family – Page 3 – The Future is Open

Dad

07/27/2009 by Don

A few days ago I stood above his grave and looked down at the Veterans Administration plaque that marks the spot where’s he’s lain for the past thirty-six years. He missed a lot of life by dying at 46. Dad is my namesake and there are many things about us that are similar. I bear … Read more

Watching the Obama Train

01/17/2009 by Don

Lots of thoughts today. I got up this morning to bone chilling cold. Our home is warm, but it was -9 degrees fahrenheit outside. I thank God that we have heat and a well insulated home. Our daughter is home this weekend. She and I headed to the gym earlier for a good workout. I … Read more

Many thoughts

01/04/2009 by Don

I”ve been very busy in the last couple of weeks and haven’t really felt inspired to write here. I’m learning a lot more about Drupal, an open source content management system that I began using almost two years ago. The learning curve is fairly steep with Drupal, but now I’m beginning to get it as … Read more

Diane

12/30/2008 by Don

This lovely picture of the lovely woman with whom I share this life is one of my keepsakes. I took it on Christmas morning in our home. Diane was looking up at our son Devin. The look in her eye and the smile on her face are very telling. I have no words that can … Read more

Gratefulness

12/08/2008 by Don

Today is my birthday and I’m fortunate to have so many friends with whom to celebrate. Birthdays are events for looking forward and sometimes looking back. Today I did a little of each as I wondered how much longer I get to hang around here. Fifty-six is only four years from sixty and that used … Read more

Homecoming

11/30/2008 by Don

It’s 5:30AM and Devin is leaving home after being here for five days. It’s been his longest visit home in three years, but as I watch him go I think of how blessed we are to have him. How many other parents have lost sons and daughters in the war or how many parents never … Read more

Mom’s birthday

11/07/2008 by Don

Last night we celebrated my Mom’s 82nd birthday with a trip to Red Lobster in Blasdell, New York. Mom’s seen a lot of life in 82 years. Born to two working parents in the pre-depression years. Her mother was a court stenographer for the City of New York and her dad was a bailiff in … Read more

Twenty-one years

08/10/2008 by Don

Today is our daughter’s 21st birthday. Wow! Where did the last twenty-one years go? She came into our lives twenty-one years ago and at least in my case completely revised all of my assumptions about girls and women. She has gone from being cute to beautiful. She has her mother’s charm and beauty and my … Read more

Birthday

04/06/2008 by Don

Yesterday afternoon we drove to Rochester, New York to meet our son for dinner. Devin had turned 24, April 4th but his work precluded our getting together that day. Where have the last twenty-four years gone? All parents probably ask questions like that. We arrived at his apartment which is on the east side of … Read more

St. Patrick’s Day

03/17/2008 by Don

Today’s St. Patrick’s Day and true to form I went to work sporting green trousers, a green sweater and a white bow-tie with shamrocks on it. My Mom is as Irish as McGinty’s goat and she raised us to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day. I often reflect on my heritage and a good part of it came from the Emerald Isle to America. Mom’s family, comprised of Hand’s and Crowley’s came from southern Ireland. Irish and Catholic to the bone. One of my great-aunts thought that Christ himself was Irish. She was shocked to learn that he was actually Jewish. One of the ancestors is on his way to sainthood. One of the great aunts worked for the Queen of England. Mom told me we’re related to Mary Queen of Scots. These are just some of the stories I got from Mom and Grandma.