Snapshots in Time: The Mountain Maidu Poet - Softcover

Stephens, Kenneth R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1456732307 ISBN 13: 9781456732301

Verlag: AuthorHouse, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

A verbal and written history of the life of an American Indian; written to his birth mother and his grandchildren.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

An adopted native American Indian uses poetry to record life events, his nonexistent relationship to his birth mother, his respect for his adopted parents, and moments in time, all in attempt to communicate to his grandchildren his respect for life.

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Snapshots in Time

The Poetry of Kenneth R. StephensBy Kenneth R. Stephens

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Kenneth R. Stephens
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-3230-1

Chapter One

    RACHEL, to my mother


    A mother's love is stronger than iron.
    A mother's love is worth more than fine gold.

    The sacrifices of a mother can never be
    repaid unless one sacrifices himself the same way.

    A mother's love is the highest honor
    one can receive.
    No other honor is worthy to compare,
    no other honor can one conceive.

    A mother is a gift from God, you see,
    a precious gift to unlock,
    and love is the key!
      —Kenneth R. Stephens


    IN MEMORY OF
    RACHEL M. STEPHENS PEARCY

    DATE OF BIRTH DATE OF DEATH
    January 3,
    1928 July 3,
    2008
    Stuart, Oklahoma McAlester, Oklahoma

    SERVICES FROM
    Bishop Chapel of Memories
    2:00 p.m. Monday July 7,
    2008

    MUSIC
    "Beulah Land" "Stand On Holy Ground"
    Jennifer Nolan Tammy Durbin
    "City Limits"
    Orval & Martha Dunn

    PALLBEARERS
    Jennifer Stephens Mendez Al Hayes Jimmy Wright Jerry Wayne Lands
    Ernie Halliburton, Jr. Jody Halliburton

    CLERGY OFFICIATING
    Rev. A.L. Mullins
    Rev. J.B. Tanner

    FINAL RESTING PLACE
    Pryor Cemetery
    Stuart, Oklahoma

    CONDUCTED BY
    Bishop Funeral Service


         Roy's Poem
        Dedicated to my father

    A father's love is stronger than steel.
    A father's love is worth more than silver or gold.
    A father's love is something a child can feel.
    A father's love is something a child can hold.
    A son cannot repay his father's love.
    A son cannot repay it enough,
    because a father is a gift from God above.
    Only a son can receive this gift
    and pass it on with love.

    ©Kenneth R. Stephens, 1993


      The Young Cowboy from Oklahoma
       Dedicated to Roy L. Stephens

    There was a young cowboy from Oklahoma,
    a poor and humble man, yet rich and great.

    His feats of courage have gone unsung,
    a hero to none, except for one.

    Great feats were done by the young one;
      forest fires stopped,
      raging floods contained,
    timber into lumber he did transform
    and much courage he did obtain.

    His feats of courage have gone unsung,
    a hero to none, except for one.

    When a baby needed a father, he stepped forward.
    A young cowboy from Oklahoma stepped up to the task,
    to raise a child, and what more could one ask?

      His feats of courage have gone unsung,
      a hero to none, except for one.

    So when the young cowboy was old
    and his task was done,
    God called him home and home he did come!

      His feats of courage have gone unsung,
      a hero to none, except to his son.


    Koppers Company Crew
    Oroville, California

    Timber into lumber and telephone poles
    this crew transformed on a regular day.

    Logging trucks they unloaded as they drove in from the mountains.
    Mill operators turned logs into telephone poles and railroad crossties,
    poles and crossties loaded onto train cars for final destination—
    a regular day's work for this crew.

    During spring rains, the Feather River would flood.
    The crew went to sandbag duty, fighting the flood.
    Sandbag duty and heavy equipment cable rescues were the norm.

    In summertime, the mountains would be ablaze with forest fires,
    the crew called to duty again fighting fire alongside the professionals.
    All of this was the job of this crew.

    I have had this photograph of the crew for years.
    One day an acquaintance viewed the photograph.
    "A bunch of ignorant sodbusters!" he commented.
    "It may look that way,' I replied.
    "But I know what they did and they are all heroes in my book," said I.

Ode to a Mexican Flood Crew Lost

In 1955, during the Feather River spring floods a Mexican sandbag crew in Yuba City, California, was washed away when the levee broke.

The same day my father's flood crew received the news.

"Did you hear the report?" one man said. "Fifty-five Mexicans washed away in Yuba City!"

"That is a shame," my father replied.

"Just a bunch of Mexicans," the man said.

"Could of been us," my father replied. "What about their families, how do you think, they feel?" my father asked.

"I don't know." the man said.

"People are people," my father replied.

        The Poem

    They did their job to the end.
    but who cares about their loss?
    You ask, "Why do you defend?"
    Because their families know the cost.

The Crown Fire

The "Crown Fire" was a 1950s forest firefighter's term.

It described a fast moving treetop to treetop fire that had the speed, force, and sound of a tornado. Fire crews could be overrun by the fire in seconds.

The old crews had a...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: AuthorHouse
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1456732307
• ISBN 13: 9781456732301
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 72
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland