Category: Chapbook

Sharing a memorable family vacation.   Our family Christmas celebration in 2008 was our most extraordinary and exciting. We were aboard a yacht in the […]

  Full exposure in the Canyon!   Picture this. We’re in the bottom of the Grand Canyon in four small rafts (with four passengers and […]

Both a wonderful memory and being recognized as a “good sport”.   In 1997, when our daughter invited us to join them for a Christmas […]

  And the urge never waned.   As a child, I always wanted to be an airline pilot. I made model airplanes of all types […]

  To save me from myself.   When I was nine, my home was Tuckahoe, New York, 16 miles from New York City. At one […]

  Maybe it’s you speaking, listen!   In my world of geriatric therapy, I would often suggest to clients that writing or journaling about a […]

A personal story about catching a big fish!   At the Your Good Life Online Book Club we discussed Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and […]

  Remembering the “sweet” part of my trip to the doctor.   In August 1951, mother and I again took one of many Greyhound bus […]

  But it was the best vacation we ever took.   My granddaughter Erin and I love to travel and when she suggested a trip, […]

  But, alas, it never happened!   But first, before we get to the unveiling, a little background. Lou and I were in New Zealand. […]

  We were prepared but…   Recently we returned to one of our favorite getaways, Charleston, SC. It had been over a decade, and we […]

A little boy’s thoughts revisited.     My father was a Methodist minister which meant I was a PK or preachers kid, which meant I […]

  Two families touch over half a century.   In the late 1920s, my father, recently graduated from medical school, had joined his father-in-law to […]

  You never know who you will be seeing.   I grew up in West Baden Springs, a small town in southern Indiana. We were […]

….and there were no “snow days”   Starting school is a memorable day for any child. Having started as a first grader in a one […]

Easy to do, but easy to forget.   This subject was addressed two years ago, but it is important and deserves a re-visit. Water: How […]

  Exquisite nature   In our second summer at Marquette, I was in the yard when a bright blue bug with large transparent wings flew […]

  Seniors living at home can find community and engagement at PrimeLife Enrichment   PrimeLife is a place where friendships are made, creative outlets are […]

  A local treasure… There are times when we need to open our eyes and let in the beauty around us. Then with willing hearts […]

  Downsizing? Re-sizing? A Challenge by any name.   Remember: It is a process!! You don’t downsize all at once. You do what you can […]

  Keeping memories and filling my heart.   Seven years ago, an adjacent 76-acre horse farm and cornfield were sold and divided into housing subdivision […]

  A very good day   One day in the nineteen seventies I was seated at my desk in my office in the Department of […]

  The story of a beginning ..   Our family lived in a home where the Indianapolis area chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous first started in […]

  As told at the YGL Storytellers….   One of my earliest memories was of me, likely 3 years old, sitting on someone’s lap – […]

  When this arrived, this was a hoot! So why not share?   Mergatroyd!…Do you remember that word? Would you believe the spell-checker did not […]

  A “riveting” memory of WW II   I’m more familiar with Rosie the Riveter who, along with other women, were instrumental in producing planes […]

  An unexpected bright spot   In March 2020 I went to a beauty salon and got a haircut. I never thought that now, a […]

A good memory to share   While reading an article about Elaine Pagels, renowned scholar and author, a memory kept dangling at the edge of […]

  Memories shared and experienced   This story is based mostly on hearsay. My mother told me about the kinds of things I did and […]

Each of us manages the hand we are dealt.   It’s a stretch to think of anything good derived from the COVID-19 pandemic we have […]

An eventful time in my life   The year I turned 12 years old is very fresh in my mind because there were several very […]

  Looking back on a rough time. When I first heard about COVID-19, I told myself that except for losing so many near and dear […]

An indelible memory   I guess I must have been about 7 or 8 years old because my twin brothers had been born already for […]

A special place   After an hour driving north from Cabo San Lucas on highway 19, we arrived at the quiet town of Todos Santos. […]

  So Happy     Today, 9 Feb. 21, I received my 2nd Pfizer vaccine shot. I was told that I would be immune in […]

  In the words of one of the first to be there.   On Jan. 19, 2021 I received my first of two vaccine shots […]

  It’s a place. A dot on a map—metropolis, village, city, town, and it has a name. A name that is as different as there […]

  Our perception can play tricks.   I drove on Fall Creek Parkway twice a day for ten years passing both ways under a railroad […]

There is hope. Call it what you will…fate, karma, coincidence—-for me, it’s that unexplainable power of God, the Holy Spirit, working to help me be […]

  A talk given at the Indianapolis Women’s Club.   Dogs are surely man’s best friend, and dog history goes back generations. While each individual […]

  After reading an article written by Lynda Smallwood entitled “Opportunity Still Knocks” on the website of www.yourgoodlife.org, I was inspired to write this story […]

A rare gem revealed.   Should your travels include landing at the Seattle airport, do yourself a favor and go to Bainbridge Island, a paradise […]

 An 88 year old with no prior experience in art shares his work and his story   I have been asked to explain why I […]

One of the best times in our lives.   The following has nothing to do with Rochester itself, but we were there on November 22, […]

1962 a new experience and a rich opportunity.   Rochester, New York has been in the news of late in relation to rather violent events. […]

The American Red Cross responding to need.   They knew it was coming. Satellites broadcast images as it crossed Florida on August 25 heading into […]

We asked a poet, “why”? Here is her reply. LORD BYRON As a child, I loved the nursery rhymes Mother read to me and hymns, […]

  For your viewing…   I highly recommend the British (originally on BBC) series “Call the Midwife” that was aired in the United States on […]

An act of kindness and a lesson learned   A lesson for today. Many years ago, I was transferred to Forrest City, Arkansas. (named after […]

One man’s appreciation for the gift of sight.   Being born the youngest in a family of four boys is not the best place to […]

  An article from the Associated Press was spied by Marion Harcourt who then shared this story with us at “Your Good Life”.   A […]

Most “home” haircuts are one and done. This one lasted a lifetime. Back in August of 1962 Rosa Maria and I got married in Mexico […]

  A late baby boomer or early generation X speaks to the generations that have preceded hers.   This is a heartfelt tribute to you […]

  As time went on, I learned, how to buy major appliances, get estimates on home repairs and acquire cemetery lots. All this happened while […]

  When my husband and I were married in 1955, I expected I was going to be a traditional housewife. (Husband bringing home the bacon, […]

  Families may lose track of each other, but bonds in this family were kindled thanks to an unusual name.   This is a story […]

  Who knew that a moment, seemingly insignificant, would be indelibly imprinted for a lifetime. It was just a poem, words on paper.  Yet it […]

Writing a Chapbook story can be fun.   Since you are checking out this week’s Chapbook, it is likely that you find this feature worth […]

Sound advice from an experienced traveler.   In 1994 Art and I traveled to Istanbul Turkey. We spent a week in the city, I attended […]

Seventy-four people were killed and nearly 400 were injured at a “Holiday on Ice” show in Indianapolis on October 31, 1963. Here are the words […]

The times we live in stir emotions. Reflection: “See ya Monday!” That doesn’t sound like a last goodbye. Yet those are the words echoing across […]

After 40 years on a shelf the true identity of the cup is revealed.   Many years ago, a hospice patient gave me an enamel […]

Buying a new car is always exciting and even more so when it has novel features.   It started in 1999 when I saw the […]

Sometimes things find us and other times we find things. This is the story of a boy and an accordion who found each other. Christmas […]

  A memorable story from World War II.   Marion R. Simpson was drafted into the United States army in 1943 at the age of […]

A poignant recounting of a moment in life that had a big impact on a few who were involved and likely many more who were […]

Recommended by Lucy Librarian Warsaw Zoo, an unusual hiding place, was the jewel of Warsaw before the German occupation of Poland during World War II. […]

  Those were the days when it was likely that you would meet the person you would eventually marry in college. This is a story […]

  I’m not sure I am ready for this century; the new cell phones have so many new features. Blue Teeth, Air Droop, Super Hyper […]

  A special poem for the time we are in. This poem highlights the wide reach of the COVID-19 pandemic brought to us through the […]

Take advantage of the time you have during spring and COVID-19 to begin to write stories from your life. We are all in the process […]

  Two points connected with a continuous band constitutes a line. The line can be a continuous curve, a parabola, or straight.   We inhabit […]

  A liberal 4-year old political refugee? Or a pondering 84-year old adult? My father, Haroldo Díes, was a Spanish-born official assigned to the French […]

  Little things can mean a lot. The recent change to daylight savings time triggered a fond memory. After World War II ended, I returned […]

  The current crisis finds people working in creative ways. Besides all the wonderful support the Marquette staff is providing to the residents, I have […]

  An upbeat story about air travel     Recent studies of customer satisfaction with airlines have placed American at the bottom of US carriers. […]

  Residents living in a retirement community can find a voice through representation and a receptive administration. This is the experience of one such voice. […]

  A love of hiking and appreciation for how it can benefit a person’s life is clearly stated.   “Happiness is one step at a […]

A small thing can make a big difference In the fall of 1957, I was in a pickle. Because of summer school, I had limited […]

  An interesting take on a singing style popular with entertainers in our youth that we rediscovered in the senior years.   As Brenda Williams […]

Recollections of a Red Cross Mental Health Volunteer   After the attacks on Sept 11, 2001, the FAA ordered all planes in the air to […]

A heartwarming story of a little girl’s time in a safe idyllic setting while her dad served in the Navy.   My children, for a […]

Dying is the biggest event in one’s life. A person, aware of their imminent death, must be afforded the opportunity to do this with dignity. […]

  Pingvellir National Park. This national park in Iceland is where the Althing, an open-air assembly representing the whole of Iceland, was established in 930 […]

A powerful personal statement kicks off this Chapbook companion to Your Good Life Weekly.   Born in 1935 in a middle-class family in Dayton, Ohio, […]

  “I don’t want a tree this year. Our apartment is too small. We’ve had so much stress in the last year and a half. […]

A reflection on the beauty of a country morning celebrates a pristine time that can be a metaphor for life itself. “Stop! Help!” I hear […]

It was the end of our second week as full time campers, when I made the call to the RV repair service. We were concerned […]

Pets can be a healthy addition to a senior living community both for the owners and for other residents who may not be able to […]

  Treasures, sometimes of high value and others whose main value is sentiment and memories, pass through families over generations. They affect the people involved […]

  Congratulations Jackie for successfully mastering the Grow Box and for sharing your experience. Now we look forward to a lush garden that was promised […]

  There are different ways enjoy your garden. There is no right way; just the best way for you. Just about anywhere in the country […]

  My father confirmed a strong memory that I have of an event prior to the first grade. It is my first memory from childhood. […]

Life as a senior does not march in lock step. There are alternatives and the following describes one. After thirty years of camping experience, my […]

In business for more than 100 years, the Vonnegut Hardware, a fixture in Indianapolis, was a vibrant business with talented team, members like the man […]

  Accompanying your husband on a medical trip to Brussels can be a memorable experience. What occurred at the time of the Brussels’ World’s Fair […]