Category: Life Lessons

When I was about ten a group of my friends were playing army in my backyard. All such games ended with a battle and lots of fake dying. Some were simple falls, others were more dramatic like you might see on TV or in the movies. Wounds were healed with a flick of a finger …

Barb was the youngest mom in the neighborhood, and I thought she was the prettiest.  (After my mom of course.)  I recall being in her house one day as she was preparing to go out for the evening with her husband, Dick.  I thought she smelled great.  I asked her what perfume she was wearing …

I grew up in suburban Royal Oak in the 1950’s and 60’s.  The houses all looked alike on our dirt street. When it rained, the street was so muddy the dads parked on Eleven Mile Road, or one of the other paved streets, and walked the final block or two home.  Farnum, the street we …

I called Eric, and Eric’s mom, from the business site.  Neither one answered. I told Andrew I’d continue calling until I heard from someone and get in touch with him as soon as I knew something.  Mom’s pledge to “pick him up and drop him off myself” concerned me.  Perhaps something had happened to the …

I met Eric just like I met a couple hundred teenagers over the past several summers.  He was interested in a summer program I ran as a part of the Michigan Works system.  He heard about the program from one of his high school teachers, completed an application, and I went to the school to …

The C. V. Whitney Farm in Lexington, Kentucky was a very successful thoroughbred horse farm.   I lived there for two weeks the summer of my thirteenth year.  My friend, Bill, invited me to go with him and his family for two weeks in July.  His maternal grandfather was the supervisor of the farm’s operations, and …

During the pandemic, Ruth and I, like most, hunkered down and watched more TV than usual. We limited our viewing, as best we could, to a couple hours each evening. We like different things, so finding a happy medium was sometimes a challenge. I gave up most shoot-em-up, action flicks, and she didn’t insist I …

The first time I recall using a squeegee, I was working in Royal Oak at the National Food Store on Stephenson Highway just off 11 Mile.  I was hired as a stock boy in the fall of my junior year. One of the jobs the stock boys were assigned was cleaning the giant front windows …

I was talking with a friend of over forty years the other day.  He asked if I was having any problems remembering things. He shared he was having issues and wondered if I was experiencing anything similar.  I told him, “I have some problems with my nouns.  I sometime forget the names of things.  My …

I’ve played poker with a group from Lake LeAnn since 1977.  Bammer and I are the lone original members.  The group has played every two weeks since its inception.  We’ve had guys move away, get jobs that required them to work evenings, and a couple “just quit”.  A few substitutes became regulars.  A couple guys dropped …