Sunday, December 7th, 2025. 10:19 AM.
Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Tower Hill Woods
In
Cumberland, Rhode Island
When I was a child my dad and mom took us walking in Tower Hill Woods.
And sometimes
We picked blueberries there.
There were large ant hills nearby – about a foot high.
Mom said she stepped on one of them years ago.
And then many ants were crawling up her leg.
They may have been red ants.
Dad also took my brother Dale and me there to practice using a 22-rifle.
One time dad brought us to a “cave” within a large rock there in those woods. It was like a very narrow tunnel. And you had to go down a hole at the top of the big rock to enter the cave. Then you proceeded in almost total darkness through a very narrow passage for several feet until you came to the end – and walked out. It was so narrow that only children were small enough to pass through the narrowest part – and only one-at-a-time. It’s been so long since I’ve walked in those woods, I don’t know if I could find that cave anymore; but lately — every day — I remember it; and think of returning there; and, maybe find that tunnel/cave in Tower Hill Woods – off Tower Hill Road in Cumberland. It would be a very long walk to get there – especially for me now – at 74 years old. And then, even if I got there – and walked in those woods – I would still have a very long walk back home to Woonsocket. I imagine it might be a 5 or 6 mile walk – just to arrive there. And the weather at this time of year in New England is getting very cold and windy. I recall dad showing us a disc embedded in a rock there that stated that it was the highest point in Rhode Island – at least I think that is what it stated.
The scarry part of this story is something I’m imagining could happen if I actually walked all the way there, alone – and looked for that cave. I imagine I might be tempted to try to go down that tunnel in the rock; and see if I can pass through the narrowest part – as an adult – and come out safe and sound at the other end. Maybe it’s a heart-felt wish to return to former days – when I was young; and mom and dad were still with us. They are both departed now – and their 7 children are long past childhood.
If I got stuck in there, I suppose I would either starve to death or freeze to death – or both – during this cold and windy Winter season. [Actually, the season of Winter doesn’t start until December 21st – 14 days from today]. Maybe I should wait until Springtime to walk there. It would be a much more pleasant season of the year. Spring is by far my favorite time of the year. What an agonizingly slow and torturous way to die that would be! And so lonely. Just publishing this imagining might be dangerous. Relatives may think I’m crazy and have me committed.
I’m not really very tempted to walk there. I’m tired every day now. Bodily aches and pains are a normal part of my daily existence now in my 70s. It’s too far a walk for me. So, maybe I’ll only write about this walk – and my imaginings of what could happen to me there in Tower Hill Woods all alone. The word Tower also reminds me of the very first Hardy Boys mystery story: “The Tower Treasure.”
The following is only imaginary . . .
Just imagining now that it’s Springtime of 2026. Maybe it’s the month of May. And on a beautiful day in the Month of May I finally take this walk to Tower Hill Woods again for the firs time since about 1990. The last time I walked there was with my youngest brother, Todd. I also camped out overnight with my brother Jason in Tower Hill Woods. We slept in my 4-man tent that I had bought at Ann & Hope in Londsdale – a section of Cumberland, Rhode Island – but far away from Tower Hill Woods. It was the only time I ever used that Coleman Classic 4-man tent. We made breakfast over an open fire on a spacious rock surface the next morning; and then folded up the tent and carried it out. I had a car in those days. It was the only new car I ever owned – a white Dodge Aspen with light-blue trim. Thankfully, the car was still there where I parked it along the side of that narrow road the evening before.
Getting back now to my imagining of going there alone in May of 2026. I find that cave in the woods that Dad first showed us a very long time ago – when I was in the first decade of my life in the 1950s – about 65 years ago. I’m standing above the hole in the rock wondering what might happen if I go down there again. Will I be able to get through the narrowest part and reach daylight again? Or will I become stuck – and die there – a slow, agonizing death – and never see daylight again ? Since this is only my imagining, I guess it’s safe to enter the cave. I go down the hole in the rock and begin stepping through the darkness for the first time since I was a child. It feels more narrow to me now at 74 than it did when I was about 8 years old. I do in fact become stuck. And I can’t even remove my coat to decrease my size. And I can’t even turn around and go back to the hole I descended — to try to climb out. I begin wondering if this is The End of My Life. I recall something Jesus said:
“So if the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed.” -John 8: 36 ESV.
And then there is a rumbling sound and a feeling like an earthquake – and then an explosion; and I’m suddenly in the daylight again. Tower Hill Rock and cave and tunnel are nowhere to be found. And it is all level ground around me. The hill of Tower Hill itself is all gone. I’m still in the woods, though. I begin walking and eventually reach Tower Hill Road and continue walking until I’m back in Woonsocket and in my apartment again. I make a cup of coffee and sit down to rest and consider all that happened to me on this day and that walk and return to Tower Hill Woods and the cave and tunnel; and being stuck; and then recalling the words of Jesus and all-of-sudden becoming free.
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” -John 8: 31-32. ESV.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” -Jesus. [John 8: 36 ESV Study Bible].
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” -Jesus [Matthew 7: 13-14. ESV Study Bible].
“And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” -Jesus [Matthew 18: 2-4. ESV Study Bible].
“For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
“Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” -1 Corinthians 10: 1-13 ESV Study Bible.
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”-Psalm 91: 1 ESV Study Bible.
Psalm 91 ESV
Psalm 91 ESV – My Refuge and My Fortress – He who – Bible Gateway
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” -Psalm 23: 4. ESV Study Bible.
Psalm 23 ESV
Psalm 23 ESV – The LORD Is My Shepherd – A Psalm of – Bible Gateway
“So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” -John 10: 7-11 ESV Study Bible.
John 10-11 ESV
John 10-11 ESV – I Am the Good Shepherd – “Truly, – Bible Gateway
Rock of Ages
The rock . . .
“God Will Make a Way”
God Will Make a Way (with lyrics) – Don Moen
God Will Make a Way (with lyrics) – Don Moen – YouTube
“Rock of Ages Cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee”
“I am the door; if anyone enters by me he will go in and out and find pasture”
“Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.”
“Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away.”
“If you continue in my word you are my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
“Rock of Ages Cleft for me”
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”
“Thou shalt become a plain . . . “
Darlene Zschech – Victor’s Crown (with Lyrics)
Darlene Zschech – Victor’s Crown (with Lyrics)
Leeland – Way Maker (Official Live Video)
Leeland – Way Maker (Official Live Video)
Jesus Culture – Break Every Chain (Official Lyric Video)
Jesus Culture – Break Every Chain (Official Lyric Video)
“Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” -Zechariah 4: 6-7. ESV Study Bible.
Charity Gayle – I Speak Jesus (feat. Steven Musso) [Live]
Charity Gayle – I Speak Jesus (feat. Steven Musso) [Live]
Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace) [Official Lyric Video] – Hillsong Worship
Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace) [Official Lyric Video] – Hillsong Worship
“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” -1 John 5: 4-5 ESV Study Bible.
1 John 1-5 ESV
1 John 1-5 ESV – The Word of Life – That which was from – Bible Gateway
Still | Hillsong Worship Lyrics
Still | Hillsong Worship Lyrics
The Rapture
Gospel Tract – The Rapture – Moments With The Book
What is Meant by the Rapture?
Tract For Believers – What is Meant by the Rapture? – Moments With The Book
Mark's Imaginings 