Category: Family

My friend, Dave, gave me a three wood last spring before we headed north to Michigan.  He didn’t use it and it matched the seven and five woods that I carry in Florida.  It was a nice gesture on his part, and I appreciated the gift. I found it in my bag when we returned …

My mom was born in a house in Smiths Grove, Kentucky on July 19, 1920.  Her arrival increased the total population to 811.  By the end of the year, four other births were recorded for a grand total of 815.  That number marked the all time high for the town.  Forty years later, the population …

I’ve never been a great fan of Halloween.  I didn’t understand  the “let’s scare the heck out of each other” part of the holiday.   Don’t get me wrong.  I took part when I was a kid, and certainly enjoyed the candy that I gathered as part of  “trick or treating”, but the older I …

Elizabeth was in the third grade, David the fifth and Michael was in second when we took the kids to Mackinac Island for the first time. We had a great time exploring the island.  We walked through the main streets, bought fudge and t-shirts, held photo shoots like this one, and rented bikes. The five …

This is my 200th blog.  One of the main things I’ve discovered during my 200 posts is my stories have resurrected  memories for others.  I think that’s a good thing.  Some of  you lived the stories with me,  others were reminded of similar tales from their own past, and still others garnered a smile or …

If my dad was still alive, he’d be 100 years old tomorrow.  He lived until June 27, 1999 a few months short of turning 80.  That’s way too young, especially when I consider that I’m heading that way myself. He lived a simple life, worked hard, and above all else, he loved his family.  My …

Casey became my aunt the moment that Ruth and I said “I do”.  I’d met her  several months before at the Van Bruggen family gathering during the Christmas season of 1970.  She was the youngest sister of Ruth’s father’s family and the only one without a husband and children.  I liked her the moment we …

Ruth and I took Brady and Eva out for breakfast last Saturday.  We picked them up at Papa and Grandma’s house.  (That’s Lindsay’s parents.)   We planned to eat at a local mom and pop restaurant that we haven’t been to in over thirty years. Lindsay’s parents live on Folks Road.  We headed west on …

  The hippies pulled out of town yesterday morning at 9:30 10:00 11:00 11:08.  It’s hard to believe that they were only here sixteen weeks.  If you use a day planner, that’s 112 days.  All you math geniuses out there know that converts to three months, two weeks, six days, fourteen hours, nineteen minutes and …

Ruth and I hung out with Brady and Eva last week-end.  Ruth arrived on Thursday evening and I arrived the next day.  Before I rolled into town on Friday, Ruth drove Brady to a neighboring town for a gathering of seventh and eighth grade students.  Brady is going to be a freshman in the fall …