Tomorrow would have been Ruth and my 52nd wedding anniversary. We fell 349 days short. Since Ruth and I eloped to Las Vegas, we’ve revisited the city dozens of times. A couple of years ago, we decided we’d spend a few days in Vegas each September to celebrate our anniversary. We made it every year …
I Just Knew
I played in a golf tournament last weekend. It was a team event. The players gathered on Saturday evening, August 26, to hold a “draft”. The forty-eight players were organized by handicap. Those with the lowest handicap were the “A” players, the next were “B”, then “C”, and the final dozen were “D” like me. …
Good Morning
When morning arrived for everyone else, I found out we were running later than expected. We wouldn’t arrive until almost nine, an hour and a half late. Gary and I went up to breakfast and sat with a couple from Milwaukee who were going to Sacramento just like the women we shared dinner with. They, …
The C Z Rolled On
Gary and my roomettes were across the aisle from one another. They were three feet six inches wide and six and a half feet long. They had two bench seats facing one another that folded down to make a bed. There was a second bed folded up against the wall hanging above the first. We …
The California Zephyr
I took the train to Denver on Saturday, August 5th. I had planned to start in Grand Rapids, but upon further review, boarded in Holland. Long term parking near the Grand Rapids depot is in short supply. Holland has ample free parking, but I didn’t use it as my son, David, dropped me off. My …
600
When I started this blog, I planned to write forever. I still do. I’ve learned this year that none of us know how long forever lasts. It’s different for everyone. We each have our own timer. This is blog number 600. That seems like a lot until you break it down into years. It’s been …
February 6, 1985
The journal that Ruth kept the longest, began in February of 1979 and ended in May of 2000. She didn’t date every entry, but she did the first and last. As I’ve read it, I’ve nicknamed it her venting journal. In her final entry she wrote… “I should destroy this book or maybe in my …
Choose Your Words Wisely
I started writing this blog on September 15th, 2022. Ruth’s accident was twelve days later. Her death shuffled my priorities. I always have a half dozen titles, or opening lines, in my “draft folder”. I placed this aside and didn’t move forward with my original thought. I planned to write about being married and take …
He Changed His Mind
The couple that bought our house loved it. They loved the way it was furnished, the view of the lake, Ruth’s eye for the smallest detail, and they told us at closing, “We could see right away that this house is filled with love.” They went on to say, “We’ll do our best to continue …
I’ve Waited
I’ve waited to write this story because only a portion of it is mine. I received a phone call from a former Lake LeAnn neighbor who just recently heard of Ruth’s passing. I had sent her an email a few months ago, but she said she just opened it yesterday. We spoke about Ruth for …