Category: Life Lessons

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 …

Back in 2009, I marveled at the talent a forty-seven-year-old lady, Susan Boyle, displayed on Britain’s Got Talent.  It was her first chance to sing in front of a large audience.  It was the sassy lady’s big break.  Even though she came in second that year, she’s worth about forty million dollars today. Susan Boyle …

I decided to self-publish the blogs I’ve written.  I’ve been planning this since the beginning but got hung up on a format.  I hoped that my kids, their kids, and maybe their kids, would like to see the world through Ruth and my eyes.  We’d done some things worth sharing and I have family stories …

Everyone knows there’s a difference between boys and girls.  If you’ve not been a parent to both, you may not appreciate their unique idiosyncrasies.  They can come from the same place and be two different beasts.  My two sisters and I are great examples.  We’re very different. I stand in the middle of two extremes. …

Just before heading south last October, our condo association held an open house at one of the condo owners’ homes.  About eighty people were invited, an RSVP was requested, and after giving it some thought, I accepted the invitation. The party planner said she was happy I was attending.  On the surface I took her …