As close as I can remember, it was 1944. My dad was somewhere on a ship in the south Pacific, and my mom and I were living with my grandmother in Greeley, Colorado. I don’t recall the street address, because after all I was only three or four years old. But my earliest memories are of this age of three or four. The hospital was up the hill from our house on the same side of the street. It must have been a busy street because I wasn’t allowed to cross. So, my one and only pla

It is a week before Christmas and the parking lots are full of holiday shoppers. I am reminded of the theme song from the television show, Monk, “It’s a jungle out there”. Last minute shoppers mingle with regular shoppers to make shopping difficult when all one needs is milk and bread. Many of us shoppers are short in the pocketbook at Christmas time, so it takes some imagination and creativity to share in the family gift exchange. Toys and electronics can be expensive. Wit

Part of my growing up years, which began in the fifth grade, was spent in Chicago on the south side in a section of the city called Hyde Park. It had and still has a wonderful diversified population. I was so fortunate to have experienced that diversity growing up. My home sat within walking distance of the Museum of Science and Industry. The University of Chicago was in the opposite direction and the Hyde Park Methodist Church was close to where I lived, all within walking

As is often the case, Christmas is a mix of emotions. Sadness and joy all tied together; and so, it was the Christmas of 1987. The date was mid-December, the 16th, I think. Kim and Tony had come to visit with all the ribbon and thread and stuffing supplies for our Christmas “project”. There are a couple of reasons that I remember this date. One, we had a terrific blizzard that dumped six inches plus of snow, that prevented Kim and Tony from returning home to Bloomington and