One of my favorite holidays is Christmas. Even if I was Jewish or Muslim I would enjoy Christmas. It has nothing to do with religion . . . I just like the feeling and the traditions that make family memories. I read a post from my friend Amy Wigstrom about her mother and her own […]
To Ponder
Westside Story – "Hands Up"
When you hear the word, minor, do you think baseball? When you hear the word, minor, do you think coal? When you hear the word, minor, do you think underage drinking?
The One Present Christmas – 1956
The 1950s were a great time to grow up in Tacoma, Washington. My family was the first on the block to own a television. I was glued to the TV as I watched Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers. It seemed just in time for Christmas when the Sears and Roebuck catalog arrived in […]
Letter: Amtrak disaster
Just before being interviewed by KIRO radio this morning, I was told by the caller “You’re about to go live but if you haven’t heard, three fatalities are now being reported.” No, I hadn’t heard.
Letter: All hands – and passengers – on deck, America
It was my then-three-year-old grandson on the phone. Where was his cereal, he wanted to know? Not, ‘good morning grandpa!’ Not, ‘I love you grandpa!’ But did I eat his “Cap’n Crunch”?
Home from Home: Tranquility
Are you feeling stressed out about running your Christmas errands (and doesn’t the verb “running” already describe the reason so well?!)? About stressed-out people taking it out on others with road rage or nagging in long supermarket lines? Are you hoping to just get the holidays over and done with? Though you really love them […]
Westside Story – Keep Talking
Keep talking…
Westside Story – Winter Warmth at Greater Lakes
Christmas Angels, Joan Eisenhardt and Kathy Sweeney, and a fabulous crew of volunteers at Greater Lakes Mental Health Care are up to good again. I said, “Up to good,” not up to no-good.
Tents for Survival, Trade Shows, and Fun
Camping was all the rage in the 1950s. It was a family activity and was affordable. My family would generally go to the ocean (which meant Ocean Shores/Ocean City/Copalis) or Packwood. And I remember once we went “around the loop,” which is what traveling the Washington peninsula from the Tacoma area to Port Angeles to […]