Amelia Island's Mark of a Man Excerpt- Pat Dunnigan

Amelia Island's Mark of a Man,
part of The Goodbye Lie Series

      Jack Patrick is a little boy in 1882 in The Goodbye Lie, the first in my trilogy set on Amelia Island, Florida.  He gives his Irish family, the Dunnigans,  headaches and worry and lumps in their throats, but his intentions lean, for the most part, to the honorable. As the years go on, he uses his charms to his advantage when he must. He has a potent sense of right versus wrong, most of the time ...
     The third novel in the series, Amelia Island's Mark of a Man, features Pat, the name he prefers to be called as an adult.  Here is an excerpt from that book, likewise set in the Victorian seaside town of Fernandina. The time is 1898.

     "Mrs. Ickles has two tummies," announced six-year-old Nugget, "but Aunt Noreen wins 'cause she's got five!" 

Pat Dunnigan

      Agreeing with his nephew, Pat  Dunnigan wore a grin until, in the shadows beneath the stairwell, he spotted Marie, fingering the lapel of the cornet player. And she was whispering in his ear! But this reality was not what Pat perceived. No, he saw a stranger bent over an innocent--his innocent--slobbering onto her neck. Then he saw red! Without a word, with no hesitation, he grabbed the man's arm, spinning him off his sister. A solid left fist followed to the violator’s mouth. He damn sure wouldn't be nuzzling necks or puffing on horns any time soon, not with both lips split. 

Amelia Island's Mark of a Man, part of The Goodbye Lie Series

Musical Discovery

Source: Reprinted from Words for Worship, 2018 Augsburg Fortress.

     I love old-timey hymns, as you might suspect. Along that line, we were in church one Sunday morning singing The Great Thanksgiving, as pictured above.  Mind you, I have been going to church my entire life and playing handbells forever, all the while reading the music to the best of my ability. Never did I notice this particular something until a friend, Katherine Swafford, pointed it out.  Look at the ties or curved lines connecting some of the musical notes. The way they are laid out, your can magically see two black eyes and a wide smile grinning back at you. In the three sets of notes with the ties, you can even see a little nose with the eyes. - And what a perfect place to find them, in this Great Thanksgiving! How simple, sweet and wonderful!!! Thank you, Katherine.- jmm