I was speaking with Brady during his recent Florida visit, and he told me he received his first speeding ticket. He’s been driving on his own since June and has his own “ride”. After driving with him when he was still “learning” I’m not surprised. He had a lead foot back then. He has to …
Christmas Bears
My first Christmas was spent in the rental unit my parents had in Centerline, Michigan. We lived there until the spring of 1950 when we moved to Royal Oak. I received a teddy bear from my dad on that first Christmas, and several months later, my mom took my bear and me to a photographer …
Dreams
When I was in elementary school, I had a dream that kept repeating itself. I was walking to school and halfway down the block, when I looked down, I wasn’t wearing any pants. I was running late so going back home wasn’t an option. Arriving pantless was preferred to being tardy. In another version, I …
Uber
The first time I heard of Uber I called it Hoover. Like the vacuum sweeper. I knew nothing of the company let alone the concept. My kids and their spouses taught me about it. Ruth and I were taking Brady to Chicago via the train to watch the Chicago Cubs play baseball. It was the …
This Year’s Christmas Card
The first time I recall sending Christmas cards was my freshman year of college. It seemed to be the mature thing to do, so I did it. I picked out a masculine fireplace scene and sent them to several relatives. The next year I sent out the remaining cards. If you received yours, you’re welcome. …
Great Friends and Good Times
When I was growing up, we stood on the front porch of the friend we wished to see and yelled his name repeatedly. If no one answered, we’d walk to the side door. The quickest responses usually came from the front. Bill Graham lived across the street. His call went something like this. Billeeee! Billeeee! …
Blog 423
When I started writing this blog in the fall of 2017, I didn’t know how many stories I’d recall. I had a few I wanted to tell right away because they were important to me, while others were simply crumbs rolling around in my brain. I’ve learned some come in great floods, like poured cereal …
The Big Rock
A little over a year ago, we moved into our new condo and out of our home of forty-three years. I took some pictures on my phone of those last and first days. They’ve popped up from Google photos reminding me of what we’ve gained and what we’ve left behind. I have no regrets about …
Ring Tones
The first phone my family had growing up was a party line. We shared the number LIncoln – 32062 with another family I never met but briefly spoke to from time to time. I didn’t answer the telephone very often, but when I did, it was sometimes for the “other party”. I might hear them …
The Five Second Rule
The five-second rule is a food hygiene myth that states a defined time window where it is safe to pick up food after it has been dropped and thus exposed to contamination. There appears to be no scientific consensus on the general applicability of the rule. I’ve been a proponent of the five second rule …