Swinging Bridge
Vin I want to encompass all the knowledge I can in my brief span.
Toby What's span, Vin?
Judy It's a bridge.
Mrs. Miniver 1942 William Wylar Director
Life reminds me of a swinging bridge. We begin on firm ground, and as our life progresses, we experience the sometimes thrilling, sometimes terrifying and sometimes tranquil passage to the other side – our future.
As we traverse the fragile path that is our own, personal swinging bridge, we find that some of the boards along our journey are strong and firm, while others are weak and fragile; still others may be broken or even missing.
The ropes that we grasp to steady our passage are sometimes strong, and at other times they are frayed, causing us to be more cautious in our journey and at times to walk alone. On bright, sunny days, the journey is pleasant as we revel in the surrounding beauty in which our bridge is set, while on stormy days, the boards can be wet and slippery and our path precarious as the bridge swings to and fro, seeming to want to throw us from its fragile deck to raging waters and rocky cliffs below. We hang on with all of our might to the ropes and cables which suspend our bridge, and strive to keep our footing and reach our destination: the end of the bridge, a beacon which calls us forward to safety.
This is the story of my swinging bridge, summed up in a collection of poems, essays, writing exercises some of you may recognize, short stories and excerpts from my memoir Son of My Soul – The Adoption of Christopher. Some have been fictionalized, but are taken from actual events of my life as I walk to the end of the bridge – to my destiny.
Lila Pilamaya – with many thanks.
About Debra Shiveley Welch (Columbus, Ohio Author)
Award winning author Debra Shiveley Welch was born in Columbus, Ohio USA and has lived in the Greater Columbus area all of her life. She now resides in Westerville, Ohio with her husband Mark and son Christopher, also a published author.
Debra is the author of eight books: Circle of Time, a time travel adventure involving the court of Henry VIII and winner of the Pinnacle Book Achievement and Readers’ Favorite 5 Star awards and has been nominated for the Global eBook award, Swinging Bridge, also a Readers’ Favorite 5 star award is a memoir told in excerpts from her award winning autobiography Son of My Soul – The Adoption of Christopher, and updates the story of her life to present time, Spirit Woman, winner of the New Apple Award, also a winner of the Readers’ Favorite 5 star award and has been nominated for the Global eBook Award, covers six months in the life of Nickie Bahiti (buy-a-tie) Greene who overcomes her past childhood abuse to fight for her life in an abusive marriage, Cedar Woman, the story of a woman of the Lakota Sioux who opens the first high end American Indian restaurant in Westerville, Ohio and winner of Books and Authors Best Native American Fiction award, Christopher Meets Buddy, a children’s book on the proper care of a pet parrot, A Very Special Child, a well-received children’s book which received the FaithWriters Gold Seal of Approval – Outstanding Read Award, Christopher Bullfrog Catcher, written by her son at eleven years of age, and scribed by Debra, who also wrote its introduction, Son of My Soul – The Adoption of Christopher, winner of the FaithWriters Gold Seal of Approval – Out Standing Read, Books & Authors Excellence in Literature, Books and Authors Best Non Fiction, and AllBooks Reviews Editor’s Choice awards, and “Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams,” Debra’s first novel, co-authored with Linda Lee Greene. All are available through Amazon and all major online stores.
Currently Debra is writing Brave Heart Woman, a sequel to Spirit Woman, Christopher’s Family Table, a companion cook book to Son of My Soul - The Adoption of Christopher, which will feature recipes from a Chopped and Chopped Junior champion, Memories of an Old Farmhouse, a micro-memoir about her memories of her family’s ancestral farm and Swinging Bridge, a collection of poems, short stories and essays.
Debra can be reached at DebraSWelch@aol.com.
