The Origin Of Our 59-Year Romance

I met Bob Dickinson on Tuesday, September 15, 1964, (a leap year), one week into my senior year at Suitland High School. I remember this date well because it was the day I started my first job behind the soda fountain at People's Drug Store (now CVS), located in Forestville's Penn Mar Shopping Center. Then, …

We Start And End With Family, No Matter What Changes

After 75 years of family festivities, we missed our family's Christmas Day celebration. COVID had not even kept us apart. However, one share of pie before the big day sickened us, our family’s Matriarch and Patriarch, so we wouldn't risk possibly infecting others with our presence. In the past decades, however, the world has seen …

Celebrating America’s Veterans On This Day!

Our family's men after the colonial days became fighters in the Revolutionary, Civil, 1812, and yes, even the Indian Wars between 1850-1890). My maternal great-grandfather, John Carpenter Ford, was born January 15, 1864, (a Capricorn like myself), in Wake County, North Carolina (a Confederate state) in the midst of the American Civil War. According to …

Our First Thanksgiving in Plymouth (1575-1653)

Pilgrims and Indians celebrated the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts in the early 1600s. Puritans fled England and Holland during the American Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln created the holiday in 1863 to practice their religion freely. The colonists wanted to celebrate their first good harvest of corn and barley harvested with generous assistance from …

My Cousins Declare America’s Independence

Many Americans take for granted our annual July 4th Independence Day.  While working in my genealogical databases, I came across the name of John A. Hancock, a familiar name from America's history.  I decided to compare our family's John Hancock (my second cousin, seven times removed), to the list of 56 signers of the Declaration of …

Bless Their Little(?) Hearts

This post was originally published on December 28, 2021, and received 19 views at the get-go but lacked the podcast listening option which required me to republish. Sorry for any inconvenience. Know that the original content remains unchanged. In the Old Testament's book of Genesis, Noah was the tenth and last of the biblical patriarchs. …

Together We Make A Family–Let’s Celebrate!

This post is a follow-up to my somewhat somber December 5 post; "Our Friends, Family, Feelings, and Future". After reflecting on my pre-holiday frustrations, preparations, and in general, the chaos in the world today including the COVID pandemic's social distancing and isolations, my key takeaway remains the importance of my family to me and how …

I Age Not By Years, But By Stories

As some of you may be aware, I reached another of life's milestones on Wednesday, January 5. To those who posted warm sentiments for a happy birthday, I only can say "thank you," and express to you how much I always enjoy hearing from you. Moving forward, the ever-turning wheels in my head raised my …

Our Friends, Family, Feelings, and Future

I'm sitting at my computer on a chilly Sunday afternoon feeling rather dispirited in a season where we should rejoice the almighty and gather with family and friends for quality times. Playing in the background as I write, I'm listening to 8 HOURS ✰ Christmas FIREPLACE ✰ ACOUSTIC GUITAR ♫ ☆ Christmas Music Instrumental. With …

President John F. Kennedy is assassinated

The following article originally published November 24, 2009, by History.com editors unemotionally describes the events of this day 58 years ago when I was just 16 years old. This event remains one of several searing historical memories in my lifetime, that I, like many others my age, can still describe precisely where I was when …

President John F. Kennedy is assassinated

The following article originally published November 24, 2009, by History.com editors unemotionally describes the events of this day 58 years ago when I was just 16 years old. This event remains one of several searing historical memories in my lifetime, that I, like many others my age, can still describe precisely where I was when …

Life, Love, & Peace: New Born On Easter

On Easter Sunday 2021, God showered our outside family gathering of 35 (including 8 of our 9 great grandchildren) with His continued blessings of love, peace, and perfect weather. Hosts Jeff and Penny truly outdid themselves. As usual, there were plenty of scrumptious fruits, vegetables, and desserts; Jeff grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, barbequed chicken, and Megan …

Meet Amanda Gorman, The Youngest Inaugural Poet In U.S. History

“The Hill We Climb”By: Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate (Age 22)Inauguration Poem, January 20, 2021 "We've braved the belly of the beast, we've learned that quiet isn't always peace. And the norms and notions of what just is isn't always justice. And yet the dawn is ours before we “knew it, somehow we do …

Home, Sweet, Home

This is an open letter to house-seeking buyers. Real Estate deals are said to be one of life’s most stressful undertakings. Yet, one of Americans’ greatest aspirations is to acquire a house and to take pride in your ownership--it’s like one more step up that ladder to success. In contrast, just as equally or more …

The Storming of Our United States Capitol Building

Here it is the first week of January 2021--A New Year! Just one day after my 74th birthday! After coming through 2020 alive and reflecting back on an unprecedented all-around terrible year globally--slow responses to the raging COVID-19 global pandemic; public disinformation from supposed leaders, social media, the news media--who do we trust? where is …

Happy National Candy Cane Day!

Just when and how candy canes got their start is a bit more uncertain than their popularity today: 1.76 billion candy canes are produced worldwide each year. According to Carly Schildhaus of the National Confectioners Association, “legend has it that the candy cane dates back to 1670, when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in …

A Harbinger of Better Days to Come!

I based many of my 18 posts written in 2020 (to date) on these globally unique times of extreme stressors, severe disappointments, and immense sadnesses. I, for one, will gladly embrace 2021 with anxious yet apprehensive hope for our world's future, and trust the rest to God. A positive sign that life goes on and …

“A Century of Suffrage: The New York Times – August 18, 2020

Suffragists in front of the White House in 1917.Credit...Library of Congress The first White House picketers were suffragists. Through a world war and a flu pandemic, they held up signs with slogans like, “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?” “They wanted to be the first thing the president saw every morning and the …

2020–A Year Without Equal for Most!

So far, 2020 has been the year of all years--one of a kind without equal for most of us! Beginning in December 2019, in Wuhan, China, a new coronavirus began appearing.  It was named Covid-19, a shortened form of “coronavirus disease of 2019.” No one on earth has an immunity to it because no one …

History Will Remember When The World Stopped

For days I have had writer's block.  I just feel overwhelmed by the clutter of the chaos that abounds our world socially and economically due to the coronavirus pandemic and probably need time to clear my head and emotions.  I also feel like I am missing huge opportunities to record my raw reactions during this …