NOTES TO MY GRANDCHILDREN: I Was A Good Boy
Aunt Laurie’s Question: To what in your life can you attribute being a “good person”? Thank you, Laurie, for thinking of me as a good person. I would say it’s because of my parents and the Church—except for Sister Rosalia. Good Parents, Old School I was born in the middle of the Depression. Everyone’s energies went…
An Introvert In Disguise
An introvert is someone who recharges their batteries in quiet repose. We make up only one-third of the world’s population. Extroverts are a bigger and noisier bunch. Their rest period includes excitement and other people. Sweet Susan is a true introvert who has learned extrovert skills. She learned to blend in with the majority at…
What’s In A Name?
August 1, 2023 Writing about Susan’s activism and the important issues she felt passionate about made me realize how shallow I was at her age. The renaming of 6th Avenue is an example. What’s In A Street Name? In the mid-1930s, New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia—that’s right, Dale and Chloe, the airport, and the performing…
First Date
Aunt Laurie’s Question: Do you remember the first date you ever had? It depends on what you call a date. My first experience with a girl–Cherie Baumgartner, fifth grade–was memorable. All the boys hovered around Cherie because she was already developing a mature figure. We lived near each other, and one day decided to take a…
How I Met Your Grandmother Patricia
10 May 2023 She’s Gorgeous After graduation from Friends Central, some of Patricia’s classmates had summer jobs. Others took trips to Europe or adventure camps like rock climbing and sailing. Many volunteered for Quaker service projects. Your grandmother wanted to be an actress, so she did ten weeks of summer stock in the Catskill Mountains,…
How I Saved Butterfly Bend
If this were a fairy tale, it would begin like this: The monster galumphed its way along the stream, devouring everything in its path. I charged the beast waving my arms and yelling in my super-hero voice, “Fie, begone, destroyer of beauty!” The Monster panicked and clawed its way up the bank! Heroic, right? Now,…