Miscellaneous

Sometime ago I heard a story about a bunch of frogs who wanted to compete in a new athletic event sponsored by the pond community council that sanctioned such events. The council met together to discuss possible contests and decide where, when, and who was eligible to participate. The selection committee spent a great deal…

Several years ago, I drove to Afton, Wyoming with my father, his wife, and two sisters to attend the funeral of my uncle who was a successful rancher his entire life.  He was 95 years old when he passed away, he lived an honorable and productive life, and he was healthy for most of his…

Several years ago, I was sitting with my father in his living room. It was in the afternoon, and we were just enjoying the moment of being together. We didn’t have an agenda nor were we in a hurry to finish the visit. He was in his early 90s. As part of our conversation, he…

Today was a cold, wintery Saturday morning with a fresh blanket of newly fallen snow on the ground. Anne and I were sitting on a couch talking when she decided to clean a junk drawer that was in the living room. I made a silly or snarky comment about not messing up the drawer that…

I couldn’t believe it when some stranger called me a name, which I will not use but I will simply substitute it with the letter ‘T’. You can decipher the word by filling in the blank “tu_d”. Why would someone call me that name when everyone who knows me is aware that I am a…

Several years ago, my wife and I were in Florida spending time with our family. We were really looking forward to an outing we had planned to the Everglades where we rented a couple of canoes to observe the alligators in their natural environment.   Before leaving basecamp, the rangers gave us instructions and a…

In December of 1967, I was living in the small city of Bergamo in Northern Italy. It was a beautiful place, located in the foothills of the Alps. The people living in this community were friendly and hospitable to our group of young American boys (19 – 21 years old). We were living in a fairly…