Getting a New Perspective While Getting There

(re-run) I am retired, two years away from the big 7-0, flying for the second time in two months, a record for me.  Traveler’s Tip: Don’t fly in the summer if you can help it. EVERYONE is flying, and the weather across the U.S. can be bad and will delay your flight. My daughter drove… Continue reading Getting a New Perspective While Getting There

Lockdown Monday

(re-run from 2020) I got up and fed the dogs, shared my morning apple with them, and then ate my breakfast while checking Facebook. I took a quick shower and then had the whole day ahead of me to fill. Let’s see, yesterday I vacuumed up all the dead bugs and cobwebs in the garage.… Continue reading Lockdown Monday

The Navajo in the Room

My mother’s brother was a college professor at Shiprock College (now renamed Diné College) in New Mexico.  He met and married my aunt Grace, a Navajo woman.  This was exciting news in my all-white Iowa family. Uncle Jim was coming to town with his new bride. Uncle Jim was tall and slim, and had a… Continue reading The Navajo in the Room

Getting a New Perspective While Getting There

I am retired, two years away from the big 7-0, flying for the second time in two months, a record for me.  Traveler’s Tip: Don’t fly in the summer if you can help it. EVERYONE is flying, and the weather across the U.S. can be bad and will delay your flight. My daughter drove me… Continue reading Getting a New Perspective While Getting There

The Danger of Family Secrets

(re-run) To this day my mother says, “It was a different time. That’s what families did in those days.” She is talking about family secrets. Mine had a whole bunch of them. My dead Uncle David, with his farm painting on the living room wall of my grandparents’ house, was a mystery to me.  He’d… Continue reading The Danger of Family Secrets

The Danger of Family Secrets

To this day my mother says, “It was a different time. That’s what families did in those days.” She is talking about family secrets. Mine had a whole bunch of them. My dead Uncle David, with his farm painting on the living room wall of my grandparents’ house, was a mystery to me.  He’d died… Continue reading The Danger of Family Secrets

Doc and Lillian

When I was just out of college and teaching in a small town in Nebraska, I rented a refurbished farmhouse from the superintendent.  His dad was Doc. Doc’s wife was Lillian. They became my surrogate Nebraska grandparents. Doc used to be a dentist, and one day he presented me with a mood ring. Remember those?… Continue reading Doc and Lillian