On a narrow street in a small city in Idaho there lived an unassuming little lady who saved our family's musical bacon. She really did. No two ways about it. Ruth Farkas of Koster Street. She was a missing puzzle piece we didn't know we needed. Roxanne's very first piano lesson on Koster Street At … Continue reading Mrs. Farkas
The Streets of Laredo
Question for you: What's more important, striving to be the descendant that previous generations would be proud of? Or working every day to become an ancestor that future generations would want to claim as theirs? You think on that for a while and we'll circle back. Very briefly I'd like to sum up what's been … Continue reading The Streets of Laredo
Heat in the Pipes
The following was written 2 1/2 years ago. Much has changed. All these words still hold true but contain an additional brightness, an urgency to be noticed. We do not know if those we interacted with are still living. We do not know if the buildings we entered and enjoyed are still standing. What we … Continue reading Heat in the Pipes
The Homestead of Hope
Entering the world at the tail end of the Baby Boomers and growing up in the 60s and 70s, my decorative surroundings were very much oriented to flower power, wood paneling, wicker swag lamps, and David Cassidy posters. Strangely though, my wandering daydreams often took me to a time a hundred years prior when life … Continue reading The Homestead of Hope
Wheat Pennies
Across the speckled linoleum floor of Room 16 at Martin Park Elementary in 1968 stood a line of 2nd graders waiting to leave for lunch. As they did every day, each boy or girl passed by Mrs. Mullis at the door and answered questions regarding their possession of pennies -- not just any pennies -- … Continue reading Wheat Pennies
A Song in the Air
If you dig a little deeper past Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, and even popular Christmas hymns like Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, and O Little Town of Bethlehem, you will find more obscure yet serenely beautiful Advent music. Could be you're familiar with many of them, but as … Continue reading A Song in the Air
Beulah Land and Betty Lou
My blessed mother-in-law started talking about her funeral somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 years ago so we "kids" became accustomed to nodding and smiling and "mmhmming" when that inevitable topic came up. Now we're all sitting around on couches holding cups of cold coffee staring blankly at each other wondering what to do because … Continue reading Beulah Land and Betty Lou
The Death of Roy
My friend Roy died of cancer when I was 14. He was 16. There was a funeral at the United Methodist Church and all of us teens who were in the youth group with him sat together and cried in varying degrees, dealing with wretched emotions as our young years both allowed and forced us … Continue reading The Death of Roy
We Shout Out Hooray
In the quest for the shortest blog post ever, this one will most likely qualify. First, let me show you a photo of the first page of my planning notebook where I copied these verses about six months ago. It was a dark time, friends. Not a time without hope. But pretty cloudy. Today I … Continue reading We Shout Out Hooray
A Thousand Little Dots
Her name was Betty Ruth Flynt but I called her Barf. You can't buy good friends like that--ones who will lovingly call you, "Barf." I figured since I was not allowed to utter the middle name "Ruth," that "Barf" was the next best choice as her initials were just asking for it. Junior High. What … Continue reading A Thousand Little Dots
Beyond Lashley Lane 