No doubt about it, our sons love video games. I stopped keeping track of all the favorites years ago. I do, however, remember growling upon the discovery while Christmas shopping that the Nintendo games didn’t work on the Nintendo 64 unit. I’m pretty sure I learned to play at least one game with each son. I don’t recall the names, though. With Tom, it was some little guy who dressed like Peter Pan … and played a flute. Does that…
Well, that was a failure. In trying to get my mind off the state of the States, each chosen volume this month instead served to remind me there’s no true escape from greed, violence, illness, and cruelty. Sigh. Week 1: A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene Our magnificent collection of Folio Books from Mom and Dad includes more than a dozen Graham Greene books, so I’m pleased to read one a month for the next year. A British author,…
To mask, or not to mask … Why is that even a question? I’m old enough to remember the national flap when seat belts were made mandatory. Even as a kid, I thought it was ridiculous to see adults rail about having a “constitutional right” to carry their baby on their lap while in a car. Or – gasp – not wear a seat belt so as not to wrinkle their clothes. The politicization of masks is a national disgrace….
Who remembers Dan Quayle? (This isn’t a political commentary – promise!) In case you don’t remember him, he was the nation’s 44th Vice President, under President George H.W. Bush. And he was born in Indiana. My first job out of college was in radio news in a little community called Tell City, Indiana. Named for William Tell, there were lots of apples and arrows about town, especially in the logos for local businesses and schools. The first few months I…
Well, that went fast. Retired. For one full year. It still feels like I’m playing hooky every day. And it still feels great. No second guessing. No regrets. The year itself, though, hasn’t been easy. Mom’s death continues to be mighty tough. Extra visits with Dad have helped a lot, well until the pandemic took over. Thank goodness for phones, texting, and Facetime. John and Aubrie’s wedding is an ongoing ray of sunshine in our lives. The glow of love…
Farmer Gary doesn’t like snakes. Not one bit. Living on a farm, though, there are plenty of opportunities for reptilian encounters. Here are just a few: Pssst! Up here! The other morning, Gary headed out to our garage to hop on his John Deere lawnmower, as the grass in our yard is in rapid-growth mode. First, he backed my vehicle out of the way. Walking back in to get the mower, a scruffy old bird’s nest on the ground right…
My sister-in-law Linda posted some beautiful flower photos this morning on Facebook. She and my brother Harry live in Maine and spend a lot of their time happily communing with nature. I, on the other hand, can recognize pansies and geraniums, but I fear that’s about it. Oh, and roses. Carnations and day lilies, too, But that’s it. So it’s a good thing Linda identified the flowers in her post as peonies. Now I may not recognize peonies, but at…
Dear Dad – My brothers and I decided to capture a list of some of the quirky, memorable, and downright goofy Dad-isms you treated us to over the years. Dad, you may not have often regaled us with what are now called Dad Jokes (and for that we are grateful!), but you nevertheless kept us entertained. This collection of Dad-isms fell naturally into the following five themes: Music to our ears Hippie Music! As rock and roll music took over…
For me, the right thing to do this past week was … to think. The world is in an uproar and we all have a place in the turmoil. Social media is a cesspool of snarling racists, preachy Karens, and nasty name-callers. How can our country still be so ugly? When we moved from Connecticut to Indiana, I was 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. It was the fall of 1973. A few weeks after we moved…
Week 1: Andy & Don by Daniel de Vise At the end of April, I decided to look for some lighthearted books to read in May. So much death and horror in the news, it was time to spend some time in … Mayberry. Nope. Mayberry is only on TV. As May turned out to be even worse than April (with the police murder of George Floyd, followed by rioting throughout the country reminiscent of the 1960s), it was clear the sweet…