Family

Hot Pursuit

If you’ve ever had teenagers in your life, you may be able to relate to this tale.  The event took place about thirty years ago, but I remember the key components like they occurred yesterday. One of the perks of being a school superintendent was attending conferences in Traverse City each fall.  Ruth enjoyed going …

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Family

The California Dairy Queen

My daughter-in-law, Kate, is the California Dairy Queen.  She never had a formal coronation, but since she started working with the California Milk Advisory Board that’s what I call her. The California dairy industry is a significant part of California’s agricultural community.  Milk has the highest farm revenue among California agricultural commodities. California ranks first …

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Family

A Revelation

I had a mini revelation on Christmas Eve. Michael, Kate, Jackson and I were getting in the car to join Elizabeth and Sutton on the beach at Dana Point for the second year in a row when I flashed back to Michael’s first Christmas. Ruth and my David was almost the same age as young …

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Family

Mitch

My first friend, Mitch, died last Friday. The last time I saw him was during a luncheon that my sister, Jackie, held at her house in June of 2023. She invited the two of us to join our third friend, Rudy. The three of us reminisced about our younger days. Our most recent bond was …

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Family

Fifteen Weeks Volume Two

Editor’s Note:  I wrote the original version of 15 Weeks last October.  I’d forgotten all about it.  As I was reviewing my draft of today’s blog, the original version popped up.  I’m not going to develop a whole new story.  The bulk of this tale is similar, but it has a different ending.  With over …

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Family

Cupboards and Closets

With a condo in Michigan, and a house in Florida, I’ve got a lot of cupboards and closets.  I’m responsible for the organization of one closet in Michigan, and I didn’t organize anything in Florida.  Ruth did it all. My single contribution is the closet that I use for my office. It’s really one of …

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Family

Edinburgh, Scotland

We visited St. Andrews yesterday. It’s the home of golf. When the kids were young, Ruth and I took all three to the local par three golf course called Silver Lake. It’s on US 12 a few miles from our Lake LeAnn home. We’d go on Sunday afternoons. I don’t recall how many golfers I …

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Family

On Our Way To Orkney Islands – Kirkwall, Scotland

About a dozen ago, our entire family met in Montana. We stayed at the bed and breakfast. Ruth and I slept in the main house while the kids and their crews stayed in a couple of cabins on the property. We had a great time. We all went on a two hour horseback trail ride. …

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Family

Polliwogs and Lightning Bugs

I was driving down a country road the other day and as I passed over a bridge, I saw two shirtless ten-year-olds fishing. They were standing on the bank watching their lines and laughing. I smiled to myself and thought back to a simpler time from my youth 500 North Edgeworth has a park on …

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Family

Testing One Two Testing

I’ve been playing with an audio recorder.  I recorded a story I had written a few years ago and originally posted on October 14, 2018.   I shared it with my kids, two sisters and my nieces.   Most gave it a thumbs up.  Jackie shared it with the members her “pretty ladies club”.  I think that’s …

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