The Fireside Post The Fireside Post The Fireside Post Stoking the Flames of Cultural Conversation
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Feature Article #1

From Abduction to Glorious Survival

(Written originally) July 25, 2017 From my Father’s ancestral line I have 5 times, Great Grandfather John Cooke II born June 28, 1752. He, along with Eleanor “Nellie” Goodall (his future wife) born April 6, 1756, were kidnapped from London as young teens, with a promise of a fun day aboard a ship sailing down […]

| July 25th, 2024 | Continued

Feature Article #2

Taylor Swift is “New Money”

The headlines state that Taylor Swift gave $100,000 to the family of a shooting victim at the KC Chiefs Super Bowl Parade. The media reports she is worth around one billion dollars. The media (Forbes) also reports the Hunt family, owners of the Chiefs, are worth around twenty-five (25) billion dollars. There is no report […]

| February 19th, 2024 | Continued

Feature Article #3

When I Was Just a Little Girl

Originally WrittenFebruary 17, 2015 When I was just a little girl I asked my mother, what will I be Will I be pretty, will I be rich Here’s what she said to me…. Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be The future’s not ours, to see Que Sera, Sera What will be, will be […]

| February 17th, 2024 | Continued

Feature Article #4

Pondering the Impact of Individuals on History

There are two broad categories of historical interpretation. Generally they are narrative history and chaos theory. Narrative history comes into focus with biography. Often a biography of a historical character, usually a leader during times of strife, will suggest that that person was responsible for navigating through the crisis. Chaos theory says that the conditions […]

| January 20th, 2024 | Continued

Feature Article #5

There’s Moving and Then There is MOVING

There’s Moving and Then There’s ‘MOVING’ Started; June 22,2021, Finished; December 9, 2023 A friend recently told me that statistically most people move about 10 or 11 times in their lifetime. Wow! Once I started to put the facts together, there was no doubt I had that beat by over a mile. I was born […]

| December 9th, 2023 | Continued

Feature Article #6

The Fireside Continues for another 3 years

Well, Executive Administrative CEO type decisions have overruled the Operations Manager. The firesidepost has been funded for another three years. Life goes on. It is great, we started this adventure in 2007 – we might make it to 20 years.

| October 6th, 2023 | Continued

Feature Article #7

Shutting Down thefiresidepost.com

The hosting service for this site has become too expensive. Also, bluehost, the host of this site has double billed us – they billed my son and they are billing me. They like to automatically charge your credit card. They did send me a notice saying they were charging me at the end of October […]

| September 22nd, 2023 | Continued

Feature Article #8

Is This The Way To Expose Your Light or Darkness

A week or so ago… A friend on Facebook posted about the Biden student loan forgiveness, currently in many discussions throughout MSM and Social Media. Following is a transcript of that post, no names will be disclosed. This is not about an individual. It’s about a pervasive attitude amongst too many, one that is destroying […]

| September 4th, 2022 | Continued

Feature Article #9

Humanity

If Humanity In Our Current Millennial World Is Subject to Wantonness If Wantonness Determines Life or Death We Must Adjust The Dictionary ‘Humane’ Would Become Obsolete We Must Apply ‘Human’ To Other Entities Such As Dog Or Cat, House Or Car If Humanity In Our Current Millennial World Is Subject to Wantonness If Wantonness Determines […]

| June 25th, 2022 | Continued

Feature Article #10

A Sketch or Memorandom of Old Mr Thomas Capps

Just a small microcosm of my paternal family history. Only wish it was also audio.

| April 15th, 2022 | Continued

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About this Magazine

This magazine started as a conversation between a father and a son.  You will encounter some of that conversation as you look through the archives, but mostly you will find discourse about a great many subjects  that embracea  great many views about the world.  Take a look around, and see what happens when you dare […]

Other Recent Articles

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Slavery Was Not About Race!

From my Father’s line I have a 5th Great Grandfather John Cooke. He along with Nellie (his future wife) were kidnapped from London, as young teens. Both were promised a fun day aboard a ship sailing down and back again on the Thames River. They never saw London or their families ever again. They were […]

25Jul2021 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Free Ranging Kids

The Clark Station on Mitchell, this was ‘Our Gangs’ pit stop on the way home from playing at Devil’s Backbone. My cousins and I would spend the day playing dirt clod war at ‘Bird Heaven’ or playing at mountain climbing on the 12th street side or sliding down the grassy steep hill on cardboard or […]

10Jun2018 | | 2 comments | Continued
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COVID – Three Days In

Sunday night, January 16, I went to bed with a slight headache. I did not take any medicine for the headache. Fever and chills visited me through the night and Monday morning (MLK Holiday) I went to urgent care. By then my symptoms were headache, cough, runny nose, fever, chills, and some body aches. I […]

19Jan2022 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Psychology, Cognitive, Jung, Literature, Astrology – What’s It All About

My life has been invested in the search for sanity. That search took many paths. Currently my discussion with others on the same journey has included comparisons of the different yet divergent paths. I am a lay person – mostly. After I retired from a career in information systems I entered a counselor-in-training program at […]

11Oct2021 | | 0 comments | Continued
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I’LL BE THERE

DON’T KNOW WHERE THERE IS BUT I’LL BE THERE

14Aug2021 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Another Homeless Man Dies

James (not real name) and his younger brother Bud preferred drinking in the shade on a hot day.  Their friends Wayne and Keith and other homeless people sometimes joined them. The old police station at 710 S 9th still has the radio tower.  The base is about twenty feet by twenty feet and the tower […]

12Aug2021 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Struggling with Family Prejudice In The Time of Trump

I am old; a senior but not yet elderly. My adult life has been a quest for sanity. I have said that many times, but I am just now beginning to understand what sanity means. Sanity is an escape from family of origin dysfunction. Sanity is discovering and alleviating ignorance and prejudice – racism, homophobia, […]

26Jul2021 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Rescue Dogs and Christians

A friend said, “My favorite breed of dog is Rescue”. I have had a couple of rescue dogs; they are like Christians, you never know what you are going to get. Our first rescue dog was in 1971. We called her Pal. She was a pal, snuggling and warm and loving. She had black curly […]

11Jul2021 | | 0 comments | Continued
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When It Feels So Right, But Is So Wrong

We begin to understand the indignity of denial. When we continue abrasive, cruel prejudices in denial of the truth we diminish our humanity. It appears that some people enjoy their prejudice. It only appears so. Those people live in fear. They fear opening Pandora’s Box. They fear the evil that will surely befall them if they abandon their sacred values. The real indignity is in holding on to those values which are negative, hurtful, and unjustified.

6Sep2020 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Lost Family

I have an Aunt (I never met her) Grandpa Clark’s oldest daughter Mary Elizabeth Clark b. November 3, 1904 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. I haven’t found records that state when she began working for American Reduction Company in Pittsburgh, but I do know she worked there because her occupation and place of work are on […]

12Aug2020 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Chronic Maladies Get Brushed Off as Just Aging

I have a condition called peripheral neuropathy – in both legs and some in my right arm. I have to wear braces to walk. This condition ‘came on’ in my late sixties. I am not diabetic. I was an outpatient at St. Luke’s Neurology in KC all summer (2019). After extensive testing from everything from […]

16Feb2020 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Medical Care, Penny Wise – Dollar Foolish

The past two weeks saw me struggling with the local medical community. In short, I was misdiagnosed three times in a span of five days resulting in delayed treatment and extraordinary unnecessary costs. Welcome to the modern world of administering health care based on dollars rather than sense. On September 19, 2019, I noticed a […]

3Oct2019 | | 2 comments | Continued
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Born White

I have lived going on 71 years. Life has been tough with most accomplishments, good or bad, having been a hard row to hoe. I can say, I never thought I would see the day that so many things that people do or claim to be, is because ‘They were born that way’. I’ve always […]

3Aug2019 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Fifty Years Ago July 20, 1969

July 20 1969… I was not yet 21 years old, married, to my Husband David who was not yet 23, with a Son Thomas who was 9 months old. We lived in North St. Louis County, Normandy, MO in a rented house ($100 monthly rent) we shared with my Father in Law Thomas, 61 years […]

20Jul2019 | | 0 comments | Continued
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The American Ideal of Meritocracy

My father was a working man. He taught us through osmosis that loyalty to an employer was a good character trait. He also, as an unintended consequence of his success, taught us that work-over-time pays off. I have seen this in some of my friends too. Is this an example of meritocracy? The title of […]

18Mar2019 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Formal vs Self Education

Not many days ago… I was engaged in political debate with a person, who was quick to point out their higher learning and acquisition of a Bachelors and Masters, in something or other fields. I’m next to sure this was done to show their opinion was better formed and backed up because of same. I […]

27Jan2019 | | 3 comments | Continued
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Implication vs Assurance

I’m addicted to Facebook, no point in denying it! All my friends and family see me there everyday. Mostly I’m addicted to sharing my thoughts on anything and everything. Social media has given me an opportunity to not leave this world without showing out. I know you think I said that wrong and it should […]

9Jan2019 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Illegal Immigrants and How to Not To Do Anything About It

I am a hoarder of information, documents, letters, email, etc. Today I was forced to dig into the my archives for information someone wants, someone who had it, but didn’t take care of it. Any who I digress. While digging into the ramparts of my OLD emails, I found this little gem, from May of […]

28Jun2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Depression is

Kate Spade, now Anthony Bourdain….the numbers continue to rise. But the only time anyone talks about suicide is when a celebrity is struck down by THIS AWEFUL DISEASE CALLED DEPRESSION!!! They say we (society) need to TALK about IT. Yet, those who suffer from IT feel so ASHAMED they often keep IT to themselves. They […]

8Jun2018 | | 0 comments | Continued
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There you are Spot!!

Just saw this image of a beautiful pup on Facebook today and thought “There you are Spot!! and was immediately taken back to 58 years ago.  I was between 11 and twelve when Spot came into my life for a short little while. The sweetest and neatest little black and white dog, ever! My step […]

23May2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Trump’s Fox Rant

Trump is a horrible embarrassment to our nation. dfgdfgdsfdfd

27Apr2018 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Well Dang, I Have Foot Drop

I have a diagnosed medical condition that I did not know existed a month ago. I am using the proper noun “I” often because this is all about me.  I believe this problem has existed for some time because I wrote about it in 2012. Humor is often my escape from the cruelty of reality.  […]

9Apr2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Purge Monsters and Poets

I once told my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Utz, that I wanted to be a writer or perhaps a journalist when I grew up. She did something, that not many in my young life, most did not do. She didn’t laugh, she didn’t say “Oh really” in that skeptical, high-toned way, people will do with […]

24Feb2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Scapegoat Politics…

Just some things rattling in my head this morning…. Today I see headlines about Marco Rubio being booed at a gathering to discuss the recent school shooting. Booed and pinned down to say yay or nay to the NRA, pinned down to say guns were responsible for the recent and past shootings. This is disturbing. […]

22Feb2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Why? It’s More Than Guns

I don’t mean to disparage the intent of the Florida survivors who are now passionately pounding the anti-gun message. Yet, immediately after the shooting, I saw and heard several young people who claimed to know the shooter. They, with disdain in their voices, described a person who was off, didn’t fit in, was a juvenile […]

21Feb2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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I Wrote My Own Story

This whole series of essays has explored the nurture and nature of my life.  Some attempt to sort out nature and nurture necessarily meant writing less than favorable events in my family.  All has been true.  Which brings us to a sticking point, a conflict of philosophy – that of individual accountability and responsibility.  There […]

20Feb2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Letting Go

Anyone following this trail of essays on mental health might find themselves feeling sorry for this old fool.  That is not my intention.  About ninety-eight percent of my troubles have been the consequences of my own decisions.  Does that make them less painful?  No.  Becoming aware of consequences directly related to one’s own decisions relieves […]

17Feb2018 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Not The Good Guy

This chain of essays about behavioral health and mental health is exhausting.  Am I talking in circles?  Are there any conclusions? The best we can say, based only on these essays, is that we are governed by both nature and nurture.  About fifteen years ago I began an intense journey seeking sanity and serenity.  A […]

16Feb2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Kelly Ann Conway on Domestic Violence

Kelly Ann Conway, some sort of advisor to the President of the United States, was on CNN this morning.  She was present on the set of State of The Union with Jake Tapper.  A little back story – A Presidential aid, Rob Porter, has been accused by two ex-wives of domestic violence.  He denied the […]

11Feb2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Seaside Beginning

Seaside Beginning– By Steven Michael   I see you on the windowsill, looking onward to the sky. You stare into the brightest days with ember eyes;   Wishing upon movement. I remember how you looked at me, daydreaming of yesterday’s forever. Like chalk butterflies, like seaside goodbyes,   How they crashed into our lives like […]

9Feb2018 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Immature, or Mentally Ill?

Anyone following this string of articles about my mental health might be growing weary.  I struggle to find the correct words.  I am generally fond of words and know how to use them, but exploring mental health is difficult terrain to cross.  It finally comes down to this: I am a senior citizen – what […]

8Feb2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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The Individual, Mental Health, and Maturity

Previous posts have explored my personal mental health from both nature and nurture.  Clearly it is difficult to sort out cause and effect.  How might we look at any adult and determine cause of poor behavior?  Individual humans throw a curve ball at stereotypes.  We do not know why two soldiers experiencing the same trauma […]

7Feb2018 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Family As A Barometer – The Highs and Lows of Life

Most of us do not like to talk publicly about our families. When we do we are praising someone for a public accomplishment, like being on the honor role at school or getting a promotion at work. The underbelly of family life generally is taboo. And why not? It is nobody’s business what our family […]

1Feb2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Almost a Certainty

William Merritt Scotton, Sr. and Genevieve (Clark) Scotton, were married Wednesday, August 24, 1938 in St. Joseph, MO. She was a few months from 18 years and he was a couple of months into 21 years. They met by chance because he and Dorothy Castile were cousins and Genevieve and Dorothy were best friends. Merritt […]

23Jan2018 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Chemical Changes To Behavior

Mental health is a concern to many.  In our modern world we see acts of unstable mental wellness often.  These episodes come in the form of mass shootings, the killing of innocent children, tent cities of homeless people along river banks, road rage, and other acts of humanity that are less than humane.  Even so, […]

14Jan2018 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Serenity and Social Justice

I like the idea of social justice.  Probably because there are many opportunities to challenge society, to fight with others, to maintain the moral high ground, to bask in the righteousness of being right all the time.  Social Justice has been a ball and chain in my life. Check this out: I just googled who […]

6Jan2018 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Aggravated With Medicare And The Health System

Right off let me be clear, I am a senior.  That is somewhere between middle age and elderly.  My health insurance is Medicare with a United Health Care supplement.  As I have aged I have experienced more aches and pains resulting from the active utilization of my body parts.  Did I mention that I have […]

1Jan2018 | | 1 comment | Continued
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When We Are Filled With Hate And Fear

What are the common denominators with people who are filled with hate and fear?  What are the symptoms? What are their political views? What is wrong with them??? They were abused as children.  That is the one common feature of the hateful and fearful.  Their parents tried to beat them into respectful adults.  Or the […]

27Dec2017 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Name Your Demons – Remove Their Power

The title of this article is not an original thought.  My understanding of the concept is new, fresh, and enlightening.  It took a horrendously emotional event to break the barrier of denial that held my life captive.  Denial is not a bad thing.  Denial is an emotional regulator – denying reality the power to destroy.  […]

18Dec2017 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Feelings! Legitimate Or Not

In cognitive behavioral treatment we learn to think, then feel, then act.  Some folks get into trouble when they feel, act, then think.  My personal notion is that we always think first; the question is why do we think such negative thoughts that result in hurt feelings and thus bad behavior? I did four years […]

15Dec2017 | | 1 comment | Continued
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