Miguel de Unamuno

Photo:  Ice Breakers just off the docks to which "Blue Girl" was tied at Gallipolis, OH.  ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ .~ . ~ .       ~ .~ . ~ . ~        . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ .~ . ~ . ~ .~     . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ .~ . ~ . ~ .~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ .~ .~ .               ~ .~ . ~ . ~

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We stopped at Gallipolis to have Allen's boots repaired. (They were literally busting at the seams).  We'd heard in the previous town, Pomeroy, of an excellent shoe repairman we'd find there.  We ended up staying two days in Gallipolis.  We took a long walk one day and I spied a used book store, and...  

 

   

"At times to be silent is to lie. You will win because you have enough brute force. But you will not convince. For to convince you need to persuade. And in order to persuade you would need what you lack: Reason and Right."

Unamuno in a confrontation with fascist General Milan-Astray

... now I can not resist posting this quote by Miguel de Unamuno. 

I discovered Unamuno during my Ohio River Trip.  I found a book called Spanish Stories and Tales  for $1.00 at a little used bookstore in Gallipolis.  The book was published in 1956, the same year I was born! The stories so invaded my thoughts that they completely turned around my idea of how I wanted to write about my Ohio boat journey.  My favorite piece was "Saint Manuel Bueno, Martyr" by Miguel de Unamuno.  This story can be found in a modern collection of Unamuno's works, and anyone interested in religion, mortality, and the existential problem we all face would do well to read it.