When I hear people complain about how breathing is uncomfortable in the year of pandemic mask-wearing, I think back to how we put up with a bit of discomfort when there was candy to be gotten. I mean, just look at this thing! See those two tiny holes right beneath this hideous cat’s nose? And right above the back of kitty’s tongue – that tiny slit? That’s how we breathed on Halloween. And no one complained. Growing up in the…
My dad likes ice cream. Back in the ’60s, he’d take us out for a family drive around Berkshire County on hot summer Sunday afternoons. Chances are, we’d end up at Dairy Queen. We’d each get a dipped cone. Back then, there were two choices: vanilla soft serve, dipped in chocolate or cherry. Chocolate for my brothers. Cherry for me. Dad always had a plan. He wouldn’t order anything for himself, but was at the ready to “help out” when…
Are you old enough to remember the “Keep America Beautiful” slogan? It’s from back in the 1960s (and has nothing to do with current political swag). During President Johnson’s time in office, the First Lady took on a nation-wide project to clean up the look of the place. “We need urgently to restore the beauty of our land.” – Lady Bird Johnson According to the LBJ Library website, her Highway Beautification Act bill almost didn’t pass: Just before the 1965…
There comes a time in every mother’s life when she simply has to put her foot down. Dad recalls the first time Mom did this. It was in the mid-1960s, we were living in Pittsfield, and there was too much cussin’ going on in our house. “Mom got on my case,” he remembers. I asked Dad, “So what was it, mostly ‘hell’ and ‘damn’?” ” … bastard, too.” The response came much sooner than I would have expected. For those…
As a kid, it ticked me off that certain things were “boys only.” For example, my dad took my brothers bowling. But not me. “I’ll take you bowling on your wedding day,” Dad promised. I reminded him of that oft-spoken vow on Gary’s and my big day in 1982, but didn’t hold my father to it. It was the mid-1960s, and my older brothers were donning the special robes, lighting the candles, ringing the chimes, and burning the incense. My…
An estimated 10 percent of the population favors their left hand over their right. They are what’s known as left handed. As today is International Left Handers Day, online “facts” abound. Yes, I’m one of the ten-percenters. The weird thing is – so are two of my three brothers. That would make you think it’s genetic, right? Not in this case: Both of our parents are right-handed yet only one of their four children favors his right hand. And, if…
“Boy am I glad to have this cell phone!” Well, I nearly cried. I’d talked Dad into buying a mobile phone well over a decade ago. It took until the other day – and the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias – to hear him praise the handiness of this new-fangled option to his trusty land-line phone. Gary and I sometimes ponder this question: What gadgets will our sons want us to use in the future? My husband is incredibly technology-adverse (although…
In the middle of the night, a mosquito bite woke me up from a deep sleep. Not a new bite, just an extremely itchy one. Darn those mosquitoes! The bite was so itchy that I’d dabbed Benedryl Cream on it yesterday afternoon, and topped it off with a band-aid. Advice: Be sure to put tubes of anti-itch cream away safely after using. As mortifying as this is, I must admit to not paying attention a few weeks ago and squeezing…
It’s “Tell the Truth Day” and, boy, does that trigger a memory! It was the fall of 1968 and I was a 5th grader at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. There were two fifth grade classes, taught by Mrs. McGill and Sister Helena Maria. On the first day of class, our names were called. My two best friends – Elizabeth Cross and Anne Marie Cuzzone – were thrilled to be in Mrs. McGill’s class. I crossed my fingers…
Memory is a fascinating function of the brain. It’s especially curious when two people share the same experience, but carry somewhat different versions with them into the future. For example, a Christmas shopping trip in December 1963, with Dad as my shopping buddy. Destination: downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts. (After 1963, Mom always took me Christmas shopping. It was a treat. We would stop by Rosa Restaurant on North Street “for a bite,” as Mom would say.) It never occurred to me…