Category: Personal Histories

  • They are all around you, disguised as ordinary people. They may be generous or grouchy, quiet or boisterous, socialites or loners.  They come in all colors, sizes, and ages. They are our veterans… those who gave anywhere from three to thirty years of their lives, doing whatever our country needed them to do, wherever they were told…

  •       Yes, I realize we're already a third of the way through November, but I'm still recovering from October. Was it just me, or did October take more than it's fair share of the year? It seemed much longer than 31 days.  Granted, my October dance card was not just full, but taking backups. But still……

  •   My Daddy's been gone two years now, so it's truly a blessing that I can still see him in my mind, alive and well, with eyes twinkling. Even now, I turn to him in tough times and hear his voice encouraging me. Photographs and blog posts help keep his memory fresh. I've spent the…

  •   So, house, we love thee, as we could not loveA palace wherein no pulse of love had struck,Where farewells had not been—and whereNo busy memories haunt the vacant rooms.~J.J. Britton (1832–1913), "A Home"       I'm nearing the end of this summer's journey of clearing out my parents' home. My childhood home.   …

  •   Thirty-three years. That's officially how long Tom and I have been married as of this evening, around 6 or 7 pm. And they said you couldn't find lasting love in a bar…   …No more looking for love in all the wrong placesLooking for love in too many facesSearching your eyes, looking for tracesOf what..…

  •   An older sister is a friend and defender – a listener, conspirator, a counsellor and a sharer of delights.  And sorrows too.   ~Pam Brown For a few years, my sister and I shared the small room above.  It was painted a pale purple at the time. It was in this room that I remember…

  •  "Every goodbye is a new beginning." ~ me (and probably a bunch of other people) This afternoon I said goodbye to an old friend: my grandmother's piano. A friend from high school bought it for her granddaughter. She met me at my parents' home today and I helped her load it onto a trailer.  (A…

  •   I was headed to Houston last Saturday … dreading the drive, the task ahead of me, and a whole day away from my business which I really can't afford at this time … when I spotted a Panda Express.  I decided to cheer myself up with an early lunch.  It was delicious, of course,…

  •   He doesn't take himself too seriously. For instance, this is his latest post on Facebook… "I jogged through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel… To Bangers for a beer."   It makes me so happy to know…

  • "Lord, if your people need me, I will not refuse the work. Your will be done." ~St. Martin of Tours     My big brother Buster was headed to Viet Nam, saying his goodbyes, when I stood beside him in this photograph and smiled. I had no idea what was ahead of him. This was…