I don’t recall any of the kids first words. I know they each have a “baby book” and whatever they said is written in their respective book. If I was to hazard a guess, they probably offered some version of mom or dad. Probably mom. I do know David’s first sentence. We were driving home …
Don’t Blink
2023 is drawing to a close. It seems like it just arrived and now it’s gone. It was a year to remember for me. It was my first full year without Ruth. The end is a bit different than the beginning, but that’s just because her loss was still raw last December. The passage of …
Advice
I spent a few days with my three grandchildren, Brady, Eva and Young Jackson James, over the past week. Brady and my conversations focused on college, basketball, and living away from home. Things are going well for him. I truly enjoyed our discussions. Eva and I talked about her school schedule, classes she plans to …
Christmases Past
A few of these short tales have been published before. Never as a single read, but published, nonetheless. I’ll be pushing the “post” button on my second Christmas Eve without Ruth. I feel like looking back because of the memories. While she’s not a part of each of these stories, she’s a part of the …
Two Tale Tellers
I recently joined a second writer’s group called Writers League of the Villages. I heard about them a year ago when I joined the Memoir Writers Group. I went to my first meeting last Wednesday. All new members were asked to introduce themselves, tell what type writing we do, and what “village” we live in. …
A Christmas List
When I was a kid, I didn’t make a lot of Christmas lists. I wanted presents but thought Santa would know what I liked. I didn’t have to tell anyone. There were a couple years when I was into building model cars so I may have asked for something like that. I know for sure …
Gone Phishing
Phishing and catfishing are two distinct types of online scams. With phishing a cybercriminal poses as a legitimate entity or organization, such as a bank or government agency, and tries to obtain sensitive information from the victim. The type of information they collect includes personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers. Phishing attacks …
78 Years
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 …
In Retrospect
My youngest sister, Jackie, gave me a gift last year. I don’t recall if it was Christmas, or not, but she did nonetheless, and I set it aside. It was a box of questions that you could use to start a discussion. I think they’re intended to be a game because there’s a reference to …
Me Too
Ruth and I seldom spoke about what was next. What lies ahead after we’re gone. We both thought her dad, Lou, visited more than once. She woke up a few times when she thought he was standing at the end of our bed. If she knew why, she didn’t share. I believe the reason she …