Blog - Colleen Kelly Mellor: I Write of Heroes

April 11, 2021

Rhode Island’s Just So Damned Cute (and a little like Asheville)

What’s so special about Rhode Island? Is it the coastline that darts in and out?..The architecture? Why is little Rhody so darned cute? My best friend from Asheville, North Carolina, came out to visit us, in Rhode Island, the first year after we left. For nine years, during our winters in Asheville, she and I […]

Releted TagsAsheville Boomerrrang relocation Rhode Island

April 8, 2021

Two Heroes Joined by a Wristband

Recently Kentucky Air Force Col. Mark E. Baran retired from the United States Air Force. He’d worn a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) wristband for 18 years, etched with the name of my brother-in-law, Col. Fredrick Mellor, a POW and Rhode Island’s first casualty of the Viet Nam war. My account about Fred being shot […]

Releted Tagsheroes

March 28, 2021

Mary Beth Griffith: Her ‘Gift’ Prepared Her

Mary Beth Griffith: Her ‘Gift’ Prepared Her If her name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’re a member of the “Confidence for Caregivers” support group on Facebook. That’s where I met her. And because I’m always intrigued with people’s life stories, I asked Caregivers’ host/administrator and support coach, Cheryl Huto, which members might welcome an interview. […]

Releted TagsAlzheimer Partner Alzheimer's

March 26, 2021

“Yes, We Did That…In the Name of Science”

“Yes…We Did That in the Name of Science” Anatomy class at John F. Deering High School (now West Warwick High School) still figures prominently in my memory. We’d already “pithed” a live frog which I found horrific since I sympathized with the creature wholeheartedly…even wrote a poem about that experience. What’s pithing? It’s when you […]

Releted TagsJohn F. Deering High Memories RIMemories West Warwick

March 25, 2021

“Merda….Merda”

Merda…Merda… If one grew up in a mill town like West Warwick, Rhode Island, in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, he or she interacted with many nationalities since the Irish, Italians, Portuguese, French, English, Scots all came for jobs in the town’s 14 working factories and mills. As a resident of that town, I went […]