In no particular order of importance. I never saw Poppy get mad or raise his voice. I expect that he did – don’t we all – but I never witnessed it. His sons-in-law respected him. Tony, Harry, Don and Joe were not afraid to tease him, and they loved him like a father. He …
Author: Robert
Poppy
Margaret and Harrison Continued Our 1958 Christmas rescue of the house with “no heat” was resolved very quickly. Preparing for the job took longer than the job itself. There was a family Christmas party being held at the home of one of Poppy’s customers. It was much like the one we left, only more …
Margaret and Harrison
Their friends called them Margaret and Harrison. Margaret was born Margaret Louise Walker. Harrison was really Carter Harrison. Kate, Ruth, Eugenia, Harry and Mildred called them mom and dad. To my sisters, cousins, and me they were Grandma and Grandpa Barner (AKA Poppy). They lived in Kentucky where my mom and Aunt Ruth were …
I Almost Drowned
My grandson, Brady, added to his list of athletic accomplishments this winter and joined his school’s swim team. He’s a very good athlete. If there is a game, he’s ready to play. Swimming is a whole new adventure. He did very well and improved throughout the season. Swimming, like golf, track, …
My New Career Path
My great fear when I retired from what I call my “real job” is what I would do with all of my new-found “retirement time”. Luckily, I landed a consultant position with Michigan Works, and I have been able to spend part of my retirement time working. I added “blogging” to my list of things …
Batman and Robin
My granddaughter, Eva, was named after three of her great-grandmothers. Kathryn was Ruth’s mom, Katherine was mine and Eva was her grandfather, Larry’s. When her parents put all three names together, her name came out Eva Katheryn. Eva never knew Kathryn. She was lucky to share a few years with Katherine before she …
First Jobs
I was talking with a group of friends this week and we had a discussion of our best and worst jobs. Our conversation reminded me of my first jobs. Perhaps your list is similar to mine. I collected newspapers and sold them to the “junk yard”. I loaded them into my dad’s …
Wise Move
Last Saturday a large group of friends went to a place called Gator Joe’s to listen to my son-in-law, Sutton, perform. Gator Joe’s is an old Florida bar on Lake Weir. One of the area’s claims to fame is this is where Ma Barker and her son, Fred, met their demise. Ma Barker and …
I Apologize
Driver Education Class I became a driver’s education instructor early in my teaching career. I worked several summers to earn extra money. Becoming certified to teach driver education required several college classes. One of my fellow teachers, Ken, took the classes with me. We both intended to supplement our teacher’s salary. On the first day …
Playing in the Band
Ruth and I went to a concert last Saturday. We saw David Foster and he was spectacular. If you’re not sure who he is, and I wasn’t, think Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble’, Josh Groban, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind and Fire, Michael Bolton, Kenny Rogers, …