The Robert Ferre
Website
with Linda Ricketts
No Facebook page for me -- just this old fashioned personal website, filled with things I love.
Short bio.
Here is a page about Linda and me.
Embarassing photos.
Article about me in Denison newsletter.
WRITINGS
Retired: Gone Cruising
This is the log describing the cruises we have enjoyed. Hopefully there
will be many more in the future. Do you cruise? No? Maybe this will change
your mind. I'm working on a book which will detail with some specificity,
one of our cruises, called Retired: Gone Cruising. Included will be relevant history and interesting
facts. To expand their market, cruise lines are trying to entice families,
young people, children. They take us retired folks for granted, as we
have always been the mainstay of the passenger list. I think they are
missing the boat, so to speak. One of my greatest joys in retirement has
been the opportunity to go on cruises. My writing is directed to the retirement
community. See for yourself.
Before I Forget: A memoir of an
interesting life
Time after time, regaling people with stories from my varied life
experiences, they have exclaimed: "You should write this down in
a book." I'd thought that my memoir would be centered on my previous
18-year marriage to Ruth Hanna. Then, Linda, my beautiful wife, had a
great idea, which has changed the whole project. Topics of interest, which
I previously thought would be the subject of entire books, so many of
them as to be a daunting prospect, could be covered as chapters in the
memoir. Yes, yes, yes.
Yardsticks: An American phenomenon
No other country in the world produced millions of yardsticks as
cheap giveaways, covered with advertising. The bank, the hardware store,
insurance agents, funeral homes, political candidates -- the list goes
on and on. The history of yardsticks is more fascinating than you might
imagine. Perhaps that is why I have 2,000 of them in my collection. I
know of no other book ever written on the subject. It's about time.
Bread Pudding
It's just one of those flukes that I started keeping a record of bread
puddings that I have eaten. After a while, it took on a life of its own
. . .
OTHER STUFF
Labyrinths, labyrinths, labyrinths
Labyrinth making was my last career, other than my writing. It started
in early 1995 and, like the labyrinth itself, led me down a circuitous
route to my present state of retirement. It offered a modest living, a
certain degree of recognition, and a not inconsiderable amount of personal
transformation. I would be amiss if I just disappeared from the landscape
and didn't share
with others some of what I have learned.
Chartres Cathedral
Over a period of 46 years I have visited Chartres Cathedral, in France,
52 times (with more visits planned). There are a lot of books about hoky
mystery theories that involve Chartres, most of which are totally bogus.
The real story is far more amazing, the audacity of inspired builders
to invent a new building technique never seen before in history, overcoming
the problems previously encountered with the weight and mass of stone.
For some of my views, see Chartres Cathedral and mything the point.
My other websites:
Labyrinth
Enterprises, LLC
This is my business website. I remain president
of Labyrinth Enterprises, LLC, but most of the work I now refer to a group
of labyrinth artists. Once or twice a year I might still get involved.
It is in my blood. Despite sore knees and back after 17 years of crawling
on concrete, I still love it. Linda does her part (see photo . . . )
Retired: Gone Cruising
Here will be photos and other supporting material for my book of the same name.
Above: Me and Linda on the Isle of Wight during our honeymoon in 2010. For more information, see the cruise log.
In retirement, we are still active with labyrinths, both installing and lecturing. For more information, see labyrinths.