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.

Pendulums

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

England swings like a pendulum do Bobbies on bicycles, two by two Westminster Abbey, the tower of Big Ben The rosy-red cheeks of the little children. Roger Miller, England Swings I am an unabashed liberal. I am liberal by nature, but not … Continue reading →

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Memories of War’s Aftermath

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

When I was growing up, the veteran landscape was much easier to navigate. The 1950s were truly a simpler time; we didn’t have to consider the veterans of so many different wars that happened in places with strange, exotic names. Our relevant wars were three: … Continue reading →

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The Meek New World

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

I’ve woken up in a new world. Not a brave one; one created by insecure people afraid of a future they’re unable to understand. The view of this new world from Humptulips County is mixed – mostly bad, but with just enough dash of good in the mixture … Continue reading →

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The Freedom Not To Listen

Posted on November 5, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Tis a Puzzlement, Civics | Comments Off

Learning to Laugh

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

“Traces of nobility, gentleness and courage persist in all people, do what we will to stamp out the trend. So, too, do those characteristics which are ugly. It is just unfortunate that in the clumsy hands of a cartoonist all … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Place in the Firmament, Politicians and Other Lower Life Forms | Comments Off

The Impending Change of Scene

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

It is a lovely soft mid-fall morning here in Humptulips County; the sky is light blue, speckled with clouds and tinted with the rose hue of a still rising sun, and the hills I can see from our library window are suffused with the merest hint of October’s proprietary … Continue reading →

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Another Country

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

I love these raw moist dawns with a thousand birds you hear but can’t quite see in the mist. My old alien body is a foreigner struggling to get into another country. The loon call makes me shiver. Back at … Continue reading →

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A Passion For Retirement

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

And chances are, like me You want to slow down too, I can tell Take on fewer things, fewer things to do And do them well Maybe that’s the key to set us free Maybe that’s the key to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Stuff Like That, Our Place in the Firmament | Comments Off

A Path Through The Worlds

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

We have lived in our present home for 20 plus years, and the lower part of our driveway consisted of dirt and gravel until two weeks ago. We finally decided to pave the driveway up to the point of the existing … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Place in the Firmament, Ponderings on the Meaning of Things | Comments Off

The Case Against Trump For My Republican Friends

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Gavin Stevens

To a liberal, the prospect of a Trump presidency is the stuff of an Orwellian nightmare. Being a liberal who counts several staunch conservative Republicans among my friends, I have struggled with how to make a rational case which might … Continue reading →