PETE BARBOUR'S WORLD
LIFE ILLUSTRATED
What comes from the heart goes to the heart.
Fifteen Keys
Written and illustrated
by
Peter J Barbour
Fifteen Keys is an action, adventure, fantasy novel for middle grade and young adults. The story begins in 1890, in a remote village in the Pacific Northwest, where three teenage boys undertake a challenge, a rite of passage, to find fifteen keys that will help them grow into responsible adults and enable them to return home to become leaders in their community. They face challenging terrain, untamed wilderness, hostile weather, and a host of odd characters, any of which might delay or defeat them. But each experience has a lesson to teach the boys - a key to their development as young men. Meanwhile, their cousins, too young to join the boys on their journey, wait at home caring for their livestock and learning lessons of their own. Will the boys be able to surmount their obstacles and return home?
The subtext of Fifteen Keys is mindfulness. The adventures are allegorical and serve to illustrate ethical issues.
"GUS AT WORK"
an Illustrated Children's Book
I began drawing pictures of Gus and sheep when my wife and I were in our recreational sheep herding phase. I could get him to herd in my illustrations but not on the field. I wrote and illustrated, a children’s book, “Gus at Work”, based on our herding experience with Gus. The story is about the importance of doing your best, even if you aren’t the best. I published “Gus at Work” with CreateSpace, 2016, available on Amazon.
"The Hair of the Dog"
My story, "The Hair of the Dog," appears in the "An Element of Mystery, sweet, funny, and strange tales of intrigue," an anthology produced by the Bethlehem Writers Group. "The Hair of the Dog," is a medical mystery.
Is someone trying to poison Michael Johnston? Leave it to the neurology resident to figure it out.
Blog: "Getting in Touch with the Right Side of Your Brain"
An essay on a soft science. Appeared in A Slice of Orange July 13, 2022.
Copy available contact Pete below.
GUS ON LIFE
LOVING KINDNESS
Loving-kindness, Chesed. “Sustain others without the thought of reward.”(Greg Marcus)
“Life is not about every man for himself. To be someone is also to be for the other, and the expression of that virtue is loving-kindness.” (Alan Morinis)
The key to loving-kindness
is to not only do acts of kindness but to love doing them – Love kindness, then the acts of kindness will be frequent and natural.
PATIENCE
Recognize what is within your power to change and what is not. Practice patience with both. Remember, “This too shall pass, and you have the strength to get by until it does.”
Ask yourself, does the watched pot ever boil? Eventually, of course, it does.
TRUST
In the study of Mussar, Bitachon more specifically means trust in God. Although we may disagree on how God acts in our lives, Alan Morinis, "Everyday Holiness," suggests, that it is a wise person who internalizes an accurate sense of his or her own limitations and, to the extent they can, channel their burden of anxiety by trusting in God.
“Trust in God but tie your camel.” (Greg Marcus, variation on an Islamic theme.)
EQUANIMITY
Maintaining the inner calm of the soul. Afloat on the sea of life, riding the waves, neither too high nor too low, avoid getting swept away.
Honor
Honor is finding the balance between too little, judgmental/rude, and too much, flattery/obsequiousness. With humility we strive to take up the right amount of space. Honor focuses on giving others their due. Sometimes by giving acknowledgement, even just saying hello, is enough to show honor. Recognize the humanity in others.
ORDER
Order, Seder, is how you put structure into your life, just like the Passover Seder. Too little order and you have chaos, too much and you may be smothered by obsessions (Greg Marcus). What is the balance, and how might you achieve it?
SILENCE
Silence is golden, and speech is silver. While you speak, you may not hear, so you should only speak when you have something meaningful to say; otherwise, you should always listen. That is a good way to learn.
GRATITUDE
Gratitude, Hakarat Ha’Tov, recognizing the good. That is mostly easy. The trick is appreciating good when things are bad and recognizing the opportunity it affords to make change. Show gratitude for what you have and to the people in your life every day.
TRUTH
Emet, truth is complicated, Truth is not always black or white but is somewhere in-between. The Torah says, “be distant from falsehood.” It is much easier to distance oneself from falsehood than to strive for a shifting and complex canopy of truth. (Greg Marcus) Is truth a perception with the potential for change? What is true today may be false tomorrow.
LOOSE ENDS
The heartbreak and love that can bring families together and tear them apart. Joseph is lucky. He is blessed with a strong , supportive wife who is able to help him heal old childhood wounds and ultimately confront years of anger and resentment. With her help , Joseph is able to tie up the loose ends of his life and move on.
Loose Ends is written in the form of a memoir, told from the first person point of view. Available on Amazon.
SHORT STORIES
LUKE AND DUKE
Piker Press
THINGS CAN ALWAYS GET WORSE
Piker Press
THE FORT
THE ALMOST ENDLESS SUMMER
WHOSE RIGHT TO DIE
HOLLYWOOD PHIL
HEAVEN'S DEVILS: PARTY NIGHT
Storystar.com
ON A SUMMER'S DAY
Rue Scribe
THE FATE OF DICKIE PAPONOVITCH
Piker Press
"MESSYMAN"
"SIMPLICITY"
"ENTHUSIASM"
"OUT ON A LEDGE"
"THE FAIRY RING"
"SHIPWRECKED AT SEA"
"SILENCE"
short-story.me
A MAN NAMED HAPPINESS
Short-story.me
OTHER SHORT STORIES NO LONGER ACCESSIBLE IN PRINT OR ON THE WEB.
"Things Can Always Get Worse" Being 4:4; 9-10 1992.(reprinted, see above)
“Big Rock”. Raconteur 1: 9-13, 11/93.
“Luke And Duke”, Raconteur. 1995; 2: 27-29.
“Henrietta And Lucinda”, Raconteur. 1995; 5: 5-8. (reprinted, see below)
"The Fate of Dickie Paponovitch" Raconteur 1:10, 1994; 21-27. (reprinted, see above)
“Fishing with Nick”, shortbreadstories.co.uk, 2015
“Dad Stories”, shortbreadstories.co.uk, 2015.(reprinted, see below)
“Earl’s Lake, Home to the Big Bass”, shortbreadstories, 2015
“How to Brighten the Night”, Short-Story.me, 2015
"Henry Smith's Seasonings", Artpost Magazine, September 1, 2018 (reprinted, see below)
HENRIETTA AND LUCINDA
The Starlit Path Magazine, Summer, 2019, page 52 (out of print)
Reprinted Bethlehem Writers Group Roundtable October 2024
THE GUARDIAN OF THE WELL
Piker Press
TERRITORIAL
Piker Press
Her Beautiful View
Bethlehem Writers
Roundtable, Spring 2021
SCROLL DOWN,
the story is below Henry Smith's Seasonings
Illustrations:
