Letters to the Dead

By Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III

In 'Letters to the Dead' it is the things you wanted to say when they were living and couldn't or dare say.  Instead, you find 'Letting go Isn't Easy.'  Many find it is often too late to say what they needed to say while the loved one was alive.  Some regret what they did say when they were alive, and it was too late to take back the words.  Just as many wish they could have mended the fence between them before it was too late.  Regrets you have to live with until the end of your days.  This is a collection of letters I have come to write in my mind then down in paper, when I find I wish there could have been a time before a loved one died, a friend passes on, to have been able to forgive them for the troubles between you, or the good and the best times between you.  The letters cover many I have lost from parents, to Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, brother, and friends.  Some who have passed on before I was born and afterwards, some at early an age, others from illness and preparation for their passing.  While some to sudden by accident and unexpectedly.  All those who have gone before me leave an emptiness in me, that I didn't have time to know them or grow old with them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III
• Release date: May 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223150541

Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III

Hello Readers: I am Rowlen Deleware Vanderstone III, my penname.  My real name is Robert D. Vergeson and I have since my childhood have always dreamed of writing.  I just had to get past my learning disabities and a physical handicapp since I was born premature 1951.  As early as I can remember my daydreams and night dreams was about adventures stories, being he hero who rescued the fair maiden.  It wasn't until after repeating 3 elementary grades over that at age 15 did I finally physically grasp my reading skills and since I became an avid reader of Sci-fi and fatansy, Teen adventure stories, and rite of passage stories of teen life in many circumstances in life.  And yes, I rooted for the hero who bested the bullies in his life.  I had my fair share of them in my life given my own circumstances.  I wrote my first story in my senior year in high school, then shelved it as worthless.  It wasn't until decades later that I had my poetry published in those anthologies.  Even won a few recognitions.  My my first real Sci-fi manuscipt was rejected by a publisher summarily and I gave up writing. To be honest I was lousy when it came to english grammer, but had a great imagination. curing Covid, at 70 years of age, I took out my dustiy manuscripts and went the Ebook route with Smashwords, and 46 published Ebooks later, I am still grinding away. I was certainly a late bloomer, like at age 47 I got a college degree, earned a 3.5 GPA, made the National Deans List, and was inducted into the PHI Thetta Kappa honor society.  My High school counscelor once told me that I was't college material.  Was told digging ditches was the best job for me.  I believed her, and dug ditches, and spend 27 years still believing her.  Bullies come in all kind of shapes and ages.  My first ebook is a bio about my bullies called "Walters and the Bullies" On Smashwords.com  I am still lousy at grammer and spelling and very thankful for spell and grammer check. At 72, I look forward to a few more books out of me.  I will pat myself on the back and say my Sci Fi fantasy are good reads,.  My rite of passages series even better, my chapbook, my mysteries, and my non-fiction revealing. 

Book preview

Letters to the Dead

Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III

Published by Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III, 2023.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

LETTERS TO THE DEAD

First edition. May 21, 2023.

Copyright © 2023 Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III.

ISBN: 979-8223150541

Written by Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Letters to the Dead | By | Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III

About the Author

Letters to the Dead

By

Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III

Copyright 05/20/2023

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Smashword Edition

License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook.  This book may not be reproduced, copied, and distributed for commercial purposes.  If you enjoyed this book, please return to your favorite ebook retailer to discover other works by this author. Other works may be priced for purchase or offered free and may have limitations to reproduction without Author’s permission or may need additional purchase from your ebook retailer.

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Introduction

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While many would expect Day of the Dead to be a solemn memorial day, it is actually a joyous occasion, meant as a celebration of life. Instead of everything being dark and somber, as is commonly associated with mourning rituals, the holiday is bright and colorful, with decorations filling nearly every home and public space in the country. It is common to have celebratory meals with family, as well as street parties with music and dancing. In Mexico, there are celebratory processions involving masks, puppets, and colorful costumes.

A central part of the holiday involves going to the cemetery and spending time at the graves of loved ones. In preparation for Day of the Dead, families will clean and wash the graves of their departed, and decorate them with candles, and flowers such as marigolds. They will bring offerings of food that the deceased enjoyed and objects that were meaningful to them in life. In the case of children, toys will be brought to the grave site.  In many parts of the country, families will share a meal alongside the graves of their relatives, while sharing stories and memories about the loved ones they have lost.

In America we celebrate Memorial day a tradition to honor our soldiers who have died in war with the simple tradition of putting flowers on the grave, and for many it has become a time to remember other loved ones with flowers on their graves as well.  I remember the visits my mother would make to honor her mother and other relatives who have passed on before us, on Memorial day, and in years later her father.  It would be the only time as a child did, I know where a family member was buried and that they were not forgotten.  It was also a time for stories and memories you held dear to your heart, to pass them on to the next generation so they would not be forget.  The day of the Dead and Memorial day is not much different except one may be with more elaborate cultural pageantry and symbolism then the other.  It is remembrance that ties the two together.

In ‘Letters to the Dead’ it is the things you wanted to say when they were living and couldn’t or dare say.  Instead, you find ‘Letting go Isn’t Easy.’  Many find it is often too late to say what they needed to say while the loved one was alive.  Some regret what they did say when they were alive, and it was too late to take back the words.  Just as many wish they could have mended the fence between them before it was too late.  Regrets you have to live with until the end of your days.  This is a collection of letters I have come to write in my mind then down on paper, when I find I wish there could have been a time before a loved one died, a friend passes on, to have been able to forgive them for the troubles between you, or the good and the best times between you.  The letters cover many I have lost from parents, to Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, brother, and friends.  Some who have passed on before I was born and afterwards, some at early an age, others from illness and preparation for their passing.  While some suddenly by accident and unexpectedly.  All those who have gone before me leave an emptiness in me, that I didn’t have time to