For as long as I can remember, I have been able to read. I still have “The New Winston Primer,” as well as the “First Reader” and the “Second Reader,” in my library. “Once a Wee Wee Woman lived in a wee wee house. The Wee Wee Woman had a […]
Marie Snider – This Side of 60
There’s an old Aesop’s fable about a father and son who started off on a long day’s trip to market–the father riding on their donkey, the son walking beside. Along the way, they met some travellers who pointed and whispered. “Look at that selfish father. He rides and makes his […]
All my life, I’ve loved my dog friends. From “Tiny” to “Buster,” from “Princess” to “Amber.” And “George.” My dog friends have been wonderful companions, making my life full and fun. The dogs of my childhood were “Tiny” and “Buster.” “Tiny” was a large purebred German Shepherd who was my […]
You couldn’t grow up during World War II without grieving. How well I remember the evening paper with its growing news and horrors. Oh, there was an occasional bright spot—like the story of a London baker who quickly turned off the oven on his half-baked rolls before running to safety […]
Ever since last week’s column, I’ve been thinking of my wonderful “Coksi-Pepsi” Grandma and how happy she always seemed to be. And how sad I felt when she passed away suddenly when I was only 17 years old. As a naive teenager, I sometimes was almost jealous of Grandma because […]
My grandmother was born in 1872. She was 14 years old when Coca-Cola first was introduced in 1886 and 21 when “Brad’s Drink” (the forerunner of Pepsi) hit the market in 1893. I have no idea when she first tasted either of the new drinks. But she quickly developed a […]
Dandelions are abundant this year—and I love it! The joyful yellow blossoms always have seemed magical to me. I have fond memories of sitting in a beautiful meadow, as a young girl, making dandelion chains. Then I would hold up a magical seed head and blow it away to who […]
In our society, “to do” lists are almost essential. There is so much we want to accomplish . . . and so many dreams we have. There are birthdays to remember and appointments to keep. Without a “to do” list, we surely would forget some very important things. That said, […]
As a girl in northern New York, I had a strangely-warped sense of the geography of the United States. In the first place, I knew more about eastern Canada than my own country. My perception of the U.S. map was that after New York came Ohio. Then came Indiana, where […]
My great-niece, Ella, and my great-nephew, Nicholas, both are in the fourth grade. And recently, they had a very interesting assignment. They were instructed to choose a real-life problem and then make a list of 20 possible solutions. Next, they were to choose the best solution and create it. What […]
More than 50 years ago, U.S. President John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life.” How right he was . . . and still is! In the early 1960s, when Kennedy was president, what amazing changes already had happened in my young life. Growing up in an eastern […]
Growing up in northern New York, water was very important to me. At our kitchen sink, we had two pumps. One was delicious drinking well water while the other was rainwater gathered in our cistern. This “soft” water was used for baths and laundry. And we always had plenty of […]
