Fifty-eight years have passed since John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I was just a teen during his time as President but the things I remember most about him are: He was the first Catholic elected as President. It was thought by many that Pope John XXXIII would have a say in American politics and policies. …
JFK
I was sixteen, and a junior in high school, the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Mr. Hirsh was delivering his chemistry lecture when my former biology teacher, Mr. P, came in and whispered in his ear. Mr. Hirsh looked at us and said, “President Kennedy has been shot.” We didn’t speak. We just looked …
Ed 104
My friend, Ed, turns 104 on Friday. He was the subject of my first blog when he turned 100. Since then, I’ve posted 417 stories and he’s aged four years. At 104 his gait is a bit slower, and he can’t hit the golf ball as far as he once did, but his poker game …
Excellence
We had a half day of school that day, so as soon as the students departed, the staff got together one last time for lunch. I spoke about my family’s plans, cried a bit, and ended the day with a challenge. We’d been a staff of risk takers. We were innovators. We mainstreamed special needs …
Changing of the Guard
Thirty years ago this week I left my job as elementary school principal in Addison to become the Superintendent of Britton-Macon Area Schools. I started on Monday, November 4, 1991, the first day of the second nine week marking period. I had been interviewed through-out the prior three months, received an offer, and gave my …
Rhymes With Camels
A couple of weeks ago Ruth and I stopped in at the local Sam’s Club to pick up a dozen cases of assorted must haves. We bought a boatload of toilet paper, half a hog, a double jar of 1,000 count ibuprofen, a ten pound tube of ground round, a value pack of a dozen …
A House Divided
When I first started following football, the Detroit Lions and Michigan Wolverines were my favorite teams. The Lions were an obvious choice because they played a few miles away from Royal Oak at Briggs Stadium . The quarterbacks back then were Bobby Layne and Tobin Rote. I listened to the games on the radio because …
Pumpkin Run
As I’ve said in prior posts, I’ve never been a fan of Halloween. The biggest reason is I didn’t like being frightened, and much of Halloween frightened me. Some would say I was, and still am, a Halloweeny. Guilty as charged. In spite of my fear, I participated. I like the fun part, just not …
Gas Money
I landed my first real job during my junior year of high school. I worked at the National Food Store a few blocks from my house. I didn’t apply for the job, but my high school counselor called me into her office and told me the manager of the store had called looking for possible …
Flashback
I saw this cartoon the other day and flashed back to my youth. There’s a common saying among mothers, “Make sure you have clean underwear on. When you leave the house to go out for the day, make sure there are no holes in your drawers.” My mom was a big proponent. She was so …