Since my mother’s death on May 1st, 2006, my father Erwin Thompson has taken on clearing brush on our 100-acre place, Evergreen Heights, in a major way…this, in addition to completing several new novels, calling square-dances, and hosting a weekly musical open house. Oh yes, and he’s about to celebrate his 92nd birthday on November…
Since my mother’s death on May 1st, 2006, my father Erwin Thompson has taken on clearing brush on our 100-acre place, Evergreen Heights, in a major way…this, in addition to completing several new novels, calling squaredances, and hosting a weekly musical open house. Oh yes, and he’s about to celebrate his 92nd birthday on November…
To all of my good friends in Exeter. I applaud your efforts, and share your hopes and dreams!—Erwin A. Thompson Exeter – An old historic town, Its roots deep in the past of Illinois. Born in eighteen twenty three It’s had its share of sadness, and of joy. A thriving town, When Bluffs and Jacksonville…
What! You have never heard of Exeter? At one time it was one of the foremost towns in the western part of Illinois! It had a post office that served the community for miles around. The hotel was patronized by the passengers of the stagecoach line that used the town for a way station. In…
You can read our interview “Eleven things about Janet Riehl and Erwin A. Thompson” by clicking here. What I liked about how the interview came out was the comparison and contrast for my father and me, our books, and how we write. Here are the eleven questions you can read our answers for. 1. Tell…
Our talk and habits change, As we roll the World around. No dif’rence how things really are, It’s just how good they sound! We have “detention centers” For those who can’t quite raise their bail. Sounds pretty good, we used to say: “They spent the night in jail!” The toilets all are “rest rooms,” now…
Over the Labor Day weekend I offered a service at the First Unitarian Church in Alton, Illinois, on the corner of 3rd and Alby. This was my sister Julia Ann Thompson’s church and my cousin Irene Riehl’s church before her. Now it is the church of my niece and her husband and their daughters. My…
When I called my father this morning to hear his report from yesterday, he told me about several work and business accomplishments…and ended with a fun story about his playdate with an 8-year-old friend who lives down the hill from him. She loves to play with my father. At 91, he still has that spark,…
This spring my story “Driving Lessons” won Bronze Award for Family Travel in the First Annual Solas Awards sponsored by Travelers Tales. If you missed “Driving Lessons” the first time, read it on the Travelers Tale site by clicking here for “Janet Riehl’s Flying Carpet Tales”. Their tagline for the story is “The lessons of…
A metrolink ride from the St. Louis airport and a longish walk with my luggage took me back to my apartment around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, shifting from the Southwest to the Midwest. My homecoming was like an enjammed rhyme in a poem with news of a friend in the hospital for heart surgery and…