.
Wherever we may travel, however far we may go, this house of treasure lies quietly, awaiting our call. Its inventory constantly increasing as it blends the old with the new. It’s there for us to build on, to encourage our growth, and to remind us who we are. You see, the greatest joy of memories is the knowledge that come tomorrow we will be adding more.
Quotes from OH Brother:The unexpected in life is conspicuously obvious, often it’s even consider the norm, and this dirty, untidy, disorderly part of living is what validates the fact “life is messy!”
Let not memory hold dear the quantity of your accomplishments; instead let their worth be measured by the manner in which you achieved them.
Don’t be trapped by the dogma of living life within the expectations of other people’s thinking and don’t let the noise of their opinions drown out your inner voice!
author: Paul Ciccone, Jr. Copyrite © 2007
Review of OH Brother: Ciccone is an authentic New England voice, and he’s current and critical. In chapters like “Nature’s Way” he queries our common future and shared responsibilities. His writing intermixes poetry, philosophy, the honoring of nature, and spiritual intelligence. He does not limit the work in term of genre—for here is memoir, poetry, essays, and a coming of age story; there are stories within stories, framed through the lens of one man’s reflection on his life so far.
As you might savor the lines of Frost or Thoreau, you can return to “Oh Brother” and find something valuable. I gain something each time I pick it up, be it a nugget of wisdom or some wit and charm to bring a smile to my face.
“Oh Brother” can be appreciated by anyone who has a deep respect for the past. This is at once a reflective and nostalgic work with a heartfelt concern for future generations. Fundamentally moving is Ciccone’s emphasis on “inner voice.” For this book is a humble and multifaceted tribute to his own life and to those of his loved ones, as well as a reminder of everyone’s ability to find their own “inner voice.” The book demonstrates his epigraph “words are mirrors to our thoughts” and illuminates Oliver Wendell Holmes’s claim: “What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.”
R.L. Bourton
Comment by RL Bourton — June 9, 2008 @ 1:39 pm |
OH Brother is a most unusual piece of prose. Mr Ciccone’s poetic style is certainly different, exciting the reader into a state of personal recall and elevated thinking that’s both pleasurable and controversial .
The author does not preach any particular religion, doctrine, or guru. His only apparent motive is to show us that the way to self contentment lies within us.
Roberta
Comment by R Goetz — June 9, 2008 @ 1:44 pm |
The very first chapter “Believe It of Not” of OH Brother says it all – this POD author has an unusual and very distinctive style of writing that should make some of today’s more popular big name publishers stand up and take notice. There is no question in my mind that he ‘has a way with words’.
Comment by Jacobin — June 9, 2008 @ 1:47 pm |
The power if words has awed me since I first learned to read and I too have been dabbling in them ever since.
They are, without doubt… “The mirror” to our thoughts, reflecting not the image of life experiences, but the knowledge accumulated because of them.
Words assuredly DO birth a thousand thoughts,; but nlike colors on canvass that fad in time, or music that looses meaning when felled upon death ears; words…like eternity, go on and on…metamorphosed to fit every occasion.
Comment by Tj Thomas — July 15, 2008 @ 9:21 pm |