Ruth and I traveled to our first Unmasters in 1979. We had three children, David (four), Elizabeth (2), and Michael (nine months). We took David with us, left Michael with Ruth’s parents, and Elizabeth split the week between our friends, the Klumps and the Figels. We didn’t believe that a two-year old and a nine …
The Unmasters
The PGA has several golf tournaments that are enjoyed by the viewing public. People from all walks of life, both golfers and non-golfers, sit in front of their television sets rooting for their favorite golfer, most of whom they will never meet. They blindly hang on every swing, hoping that their favorite player will …
Miniature Golf
I played miniature golf with Ruth, David, Lindsay, Brady and Eva last Saturday. We were in Myrtle Beach for a few days and decided to go “old school”. We have played a lot of miniature golf in Myrtle Beach over the years. David first made the trip to MB when he was three years old. …
More Thoughts About Poppy
In no particular order of importance. I never saw Poppy get mad or raise his voice. I expect that he did – don’t we all – but I never witnessed it. His sons-in-law respected him. Tony, Harry, Don and Joe were not afraid to tease him, and they loved him like a father. He …
Poppy
Margaret and Harrison Continued Our 1958 Christmas rescue of the house with “no heat” was resolved very quickly. Preparing for the job took longer than the job itself. There was a family Christmas party being held at the home of one of Poppy’s customers. It was much like the one we left, only more …
Margaret and Harrison
Their friends called them Margaret and Harrison. Margaret was born Margaret Louise Walker. Harrison was really Carter Harrison. Kate, Ruth, Eugenia, Harry and Mildred called them mom and dad. To my sisters, cousins, and me they were Grandma and Grandpa Barner (AKA Poppy). They lived in Kentucky where my mom and Aunt Ruth were …
I Almost Drowned
My grandson, Brady, added to his list of athletic accomplishments this winter and joined his school’s swim team. He’s a very good athlete. If there is a game, he’s ready to play. Swimming is a whole new adventure. He did very well and improved throughout the season. Swimming, like golf, track, …
My New Career Path
My great fear when I retired from what I call my “real job” is what I would do with all of my new-found “retirement time”. Luckily, I landed a consultant position with Michigan Works, and I have been able to spend part of my retirement time working. I added “blogging” to my list of things …
Batman and Robin
My granddaughter, Eva, was named after three of her great-grandmothers. Kathryn was Ruth’s mom, Katherine was mine and Eva was her grandfather, Larry’s. When her parents put all three names together, her name came out Eva Katheryn. Eva never knew Kathryn. She was lucky to share a few years with Katherine before she …
First Jobs
I was talking with a group of friends this week and we had a discussion of our best and worst jobs. Our conversation reminded me of my first jobs. Perhaps your list is similar to mine. I collected newspapers and sold them to the “junk yard”. I loaded them into my dad’s …