Parris Afton Bonds | Never Forget

STILL, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, TEARS ~ One morning this week, I stood in the shadows of downtown Dallas Renaissance Tower as Taps was played, as well as the Pipes and Drums. My arms were goose bumped, shivers ran through me, and I gulped and back-handed a tear.  Looking at the assembled 343 firemen and 70 policemen (representing the First Responders who died on 9/11), I  was appalled at the enormous loss of life that infamous day.

Today, the 413 First Responders vowed NEVER TO FORGET, vowed to climb because THEY climbed.  In order to be among those who climbed, each participant paid a fee that goes towards the families of those First Responders who died.

Son #4, Jason, and 342 other firemen and 70 policemen climbed the Renaissance Tower in Dallas TWICE (55 floors) to equal the 110 stories of New York?s World Trade Center. The firemen carried 58 pounds in full gear (as Captain of The Colony Fire Department, Jason also carried the company hose on his shoulder, which was afterwards autographed).  Today's First Responders came from all over the nation (and from as far away as Australia, I understand).  It took Jason twenty-one minutes to climb the first time. His chief waited to greet him and the others at the top.  I and one of my grandsons waited to greet him at the bottom, along with the crowd who had gathered to watch.

Cheers and clapping greeted each participant as he exited the building ~ and each participant carried around his neck the photo and name of one of the First Responders who gave his life on 9/11. Jason carried that of Kevin Prior of New York?s 252 Squad.  I thought of Kevin?s mom, his wife and children, and how his death left a hole in their hearts that can never be filled.  Today I am so grateful for those heroes and so proud of our country and its amazing citizens.  And, still, after all these years, I tear-up when our anthem is played . . . and I am proud to be an American.

The Maidenhead

"The Virginia Company of London seeks one hundred willing maids for marriage to bachelor planters of James Cittie Colony. Maids must be young, handsome, and honestly educated."

Having read this promising broadside, Modesty Brown flees from arrest in London for the safety of married bliss in the New World. At 26, she might not be young, nor handsome, and most certainly not honest. But educated, she is. Upon her arrival in Jamestown, the saucy wench is accused of witchcraft by a ruthless nobleman – and it’s either burn at the stake or wed a savage.

In buckskins and a breechclout, Mad Dog Jones is certainly the savage – and he abhors the thought of a wife or family – or anything else that would remind him of his tortured past. In the virgin forests of the newly found colony, Mad Dog regards the tainted pub wench Modesty as the savage. Yet their savage passions for one another cannot be denied by night. And by day each is determined to be rid of the other . . . even if it means for Mad Dog gambling off the indentured contract of his wife, Modesty; even if it means for Modesty killing off her master, Mad Dog.