Eva is a high school freshman this year, and Brady is a senior. Eva will experience a series of firsts and Brady will have several lasts. That’s how growing up works. Both are bittersweet. Having a family and raising children is not for the faint of heart. It takes patience and dedication. You raise them …
Author: Robert
$197.50
Ruth and I played in a golf tournament the last weekend of August. While I’ve played in several over the years, it was Ruth’s first. She was a bit nervous, but she played well. The second summer in our Tullymore condo has been very different from the first. Last year, we spent much of our …
500 Chunks
This is my five-hundredth blog. When I began writing in November of 2017, I had one goal, share stories of my life, so one day my grandchildren would have a better understanding of their extended family. It’s morphed over the years into a collection of thoughts and observations. I’d estimate I’ve written about 320,000 words, …
My Little Black Book
A little black book is a notebook containing an individual’s contacts and their personal information. Like many phrases containing the word black, this one refers to something mysterious. People sometimes refer to a journal, or part of a journal, as their black book or little black book. Some have been known to be full of personal secrets that might be …
Learning to Speak
Young Jackson James is learning to speak. He’s got an extensive vocabulary for a seventeen-month-old. Kate and Michael interact with him much like Ruth and I did with our three as they were growing up. We never used “baby talk” to speak with the kids. We held normal conversations using our adult vocabulary. Mike and …
The $25 Tomato
The following summer, Ruth, the three kids, and I planted a garden in a community plot a few miles from our house. We thought it would be a good learning experience for David, Elizabeth and Michael. The gardening project was sponsored by Jackson Community College. The college prepped the land, provided access to water, and …
My Green Thumb
Our first summer as a married couple, Ruth and I lived on Kalamazoo’s Stockbridge Avenue, and I decided to plant a garden. I’d never planted one before but thought it couldn’t be that difficult, so I dug up a ten-by-ten patch of earth behind our garage. I just turned over the soil, did my best …
The Principal of the Thing
Mr. Levens was my elementary school principal throughout my six years at Lincoln. I have no idea who the principal of Clara Barton Junior High was. We never met and that worked well for me. I had two principals during my four years at George A. Dondero High School, but again, we never met. I …
Classmates
For several years I thought this picture was taken at Whittier Elementary. Upon further examination, I realize it may not have been taken there. Some of the kids didn’t attend Whittier. They did attend Lincoln, but I’m not convinced the photo was taken there. Regardless of the location, I think it’s an end of the …
Second Grade
Mom invited my Lincoln Elementary School teachers to lunch at our house. Miss Haskell (1st), Mrs. Davies (2nd), Mrs. Steward (3rd), Mrs. Henderson (4th), Mr. Reese (5th), and Mr. Cromar (6th) took their appropriate turn. We had an hour for lunch, and we lived just a couple of blocks from school, so accepting an invitation …