I had only two birthday parties that were open to kids outside of the family when I was a child. This was my own choice; I wasn’t entirely comfortable being the center of attention, and I was even less comfortable playing hostess.
One of those parties, though, was the year I turned eight. I don’t know [...]
Read Full Post »
I asked my mother if she remembered when Grandma Martha first bought the nursery rhyme party hats and plastic nut cups we used for every kid’s birthday for years when I was little. Mom wasn’t sure; we both knew the tradition had started by 1960, when my youngest brother was born. We both remembered how [...]
Read Full Post »
Since this is my birthday week, the gift I’m giving myself is reminiscing here about birthdays past, now through next Sunday.
My earliest birthday memory is my mother giving me a gift to open the morning of the big day. I don’t know how old I was, but I have a lot of clear memories from [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Looking Back, Uncategorized, tagged 1995, April 19, Field of Chairs, Gates of Time, Murrah Federal Building, National Federation of State Poetry Societies Convetion, NFSPS 2007 Conventon, Oklahoma City bombing, Oklahoma City National Memorial, The Vacant Chair on April 19, 2008 | No Comments »
“We shall meet but we shall miss him.
There will be one vacant chair.
We shall linger to caress him,
while we breathe our ev’ning prayer.”
(”The Vacant Chair,” a Civil War song; words by Henry Washburn, melody by George F. Root.)
There are 168 vacant chairs at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. Vacant of human presence, that is; the [...]
Read Full Post »
I’m glad I was an adult, a very jaded adult, when the scandal broke about Pete Rose and his gambling on baseball. It was demoralizing enough as it was, but it would have hit me even harder when I was younger. Pete Rose was my hero.
I wasn’t a fanatical baseball fan, but I knew about [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Birthdays, Holidays & Celebrations, Looking Back, Poetry, Uncategorized, tagged birthday celebrations, celebrating simple joys, celebrating the little things, National Poetry Month, National Secretary's Day on April 12, 2008 | No Comments »
As I said in this post, April is my birthday month. April often is also Easter month, so there are two big celebrations right there.
At various times over the years, other celebrations have added layers to the party atmosphere of April for me. And, frankly, sometimes keeping up with all the parties and commemorations made [...]
Read Full Post »
It’s supposed to snow again tonight. Drat! A “little” snow — I’m sick of a little snow. I’ve had to brush a little snow off my car every morning this week (or at least it seems that way). We’re at the end of February and it still seems as dark and dreary as January. February [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Holidays & Celebrations, Looking Back, My (Mis)Adventures as a Writer, The Hooligan Chronicles, Valentine's Day, tagged acid flashback, card-making, Cars, Disney, greeting card writer, greeting card writing, homemade cards, kids' Valentines, movie Valentines, Star Wars, Valentine bag, Valentine's Day, writing greeting cards on February 16, 2008 | No Comments »
On Valentine’s Day, I was at the Hooligan household celebrating with my sister’s family and my mom. At one point we were sitting around, listening and watching as J.Hooligan went through his Valentine bag from school, extracting greetings from his classmates and reading them aloud.
I have to admit this Valentine bag ritual is new to [...]
Read Full Post »
There was a year, maybe when I was nine (i.e. around 1963), when there wasn’t a lot of money for Christmas. We children hardly noticed, because my mother was so creative at taking a little and making it into a lot. Ironically, I remember my gifts from that year more vividly than many I received in [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Christmas, Holidays & Celebrations, Looking Back, tagged Christmas traditions, College of Mount St. Joseph, college traditions, dorm decorating, Mount St. Joe, putting out shoes, St. Nicholas, the Mount on December 8, 2007 | No Comments »
I was in college (in 1972) only a semester before I dropped out. Even with financial assistance, the burden on my family was heavy. I just didn’t feel right about it, especially since I wasn’t studying for any specific kind of job. I was an English major, but I had no plans to be a [...]
Read Full Post »
