Category: Family

If they had lived, my parents would have been married seventy-eight years this past Friday.  They got married on December 8, 1945.  My dad died in 1999 and my mom in 2014. Dad joined the army in January of 1941.  He signed up for one year and was scheduled to be discharged in January of …

What I know about wine can be summed up in a single word.  Nothing.  Oh sure, I know that there’s red and white, and several pinks, but other than color that’s it.  I think whites are served chilled and reds are not.  Ice is not an acceptable option for either one. I make this point …

Prior to their three-country tour, Elizabeth and Sutton bought a home in Flagstaff, Arizona and lived there for a couple of years.  Ruth and I helped them move.  Michael joined too. When they took to the road, they rented their home to others.  Sometime along their journey they decided to sell their Arizona home, and …

The first time Ruth and I met Sutton we gathered in Las Vegas. I heard about Sutton James Papanikolas from Elizabeth. I don’t recall where they met, probably at some San Diego beach party bingo experience. In any case, she told me that he wanted to take her fishing. When I combined his Greek last …

Sister A vicious lion, A timid kitten, A harsh cold night, A warm woolen mitten. A baby’s head, so loving and weak. A pillow awaiting my aching feet. She’s the book you can’t put down. When I’ve got troubles, she’s always ground. Her heart’s an oyster holding a pearl. The best kind of friend to …

Eva turned 16 yesterday.  Like most sixteen-year-olds she’s happy to have her driver’s license.  She’s been saving to purchase a car.  She and her brother, Brady, are very different in that regard.  Eva is a saver and Brady does his best to keep the economy going. Over the past several months, I’ve seen a big …

Dear David, You probably aren’t aware of this yet.  It may hit you tomorrow, or later in the week, but your life is about to change – BIG TIME. You’ve been driving Brady and Eva to school for years. You stopped driving Brady when he got his own car. Eva’s driving days are beginning Tuesday …

Shortly after I retired, I shared some retirement ideas with my three children and their spouses.  Ruth and I would spend fifteen weeks a year with each one of them.  Realizing that fifteen weeks could be a bit overwhelming, I told them that it didn’t have to be fifteen consecutive weeks, but rather, they could …

When I was growing up my heroes were cowboys.  I watched them on television and in the movies. Some had cool names like Hopalong and Cisco.  Others like Gene and Roy could sing as well as catch the bad guys.  One wore a mask even though he was a good guy, and his partner was …

Ruth was never a hoarder, but she was always a saver. She saved things that had meaning to her or she thought may have meaning to our three kids. She had three bureau drawers full of artwork and school awards. One for each. As they grew older, she saved favorite toys knowing they would want …