Tag Archives: Mary Washington College

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:-)

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And thank you for the “likes” and the “shares.”  It really does mean a lot.

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Der Heilige Michael, Luca Giordano

“When I Meet The Devil,” by Eric Robert Nolan

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When I Meet the Devil

When I meet the Devil
I’ll kill him.

Not for his endless treachery, richly expressed
In perfectly worded, erudite, platinum-bright aphorisms.

Not for the endless lies that spiral from his quick lips
Like fine red ethereal thread, spooling at our feet
Like bloodshot spider-web.

Not for the false
Compliments that slide off his baroque tongue
Like newly minted coins of fool’s gold.

When I meet the devil,
I’ll kill him
Because God made him.

(c) Eric Robert Nolan 2013

First published by Dead Snakes, May 2013:

http://deadsnakes.blogspot.com/2013/05/eric-robert-nolan-two-poems.html

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Photo credit: “Der Heilige Michael,” Luca Giordano, 1663 (via Wikimedia Commons)

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“November, Blue Ridge Mountains, 1992,” by Eric Robert Nolan

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I wrote this short poem 23 years ago, as a junior at Mary Washington College.  It was first published by The International War Veterans’ Poetry Archives in July 2013:

http://iwvpa.net/nolaner/zz-november.php

November, Blue Ridge Mountains, 1992

November compelled us to visit the hills,
Where ignorant rock and lofty pine
Were witness to our disregard
For strangeness, temptation and time.

But memories are sticky things.
Will any mountain ever let
Me dream again? Can I now
Feel rain without regret?

(c) Eric Robert Nolan 1992

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Photo credit: Dave in the Triad, via Wikimedia Commons, “Rough Ride Tunnel on the Blue Ridge Parkway,” October 2008

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I was chased by a bull when I was 19.

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I was hiking around Locust Grove, Orange County, in the perilous land of VIRGINIA. The Internet, and even DVDs, weren’t a thing yet. In my day, people had to AIMLESSLY WALK LONG DISTANCES just for fun.

It wasn’t pleasant; holy crap. I was even wearing red shorts at the time.

There are two morals to the story:

1) Never trespass, but especially at farms.

2) Hiking is bad for you. Stay home and watch TV.

Friends kept calling me “The Bull Runner” in college.  I made it a point to eat burgers at the school cafeteria every day, because Karma’s a bitch, Baby.

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JAMES WOODS CAME TO MY HOUSE AND LET ME TAKE HIS PICTURE!!

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No, it’s just my new haircut. Because the world needs to know I actually am not a damned hippy. Everywhere that women love aging comic book nerds, hearts are breaking.

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Publication Notice: “The Minotaur” to appear in Aphelion Magazine.

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I got some very nice news today — Iain Muir at Aphelion Magazine told me that the online publication would feature “The Minotaur” in its April issue.  I wrote this poem as a tribute to W. H. Auden.

Aphelion is a terrific webzine of science fiction and fantasy, with features, stories and poetry.  It’s pure fun, and it’s 100 percent free.  Check it out here:

http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/index.html

When my poem appears in April, I’ll post a link.

Thanks, Aphelion!

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I have a friend who really likes black cats …

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… and whenever she talks about it, it reminds me of my own black cat of many years ago in New York.  His name was Jefferson.  Named for Thomas, not George.

Another friend tells me he was a “Russian Blue.”  (Because Russians are colorblind.)

You can tell these are old photos because the note on the door reminds you, “Lost!  Tonight!”  (There is also a campaign sign for my nearly successful Supreme Court run in the early 2000’s.)

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I taught Benedict Cumberbatch everything he knows.

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Well … maybe not, as I am not even certain he’d been born yet when I was in college.  But I did a fine job of channeling Christopher Plummer.  I was into Sherlock Holmes about 20 years before it was cool.

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I believe all that coolness rubbed off from a double-dose of Nate.  Pictured here are Nate “The Amazing Nate” Leslie and Nate “The Great Nate” Wade.  Nate L. is now a critically acclaimed author and a professor at Northern Virginia Community College.  Nate W. is now a public defender in Pima County, Arizona.

In place of hair, I wore a Tribble from the original “Star Trek” series, as was popular at the time.

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No one can forget the time when Carroll O’Connor (aka Archie Bunker) stopped by to prepare barbecue for us …

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Finally, no Mary Washington College post would be complete without a shot of the legendary Len Ornstein (far left).

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Or the mythic James A. Cordone.

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Goodbye, Seacobeck Dining Hall.

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Mary Washington College (I and other 90’s kids refuse to refer to it by its longer moniker) will close Seacobeck Dining Hall this Spring.  Thanks to vigilant alum Len Ornstein for passing along this article from Fredericksburg.com:

http://m.fredericksburg.com/business/umw-opening-dining-hall-to-public-before-closure/article_50306ad8-c07c-5e5a-a184-179af51fc781.html?mode=jqm

The college will actually open the dining hall to the public several times before closing its doors for the last time; see the article for details.

I can’t imagine Mary Washington without Seacobeck.  I worked a work-study program there for all four years; it was as much a part of my college experience as any academic building.  My memories of it are vivid and many.  Seacobeck IS Mary Washington.

Sigh.

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Buddy of mine says he hates spoilers so much …

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… that he refuses to read The Book of Revelation.  He says he doesn’t want to know how the world ends.

True story.

Anyway, you learn something new every day.  He corrected me about saying “The Book of Revelations;” the name of the text should NOT be pluralized.  (I believe I have been misled by many third-rate horror movies trying to emulate “The Omen.”)  Mary Washington College folks are a smart lot.