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…
YOU! Close the door and lock it. Class begins on time. No latecomers! It was the first day of class. My final college class. And the professor was a madman. A MAD man, actually. Fred Brewer eventually told us he was a former editor of MAD Magazine, the irreverent comic-book-style periodical. He’d served as editor of the British edition. But this was Indiana University in June of 1980, my senior year. All I had left before leaving campus was one…
“You’ve got to pay more attention to current events – today is HUGE!” It was August 8, 1974, and my friend Jenny was beside herself with glee. Although just 16, she followed politics closely and was overjoyed that President Richard Nixon was about to resign in disgrace, following the Watergate Scandal. Despite Jenny’s urging, I simply wasn’t into politics – or current events for that matter. The “news bug” would bite me in college as I took journalism classes, but…
“Goose! You know BEE-thoven?!“ Cameron was stunned that I recognized the piano piece he’d just finished. Yes, Cam. In fact it was the wedding song played when Papaw and I got married. “Goose! You and Papaw are married?!” Clearly we need to talk about the fact that Gary and I haven’t just been shacking up all these years. Cameron is our constant delight. Our joy. Looking back even further than our 1982 nuptials, I realize Beethoven’s 9th Symphony has always…
For 27 years, I worked at an attraction in Santa Claus, Indiana, where Christmas music played from May through October. It was fun to watch unsuspecting visitors suddenly realize “Let It Snow!” was playing on the speakers in the middle of July, with outdoor temperatures approaching triple digits. Most smiled, a few rolled their eyes, several brave souls sang along. My first experience Christmas caroling was when I was three years old. Mom, who loved Christmas, announced to my brothers…
I write this with a tear in my eye, as it’s the anniversary of the death of an incredible person. Jim Gosling was a college pal. We were in the Singing Hoosiers (think Glee for undergrads) together and laughed ourselves silly for three years. Our birthdays were two days apart (plus one year). My second year in Singing Hoosiers, Jim arrived, along with Vince and Mark. All so talented, full of promise; all from Elkhart. You’ve heard the term “triple…