Category: Family

My mom and dad purchased the house at 500 N. Edgeworth in January of 1950 and made it our new home. 500 N. Edgeworth sounds cool.  It sounds better than 430 N. Edgeworth  and more distinguished than 500 S. Edgeworth.  It also sounds way cooler that 500 N. Minerva.  Who would want to live on …

On Tuesday morning we returned to Kalamazoo.   We went to a jewelry store and purchased two gold wedding bands.  Mine cost $40.00 and I expect Ruth’s was about the same.  (Another example of memory moments that are stored deeply in our brains.) Ruth and I had a housing dilemma.  Both of us had recently …

On our way back to “The Tod” we stopped at a party store.  We bought a package of Twinkies and a bottle of champagne.  We made a toast to ourselves, ate our “wedding cake” and changed our clothes.  Then we called Ruth’s parents. Ruth’s mom answered the phone.  There was no small talk.  I was …

We checked out in the morning, completed our drive to the airport, parked my car, and boarded our plane.  Boring but truthful.   We landed in Las Vegas, rented a car, and drove down the Las Vegas strip.  The drive took us by big name casinos with what we expected to hold upscale, high-priced hotel …

Ruth and I arrived a split second before Mike and were walking towards her apartment when his car pulled in.   That’s when I learned of their scheduled 6 o’clock date.  That was a surprise for me.  Of the two surprises Mike and I received within a minute of each other, I’ll go with mine. …

Our stop at the Hi-Lo was eventful.  We were more engrossed in the conversation than the drinking or the sparse afternoon crowd.  We continued our reminiscing that began at the school with the students, and Ruth reviewed the details of her sister’s wedding the month before.  I knew her sister, Kathy, and her new husband, …

I met my wife, Ruth, in the fall of 1969.  We were both first year teachers at Plainwell Junior High in Plainwell, Michigan.  I didn’t like her when we first met.  I thought that she was too brash for a first year teacher. There were five newbies at the junior high that year –  Ruth, …

My earliest memory of Christmas – beyond attending mass and opening Christmas presents – was traveling to Detroit in the late afternoon/early evening for Christmas with the Barner family.   While my aunts and uncles rotated the hosting of Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas was reserved for my grandparent’s house.   Thanksgiving was important because that was …

When your children are born your first concern is for their health.  Do they have all of their fingers and toes?  If the answer is yes, the celebration begins.   As your grandchildren are born, you take the same inventory. Eva is my granddaughter with the emphasis on grand.   She reminded me early on …

I have two grandchildren.   Both are healthy, bright, and fun to be around. I enjoy teaching them things and I have learned from them as well.  Here are a few stories (all true) about my grandson, Brady. When Brady was being “potty trained” he received a jellybean when he accomplished his mission successfully. One …