Chapters from Memories

By Michael Wood

This collection is the result of many years of internal reflection and reaction. Endless hours of trying to understand the world and the experiences it brought to one person's struggling perception of the world; my own. It could be that this is its own journey, or that this simply the beginning.

As for dedications, three come to mind. My mom for teaching me how to read and for passing on an enduring appreciation for literature. My dad for his years of grammar awareness. And to whomever it was in my family tree that passed on the gift to turn a blank page into anything imaginable.

"Human nature has come to define us . . . but we cannot let it blind us."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781982249847

Michael Wood

Michael Wood is a historian, filmmaker, and broadcaster who has written several bestselling books and made well over one hundred documentary films which are regularly seen on PBS. Some of these book-and-documentary projects include In Search of the Dark Ages, In Search of the Trojan War, and In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great. A Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester, he is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, the Royal Historical Society, and the Society of Antiquaries. He recently received the British Academy President’s Medal for services to history and outreach.

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Copyright © 2020 Michael Wood.

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Interior Image Credit: Michael Wood

ISBN: 978-1-9822-4983-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-4984-7 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 06/29/2020

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1   The Eyes of the Blind

Chapter 2   … And to All a Pleasant End

Chapter 3   Luminate

Chapter 4   No Title for the Entitled

Chapter 5   Timeless Uncertainty

Chapter 6   Conclusion of an Overture

Chapter 7   Realization With or Without Confrontation

Chapter 8   Back to the Beginning

Chapter 9   Reflective Eternities

Afterword

Preface

At the end of an hour, of each day, of every single month, of any given year….life comes and goes, leaving us with memories. Those become remnants that leave mental imprints of who we are. Where we’ve been. Who we might become.

Voices heard, images seen, sounds collected…coming together to mold us.

They can come at us as either tasteful or tainted, and leave us as either clean or corrupted.

The following pages, dear reader, are just a few chapters from some of my memories that chose to linger.

Chapter 1

The Eyes of the Blind

Keep It Simple

With so much to see

and so much to do

it’s quite easy to forget

all of the things,

all of the little things

that we take for granted.

Everyday people are hurrying

here and there not even

realizing that they already

have what matters most in their lives…

The simple things.

The simple things.

The simple things.

Just keep it simple.

Sometimes you just fell like

putting everything on pause

for a moment so that

everyone can simply look

around, all around, and

observe that, after a minute,

the darkness can be pushed

away from their eyes to

reveal the truth about

it all, that what is cared

about the most in this world

they have had all along…

The simple things.

The simple things.

The simple things.

Just keep it simple.

Broken

Frustration and anger hit

every time you tell me to calm down

or that I’ll get what I asked for

soon when I should have gotten

it a long time ago…

But worse than that you damaged

the one thing bonding us together.

This once strong link is called

trust and sadly you have left

it broken, broken…

To think that I actually believed

in you in the beginning is a

memory that is ripping and

tearing me apart piece by piece,

each one more painful

than the last.

All of this torture has caused

both and mind to become

broken, broken…

Do you break everyone like this?

Wounding your victims

in that especially cruel way?

I want to know.

I want to know.

I want to know.

My trust in you…broken.

My mind because of you…broken.

My body as a result of you…broken.

The Wrath

She will soon be heard.

Because she will win the final battle…

We will all pay the price for what

has been done to her and all of her

creations…

It was never really all our fault

in the first place.

Human nature was the one that gave

birth to the many factors that are leading

us all down the dangerous path

and will eventually result in our destruction.

Anyone would surely choke if they tried

to down the list in one swallow.