In 1995 I gave a journal to each of my parents as a Christmas gift and asked them to record stories from their past. I have my father’s journal. My request of him reads as follows: Dad – you, Uncle Harry Mac and Uncle Harry Barner have shared dozens of tales from …
Author: Robert
Perspective
Last October 17th I had an appointment with a new doctor to speak with him about my back issues. The office was the home base for a group of orthopedic doctors who specialized in all sorts of body parts: knees, shoulders, legs, arms, backs, hips, etc. I sat next to a guy in the …
Two New Cars
Gene’s family was a Chevy family. Mine preferred Ford. The big news of the car industry during the 50’s was “what new styles” would grace our roadways. Gene thought Chevy was best while I rooted for Ford. These preferences were developed in large part because that is what each family owned. …
Kitchen Poker
A few years ago there was a public campaign that asked the “average Joe” to submit an idea for a new reality TV show. The hope was that someone from somewhere would have an idea unique enough to be produced on television. I am an “average Joe” who is someone from somewhere so I submitted …
Shop Around
My grandson, Brady, turned 13 today. (June 2, 2018) We celebrated last week-end. While we were together we talked about BIG birthdays. I told him that I thought 10, 13, 16, 18, 21 were BIG ones. 10 because you have to write two digits when you write your age You won’t add another …
Bobby Unser, Paul Newman, and Me – Episode Two
The four travelers didn’t knock on my apartment door until about 10:00. All of that concern about nothing. They had decided to drive to Allegan before picking me up. Uncle Harry’s parents are buried in a local cemetery and he wanted to place flowers on their grave. After visiting the cemetery they stopped …
Bobby Unser, Paul Newman, and Me
The 52nd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes (AKA the Indianapolis 500) was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Thursday May 30, 1968. For the second year in a row, one of Andy Granatelli’s STP Turbine-powered machines was leading late in the race, but once again, it failed within sight of victory. On …
Naps
When it comes to taking naps I think that there are two types of people in the world , those who do and those who don’t. I’m a doer. According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than 85% of mammalian species are polyphasic sleepers, meaning that they sleep for short periods throughout the day. Humans …
The Underachiever
The importance of hard work was instilled upon me by my parents. My mom graduated from high school but my dad only attended school through the eighth grade. That was normal for many kids born in the late teens and twenties. They wanted more for my two sisters and me. They encouraged me to …
There’s A Lot of Ways to Get to Cleveland
Several years ago I was playing golf with two of my friends. The opening hole was a par four with water left and woods on the right. Jan struck a perfect drive right down the center of the fairway. Mike knocked his into the woods and I dunked mine in the water. …