I’ve never dabbled with drugs. I did have a few beers before I was old enough to drink legally. The first time was with my cousin Gene the night before he got married. There were three of us and I was the driver, so I drank with great caution. After that I was in college. …
Practice
If you’re a basketball fan you may recall Allen Iverson’s rant about practice that took place almost twenty years ago. If you don’t’, click on this link. Iverson Practice! (youtube.com) Allen didn’t like being questioned about practice and his press conference comments became legendary. I spent part of each day leading up to last Wednesday’s …
Every Day
When my friend Jim, and a few months later my cousin Gene, died I sobbed. My whole body shook, and I couldn’t control myself. My granddaughter, Eva, took my hand to comfort me at Jim’s funeral, and Ruth gently rubbed my back at Gene’s. I was full of grief, and it just exploded. Ruth’s death …
6 Seconds
My sister, Jackie, gave me a book, which I still haven’t read, written by John Gottman and his wife, Julie Schwartz Gottman. It was sitting on the counter a couple of weeks ago when my daughter, Elizabeth, came to visit. She picked it up and said, “Oh, John Gottman. Nice.” I didn’t know anything about …
Pony. Quarter. Orange.
If you follow my blog, you may recall I’m having shoulder replacement surgery next week on the 25th. I went in for my pre-op appointment two days ago. I’m having the surgery done at the University of Florida in Gainesville. My first appointment was with the anesthesiology department. They had a lot of questions about …
Last Thursday
Last Thursday was a rough one. I went to my first funeral since Ruth’s Celebration of Life. One of our teaching friends, Irv, lost his wife, Elaine, the prior week. Irv was on Plainwell Junior High’s staff when Ruth and I started teaching in the fall of 1969. Elaine and Ruth had been students in …
53
Ruth and I eloped fifty-three years ago today. She was engaged to a guy named Mike when the two of us stopped for a drink after work on Friday, September 10th. We’d made similar stops before but always as a part of a group. This time it was just the two of us. We talked …
Fifteen Weeks Volume Two
Editor’s Note: I wrote the original version of 15 Weeks last October. I’d forgotten all about it. As I was reviewing my draft of today’s blog, the original version popped up. I’m not going to develop a whole new story. The bulk of this tale is similar, but it has a different ending. With over …
Cupboards and Closets
With a condo in Michigan, and a house in Florida, I’ve got a lot of cupboards and closets. I’m responsible for the organization of one closet in Michigan, and I didn’t organize anything in Florida. Ruth did it all. My single contribution is the closet that I use for my office. It’s really one of …
One and Twenty
I know one poem by heart. It was written by A. E. Housman and first published in 1896. It tells the story of a young man who failed to follow advice. When I Was One-and-Twenty When I was one-and-twenty I heard a wise man say, “Give crowns and pounds and guineas but not your …