Category: Life Lessons

This is a story that Ruth would veto. But here goes. Brady turned 18 on June 2nd. He told me he planned to start going to the Mt. Pleasant casino as soon as he could. Several of his friends had already been going. When I spoke to him on the 3rd, he told me he …

I wrote the original version of this post several years ago.  I published it as my youngest son, Michael, turned 40.  He turned again on Monday.  He’s forty-five. The Most Important Lesson of My Life JULY 10, 2018     The most important lesson of my life was taught to me by a seven-year-old boy. …

If you google the rule, you might find something like this. The Golden Rule, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”  encompasses the underlying and guiding principle of all morality. It instructs us to put ourselves in our neighbor’s place and guide our behavior accordingly. It assumes, of course, that …

I wrote a blog about my friend, Ed, as he turned 101 back in November of 2018.   Although I didn’t ask him, I speculated that he might offer up this list of guiding principles as his secret to his longevity. Love.   Share your time on earth.  You don’t have to marry, but have someone …

Billie Jean and Abby are my Michigan cleaning ladies. I’m not sure the phrase “cleaning ladies” is politically correct, but in any case, they’re females in their early thirties and they clean for me. I met them about three weeks ago and they did a “deep clean” of my condo. They returned Thursday for a …

If you fly enough, the unexpected is bound to happen.   Lost luggage, late flights, missed connections, offers to take “a bump”, and the occasional apparent high jacking.  (If you missed my post about Flight 245, you should look it up.) Ruth and I engaged on all sorts of travel adventures.  We encountered some traveling alone, …

I’ve been waiting to use this word since I started writing my blog in the fall of 2017.  I had planned to use it on Ruth’s birthday in April, but I had to wait until I turned 76.  Ruth would have made it first, but I passed her by.  For those of you who may …

I wrote the following blog over five years ago.  It was the thirty-third of the five hundred and seventy blogs I’ve posted.  I recalled it last Wednesday during David and my trip to Addison to award our first scholarships.  Several people, former students and teachers, spoke to us when we arrived.  At the conclusion of …

I’ve been on my own for one day short of seven months.  I try not to keep track, but it’s difficult.  I’ve learned some things. I get along with myself most of the time.  I seldom question my motives, but understanding and accepting are too different things.  I can get by with one bath towel …

I’m planning to take the train from Grand Rapids to Denver this summer.  That’s way outside my comfort zone. I’ve taken the train before but never alone. When I was a kid my sister, Sharron, and I took one from Royal Oak to Detroit with Mom on several Friday afternoons.  Grandma Barner picked us up …