Letter Writing and Digital History
Mom wrote a letter to Grandmother when I was nine months old, thanking her for baby clothes. [Gotta love the AIR MAIL: despite the trials and tribulations of the United…
Homecoming Buttons
My grandfather attended Northwestern University before being drafted during World War II (for which I am eternally grateful, as he met my grandmother while stationed in New Mexico and therefore…
Family History #1
My grandfather was an intelligent man, always looking for something to keep himself engaged in the world, to keep his brain nimble. While living in his retirement community, he told…
Art Linkletter Gym Dandy Surrey
Fall 1967, 2½ year-old me playing outside at my grandparents' house in Westport, CT. In the background, the family Volkswagen Bug that transported us from our Manhattan apartment. I'm sitting…
Unintentional Car Repair
This article reminded me of a story my grandmother told me. My grandmother's commute to New York City required a Metro-North train from the Green Farms Station in Westport, CT…
Cat Ownership
The phrase Dogs have owners; cats have staff most definitely applies to Lojo. Today he claimed the towel basket as his and proceeded to have a mid-morning to mid-afternoon slumber,…
Religion In Schools
I was not brought within any religious faith and have maintained my atheism into adulthood, which is not unusual in my family: My parents were not religious during their marriage,…
Those Birdly Voices
By Alex Liivet from Bournemouth, United Kingdom - HMV Oxford Street, CC BY 2.0, cropped HMV was a major British record company whose letters were acronym for His Master's Voice,…
Non-Traditional Families
[Disclaimer: the following happened decades ago, time likely makes for faulty or embellished memories. Names changed in the extremely-unlikely chance that someone who knows the family actually reads this and…
Memories of Mom #37
Mom was always leery about medicine, but in particular I remember her pushing back on x-rays unless absolutely necessary. My guess is that they were somewhat safe, but probably used…