(I will continue this story in a series of short blurbs. )
It’s a story best told around the campfire under a star-filled sky accompanied by the distant sound of whip-poor-wills; a tale best told about “the boy with the bent neck and a dog whose tail wouldn’t wag.” Some of the details may have changed, but the meaning remains the same.
There was a middle-aged man who, when viewed according to upper-class standards, lived a successful life. Still, relentless pain dwelled beneath his skin and bones. The pain drove him to roam the countryside in search of happiness. He came upon a woman who he found unfamiliar but alluring. There was a quietness about her. Upon questioning, she told him that true happiness could be found at a Buddhist monastery located in a remote part of Colorado. The monastery was occupied by a group of monks led by Father Ramero, a man wise beyond his years. As an inititial test, anyone seeking Father Ramero’s help had to make the twenty-five mile trip on foot over rugged terrain leading to the monastery on the mountaintop.
Larry L Franklin holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University. He performed in the U.S. Navy Band located in Washington, D.C. from 1967 to 1971. From 1972 to 1975, he taught music at Southern Illinois University. In 1976, he completed requirements for a certified financial planner designation and maintained a successful investment business until 2007 when he retired to devote his energies to writing. In 2003, he received an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland.
Franklin is the author of “Mnemosyne: A Love Affair with Memory,” published by Xlibris; “The Rita Nitz Story: A Life without Parole,” published by Southern Illinois University Press; “Cherry Blossoms & Barron Plains: A woman’s journey from mental illness to a prison cell,” published by Chipmunka Publishing Company; and “Supermax Prison: Controlling the most dangerous criminals,” published by History Publishing Company. He currently resides in southern Illinois with his wife, Paula.
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