This week marks my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Neither of them is here to celebrate it, and I almost forgot it myself. But I…
Chiquita Banana Cookbook, 1947
I was poking through the bookshelves in the Trinity Episcopal Church Thrift Shop a few weeks before Christmas, and I turned up this handsome…
Ed the light bulb
Every family has their little holiday traditions. We certainly had plenty–Dad would read A Christmas Carol aloud to us kids, as a result of…
The 1967 Robertson’s Christmas Catalog
Robertson’s was the big department store in downtown South Bend when I was growing up. It is firmly wedged in my memory, to the…
Tomás Takes Charge
Tomás Takes Charge, by Charlene Joy Talbot, was my absolute favorite book when I was a kid. It was my sister’s favorite, too, and…
Robert W. Service, St. Faustina, and Dad
My father died on September 16, after a long journey through the many stages of Alzheimer’s disease. His final decline started on a Thursday…
Reading on a Sunday afternoon
Last week we had “reading day” on Sunday. It was my daughter’s suggestion, as both she and her sister had only done about half…
Lolsquirrel
I don’t usually do memes, but I saw this little guy sitting on the fence in my garden and decided to make him pay…
Dubliners, by James Joyce
When I was 12 or 13, I was fascinated by all things Irish, and I read a lot of Irish literature. At some point,…