Father’s Day, the celebration recognizing father’s originated in Spokane, Washington in 1910. A daughter asked her pastor to honor her father in a sermon in June. It did not catch on until the 1930s when different commercial entities recognized the opportunity to sell products targeted as gifts for fathers of …
“What sports teams were you a fan of when a child?” Some people are fair-weather fans, changing based on which teams have good seasons. I am not one of them. Transistor Radio I received a radio for my ninth or tenth birthday. The radio was a six-transistor, small rectangular device …
“When did you get your first car?” The quick answer is: when I left home the day I graduated from Spaulding Institute, high school, in May 1965. We had a friend, Pete, who lived and worked in Waukegan, Illinois. He found me a job in Skokie, Illinois. I wrote about …
Did you have a car in high school? Ask a teenager today if they drive a car to their high school and likely receive a positive response. Ask me—oh you did—and learn I did not drive to school for two reasons. First, my high school was in the heart of …
“How has your life turned out differently than you imagined it would?” The question begs framing to a particular age with a plan. I used to sit with my best friend, David Kaufman, around a fire in the backyard. We had the map of the United States from the McNally …
Where did you go on Family vacation as a child? Winter weather where I lived in Illinois as a child was unpredictable, especially near Christmas. I don’t remember once taking a family vacation during Christmas vacation. But, I remember the inches of snow to build snow forts, make snowballs, and …
Merry Christmas Today was the day to wrap all the presents. Lori and I spent a couple of fun hours hiding each in a cocoon of season’s paper. Now they add a lovely touch sitting beneath the new tree. Tomorrow, our Daughter’s children will venture from next door and destroy …
I am confident most of my readers are familiar with claims Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Are you familiar with the interference happening in the 2020 election? I doubt anyone would be surprised at countries interfering in the 2020 election. America’s intelligence agencies have identified Russia, China, and …
It was about this time in 2016 that I began preparations to take part in NANOWRIMO—2016. Yesterday, I realized the 2020 event is approaching, and a decision needed. Shelving this decision for a moment, I thought I would review my progress turning the 2016’s disaster into a novel. The 2016 …
Dwane’s Grandparents and Parents A long time ago, Elizabeth Midkiff and James Frederick Harris had a beautiful daughter named Mary Ruth in Owensboro, Kentucky. The date was 23 January 1927. Almost two months later, Johanna Mae Elder and Hilary Oswald Knott had a handsome son named Francis Leo. It was …
