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.

Memories Of An Old Man

I awoke this morning to find a sparse ground fog irradiated by the light of a nearly full moon hanging in a cloudless, late February sky.  The fog is just dense enough to make a mystery of the fields beyond the pines, and suffused … Continue reading

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The Final Journey, Part One

By the time I was born in April 1945, Bob Weiss had already fought for the Allies in Europe and won a Silver Star in the small French town of Mortain.  How much of his further ‘travels’ throughout Europe courtesy of … Continue reading

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Snake Bit On The Farm

It has been a hellish fortnight here at the Farm, but, when all is said and done, hell has proven not to be such a bad place after all. It all began the day Helen took her car, a 2004 Subaru … Continue reading

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Snowfall

Color comes first to the sky – a pewter cast that engulfs all other light and gives the air a substance so real that it might be grasped, chewed, and swallowed as if a breakfast of oatmeal.  Its veil appears first on the eastern horizon, but quickly spreads in forewarning … Continue reading

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Trips Around The Sun

It is early morning on another new year’s day.  This is my 70th celebration of a new year, my 71st year in residence on Sol’s third planet – the one we call Earth.  Several of my annual trips around this sun have been notable from my … Continue reading

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The View From The Back Roads

It is winter in Humptulips County.  Foliage is sparse and the days are wet and overcast, with only hints of snow.  One wet day follows another in bleak and endless succession.  So as I drive our back roads (as I am wont to do whenever given the choice), I look for little things, for details, for anything which might serve as cinnamon … Continue reading

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Death In The Family

“All alone, I came into the world All alone, I will someday die Solid stone is just sand and water, baby Sand and water, and a million years gone by “ Beth Nielsen Chapman, Sand and Water Helen recently lost her … Continue reading

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First Frost

This time of year in Humptulips County frost competes with fog for morning dominance.  Since it is still November, fog prevails in these battles much of the time, as it has this morning.  This morning’s fog is light and graceful in its ethereality; transparency is its hallmark.  … Continue reading

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The Land Of The Free And The Home Of The Not-So-Brave

“History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.” Dwight D. Eisenhower “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” Benjamin Franklin “Why do I say this?” Nels Gudmundson asked, … Continue reading

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Aswim in the Deep End

It’s dark outside, the house is silent as everyone but me is asleep and there is no outside ambient noise at this hour of the night, and the light at my desk is just sufficient to grant me a small pool of warmth in … Continue reading

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