She was a tiny little old white-haired lady from New Jersey whose energy defied her age despite her occasional smoking and addiction to daytime television. And she was my first best friend in Arkansas. The memory of how I came to meet Francie is murky but it feels like it was somewhere on the upstairs … Continue reading Francie’s Chicken Salad
Dear boys and girls, Maybe you recall the very first post on this blog was about Chickahominy Reservoir in eastern Oregon and my weird unfulfilled curiosity about that place. You’ve probably been wondering if that long-standing dream was ever realized. Well, wonder no more. Here’s Bob representing our mutual enthusiasm on the day we finally … Continue reading A Chickahominy Dream Come True
The 10-year old computer has gone belly up. I am plunking this out on my phone in the app which I do not trust as far as I can throw it. And so, dear brethren, we temporarily suspend operations until a new computer drops out of the sky. There are still some pretty fun posts … Continue reading Belly Up
Right in the middle of writing a different blog post (a pretty dreary and potentially depressing one) I thought, "Hey, let's lighten things up a bit." We'll start with the basics. Parakeets can talk. And fly. Twelve-year old girls aren't always smart. But they mean well. The summer of 1974 was monumental. We, our giant … Continue reading Real Estate Bird
I don't read a lot of blogs. That's partly why it surprises me when anybody more than my Aunt Neva reads this one. It's not that I don't see their value and quality, or that I think people who write them have a high opinion of themselves. They just make me nervous. Introspective. Almost every … Continue reading Wailing Walls and Tomato Sandwiches
Unusual days call for an unusual post. Most likely you are reading this from your home. Good. If you find yourself in one of the "hot spots" here in the United States and the news keeps getting worse, more intense, more foreboding, please know that there is at least one person sitting at a desk … Continue reading Peace, Friends
The last couple of weeks remind me of the day I got into someone else's car and tried to start it. The ignition was in the wrong place. The seat wasn't adjusted to the way I always had it set. Someone had changed the color of the upholstery and it smelled funny in there. When … Continue reading Disoriented
My friend Ed from Arkansas is a fisherman. Not just any fisherman. With him it’s a lifestyle. A job. Hard work. And it draws him like a magnet to the lake in all kinds of weather that lesser men would turn their backs to. He’s a striper guide. And yes, I’m going to say it...a … Continue reading The Other End of the Line
This is an adaptation of a social media post from a couple of years ago that may or may not merit a replay. Today I wore this purple pin to church. Before yesterday I didn't know it existed. It belonged to a lady whose funeral I attended and her friends decided that a way to … Continue reading The Purple Pin
If I can't give anything else to my children at the end of my life because I've spent it all on puppies, plants for the yard, and train trips to baseball games, what I can give them is a love story. It's the only one I've ever truly known so I can't say whether it's … Continue reading Valentine
