When Ruth and I established our home on Kalamazoo’s Stockbridge Avenue, it didn’t have a shower and we were shower people. Sure, I had taken baths when there was no other option, but now that we were married, we needed a shower. I purchased the two-unit house before we wed, so I had to learn …
Bedtime Stories
Some stories are best said with as few words as possible. Here’s two such tales.
Music
Ruth and I went to a concert a few days ago. It was a dual tribute to Bette Midler and Billy Joel. I like their music, especially Billy’s, so I bought tickets as a part of Ruth’s birthday extravaganza. Like always, I sang along to most of the songs, doing my best to keep it …
Rumors
This post is not PG. If you’re put off by questionable topics, move on now. This is not for the faint at heart. David and Lindsay, Mike and Kate, don’t let my grandchildren read this until they’re at least twenty-one. Ruth and I have had a Florida home for the past eighteen years. I was …
Patches
My childhood friends and I wore blue jeans most of the time. Our parents bought them because we were hard on our clothes. Life was full on petal to the metal, so our jeans took a beating. They were the sturdiest option on the market, so moms and dads bought them for their sons. Most …
Happy Easter
When I was growing up, Easter meant going to church, Easter Lillies, getting Easter baskets filled with candy, the occasional Easter egg hunt, and family dinners. Most of our Easter dinners weren’t gatherings at someone’s house, but rather dinner at our house with Mom and Dad or a nice restaurant. Gatherings at family homes were …
Two Days In
We’re two days into my favorite time of the year. Ruth’s a year older than me until the end of May. In spite of her advancing years, she’s holding up pretty well. This is her diamond anniversary. No, I didn’t buy her diamonds, but at seventy-five, it’s her diamond year. I am taking a public …
The Cost of Living
I ran into this chart from 1971 the other day. Ruth and I married that year, and we both bought new cars, so it struck a chord with me. We were in our third year of teaching and making about $7,500 each. It may have been a bit more, but it wasn’t as high as …
Lucky Streak
Once we landed, I took my bag of five-dollar bills on the shuttle to the casino. During the drive the five of us decided to try to parlay our collective stash into an even greater win. We’d place several wagers on a variety of games. We’d bet on blackjack, play a hand of pai gow …
Another Poker Tale
I started playing poker with a new group of guys in The Villages about six weeks ago. There’s a guy from Virginia, one from Pennsylvania, another from Maryland and three from New York. Nobody drinks alcohol. They’re focused on the cards. They take fifty cents from each pot until they reach twenty-five dollars (fifty hands), …