Author Archives: Gavin Stevens

About Gavin Stevens

Humptulips County is the wholly fictional on-line residence of Stephen Ellis, a would-be writer, an avid fan of William Faulkner and his Yoknapatawpha County, and a retired lawyer.

Stage Settings and Realities

We are approaching Vienna, a city to which I’ve never physically been but one which I, like many on this earth, believe I know well because of its continuous celebration in movies, in literature, and by song.  Vienna is one of those cities … Continue reading

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Ghosts

I walked among ghosts yesterday in Nuremberg, Germany – many of whom were far more terrifying than those that populated my dreams as a young child or the celluloid whimsies that Hollywood and its offspring often produce.  For I walked among the ghosts … Continue reading

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Sailing in the Dark

It is night.  We are sailing on the Maine River in Germany.  The lounge where I’m writing is deserted, the vessel is using its running lights, and the shore is slipping by without revealing itself unless we are passing a place of human … Continue reading

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The Rest of Us Ought to Listen More

During the late 1950s, there was a television series called The Naked City that always ended with the following tag line: “There are eight million stories in the Naked City.  This has been one of them.”  While a cliché, the tag line … Continue reading

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Hitting The Road

Helen and I are leaving Humptulips County this afternoon for a trip by river boat through Eastern Europe.  We are excited, nervous about airport security, but ready for an adventure to parts unknown – at least to us.  We fly … Continue reading

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Musings From This Side of Morning’s Silhouette

The pre-dawn hour has arrived in Humptulips County, and the sky is just beginning to brighten.  The sun is still concealed behind the eastern mountains, but just enough sunlight is leaking over their tops to provide a red, rose and … Continue reading

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The Ways of Things Mechanical and Electrical

I am sitting in a car dealership while my car is being serviced and while they decide how much more they can find to charge me for before they reach my flash point.  I don’t know what it is about car … Continue reading

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A Spring Thunderstorm

We’ve had a week of stormy weather at the Farm, a crazy quilt of weather that’s swung from gentle rain to soaking rain to cloudiest to hail, and back around the horn again.  And again. Last evening, this craziness culminated in a thunderstorm.  Not just any thunderstorm, … Continue reading

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Perhaps

It’s very early morning.  By all measures, I should be asleep, but I find myself writing  instead.  The house is utterly silent except for the clicking of my keyboard keys, my fellow occupants either asleep or quiet in their wakefulness.  The driving winds … Continue reading

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A Friend Turned 90 This Week

A friend of mine turned 90 this week, just as I will likely turn 68 at mid-month.  There is nothing inexorable about turning 90, or even 68, even if the continual rotation of the clock’s hands remind us that the passage of time is.  … Continue reading

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