Review of Mark Knopfler’s “The Ragpicker’s Dream”

Review of the 2002 album “The Ragicker’s Dream” by Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straights fame).

“Falling Free” by Marjorie E. Brody

This is a story about the man who found himself at the end of his rope. But no matter how bad things are, there is always a way out…

Dreams

Discussions – “If you can dream – and not make dreams your master”.

“Equilibrium” by Laura Hinkle

How would you handle the loss of a leg in a horrific car crash? Our third-place winner for fiction, Laura Hinkle, describes how one young woman met with Triumph and Disaster and the long, arduous road she traveled to find a way to treat those two impostors just the same.

Boxcar to Manhood

When you read “Boxcar to Manhood”, you’ll meet the opinionated and unique father of Toianna Gump, our third-place winner for non-fiction. A self-described “Christian atheist”, Toianna’s dad continually strove for the emotional detachment Kipling implies is vital to “keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.”

“Imposture” by Marvin Rabinovitch

You’ll be more than impressed with the historic detail Marvin Rabinovitch brings to his story that takes our second-place prize for fiction. His tale of intrigue and betrayal set in ancient Rome artfully represents Kipling’s ideal that “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same…you’ll be a Man, my son.”

One Chance

Our first-place prize winner for non-fiction, Brock Meyer, relates the moving, memorable, one and only time he met his grandfather, who clearly demonstrated Kipling’s ideal “If you can make one heap of all your winnings, and risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, and lose, and start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word about your loss.”

“Geriatric Mischief Makers” by Anne Vuxton

Our first-place winner for fiction, Anne Vuxton, “fills the unforgiving minute” with her delightful sense of humor in her story demonstrating the hilariously provable premise that old age is exactly what you make of it–and her characters are deviously determined to make the most of the time they have left!

Theresa

When you get to know Theresa, you’ll understand why her sister-in-law Pat Florio chose to write about her. Our second-place winner for non-fiction shows us how her brother’s wife filled every unforgiving minute with distance run in a way that filled the hearts around her with joy and hope.

Bassist Rick Kennell: “He’s a meticulous guy. He rehearses. He works on his craft.”

The origin of Happy the Man dates back to mid-1972, when guitarist Stan Whitaker and bassist Rick Kennell met at a U.S. Army base in Germany. Rick was a member of Happy The Man during the ’70s. After the band broke up later in the decade, he worked Stanley and his new band, Vision, until the mid-’80s. He eventually moved into the management end of the business and was involved in the reunion of Happy the Man.