October 1992 marked our first autumn living in Vermont. Up to that point, the farthest east I had been is Washington, D.C., and no farther north than Cooks Forest State Park in western Pennsylvania. But as the leaves began to change in late September and peak in early October, we…
Several days ago—before the sub-zero deep freeze enveloped our area!—my wife and I wanted to add a few miles to our annual hiking total. At the beginning of the year, we signed up for the Hikers 365 Challenge with the goal of hiking 365 miles in 365 days. We began…
I live in river country. A few blocks from our house flows the Rock River, coming down from the north and emptying into the Mississippi River about 40 miles away. My wife and I frequently walk a path that looks over the Rock. If we head the other direction, the…
It was the Spring of ’63 or ’64 at my Grandma K’s house in Avon Lake, Ohio. Not sure why, but if I recall correctly, my brother and I were staying with her for a few days. Perhaps it was 1963, and mom had reached the midpoint in her pregnancy…
Last Saturday, the sun gleamed brightly off the snow, beckoning me to step outside for a brief hike. At the same time, the wind chimes hanging on the back patio played furiously in the blustering wind. To go, or not to go. That was the question. I needed the exercise,…
Sitting by the window overlooking a swath of woods, my eyes scan the mostly bare trees, their branches a dark gray silhouetted against a light gray sky. It’s one of those gloomy November days when the sun’s been hiding since night faded into pale light, and color seems to have…
I grew up thinking I was one of those “Heinz 57” people with a genetic makeup that spans the globe. Well, not the globe, but the European continent, anyway. When asked my nationality, my family name, I’d have to answer, “Well….it’s complicated.” Until a few years ago, I had no…
Nineteen years ago this month, my better half and I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a two-week Alaskan land and sea tour—and it cost us next to nothing! I should also mention that Chris and I were co-hosts on this cruise-tour with another couple. Our presence was expected….
As a boy growing up in the 60s, like a whole bunch of us in that era, I was fascinated with the space program. Anything NASA was doing captured my attention and imagination. Of course, I wanted to be an astronaut, or an FBI agent. But mostly an astronaut. So…
Somewhere along the way, certainly in the last century, someone decided to add a sub-genre of music to the “Christmas/Holiday” category. It might be called “romance” or “love songs” or something like that. I won’t try to prove it statistically, but my hunch is that most new Christmas (or Holiday)…
