May 17, 1996: The Bridge Holds

I wrote this poem exactly 17 years ago today. It was several months after the excitement of working on NBC’s seaQuest had given way to some different kinds of fun for Beth and me, but about 18 months before we surprised ourselves and everyone we knew by moving to California. This was written in May (always a favorite time of year), and much to my delight, those days were mostly spent handling very fun freelance production assignments (for example, shooting with Randy Baker for NASCAR), rewriting a screenplay for a futuristic thriller, and writing, editing and submitting poetry to top literary publications.

The Bridge Holds

by Roger Darnell

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2012 photo update

Here’s where to find our newest family photos. Over the weeks ahead I plan to add others from our trip to America’s legendary Theodor Roosevelt, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain National Parks.

May 23, 1992: Hoot Owl Holler, Episode 2

On the 20th anniversary of the best day of my life (the day I married Beth Kiefert, and she became the now-celebrated Beth Darnell), it’s a sincere pleasure to invite you to enjoy this second installment of “Hoot Owl Holler.” In this video presentation that uses more footage shot by my dear cousin Bart Ridings, you can hear some of the fun-loving wise-cracking from our loved ones who gathered together on May 23, 1992, in Greenville, Illinois, for our wedding. Also shown are too many others who are no longer with us: They are all missed greatly. On we proceed through life, still recalling the words we printed in our program, and the high sentiments which set the tone for what has so far been a spectacularly wonderful adventure together.

Joy, Shipmate, Joy!
by Walt Whitman

JOY! shipmate—joy!
(Pleas’d to my Soul at death I cry;)
Our life is closed—our life begins;
The long, long anchorage we leave,
The ship is clear at last—she leaps!
She swiftly courses from the shore;
Joy! shipmate—joy!

May 16, 1992: Orlando party for Illinois wedding

On May 23, 1992, Beth and I were married in Greenville, Illinois. Since we were residents of Orlando, Florida, at the time, on May 16, we had a pre-wedding party for our Central Florida friends. Here’s some of the photographic evidence from a very fun get-together that we will never forget. Thanks for the great memories friends!

May 4, 1992: Twenty-Five and Going

I wrote this poem just a little over twenty years ago… a day before my 26th birthday, and a few weeks before Beth and I were married in Greenville, Illinois. It’s quite amusing to me that I mentioned feeling like I was 46, as that’s the age I am now; for the record, it feels very different than I guessed it would at that time. The good news is, it’s even better than I expected.

Twenty-Five and Going

by Roger Darnell

I’ve put off the great Chinese thinkers
for another year, at least.
Taken up being a fiancee.

Read a lot of Bukowski. That was a good idea.
Feel like I’m forty-six, only
twenty-six.

My poetry stacked up… sort of thin.
The 25-year-old poet was buried.

But so was the 24-year-old. So what?
The word years is losing significance.
On an abacus it would mean beads.
On my awakeness, it means

Memories, feelings, fears, understandings.
Understandingness.

My mom gave me some of her work. A lot of it.
I think that means something. Praised me –
in a letter, not the poetry — as being a good man.

Now that’s something. I don’t care who you are –
that’s something. I’m getting married. Think it’ll be
something, also. Proud. I’d admit it.

And going! Going now, as the pen pauses…
perilously….

April 6, 1992: Careful

Thinking back on my life 20 years ago, I have to say that today seems so much simpler. I wrote about that key personal era in “Arc of the Poet Part 6,” and although I think it makes for interesting reading, recalling those days is rather bracing for me. I had so much to prove to myself and the short list of others whose opinions really mattered to me, and although I was confident in my strengths and abilities, I was unsure about so much more. While I had come very far with the gifts provided by my family, as well as those I was earning for myself, the new chapters seemed to hold promises I was almost afraid to hope for. Within weeks of writing the poem below, I began my new role as the husband of Beth Darnell. That dream-come-true continues today, thanks in part to the instincts revealed below which made me realize that the opportunities I was facing were precious and must be handled with care.

Careful

by Roger Darnell

There could be a
limerick or something
back there,
something quick and terse –
elucidating, uproarious,
stabbing.

But I just want to say
everything’s going so fast;

you know, not in every way…
but in most,
it really is.

Can’t say much more
than that.
Although I can fit in

something
about
love
and about
thanks, and graciousness,
and pay attentions.
And carefuls.

Feb. 13, 1990: The Story of Tiny and Valera

In the late summer of 1989, I had an idea to approach the University of Central Florida’s student newspaper, “The Future,” about writing a weekly column. I wrote the first one and very humbly submitted it in person to the editor, Scott Altman. Without much fanfare, it was accepted, and so it went for the next fifteen months. Ultimately, many positive experiences grew from these efforts. One esteemed instructor made much of my work and was instrumental in me winning a Scripps-Howard Foundation Fellowship for the column. Thank you, Keith Fowles. Read more

January 25, 1988: Alexander Salamander

When I wrote the following poem nearly 24 years ago, I had never even seen a salamander. Still, it instantly became one of my favorites, so you can imagine how excited I was to discover salamanders in our back yard when we moved to North Carolina back in 2001. Both Amelia and Riley have grown up catching and loving them, too. Enjoy!

Alexander Salamander

by Roger Darnell

sal•a•man•der n. a mythological reptile resembling the lizard, that was said to live in fire.

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Bluebirdsongs for Grace and Claire

Back in May, 1998, Beth and I joined most of her Kiefert and Julien families in Tallahassee, Florida, for the wedding of her sister Ann and Chuck Bowling. I married into my wife’s family back in 1992, so I was very much at home with everyone gathered, as we all enjoyed an unforgettable weekend together with Chuck’s family, and their many friends who joined in the fun. The day before their wedding, Ann and Chuck invited us all to join them at one of their favorite places: The Birdsong Nature Center. Located in Thomasville, Georgia, just above the Florida-Georgia border, Birdsong is a 565-acre preserve of wildflower meadows, forests, ponds and swamps. Home to a dazzling array of birds and wildlife, it’s pretty much heaven on Earth. We all learned a lot that day about nature, about Chuck’s father’s ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat … and a neat program where the center provides essential nesting homes for Bluebirds. So naturally, when Ann and Chuck’s daughter Grace was born, we decided to sponsor a Birdsong Nature Center Bluebird home in her name. And since my mother marked so many special occasions when I was growing up with the added gift of an original poem, I wrote this one for our first niece. Read more

Dec. 5, 1994: Drama

I originally wrote this unpublished experimental short back in 1994 specifically for an editor at a certain literary magazine. I touched-up a few lines in the version below this evening in honor of its 16-year anniversary. Please feel free to add to the storyline! Read more