See All Topics

  Sometimes memories only get better.   My daughter was moving into a condominium, downsizing from a larger home. I was helping, but mostly just […]

  A tragic shipwreck and the boat never left the dock.   It was Saturday morning July 24, 1915. While light rain was falling, 7,000 […]

  Every worker, who does a vital hands-on job counts.   I said “I built that” many times, referring to my job in the summer […]

  Things can happen by chance.   As a fourth-year medical student at the University of Michigan, working on the wards while on the urology […]

  Things can be what you make them.   You can meet and befriend another person any time. It is called making a new friend. […]

  A treasure comes home.   Harbor Springs, a small town in northern Michigan, in June 2021 honored the memory and achievements of a celebrated […]

  It depends.   How many years does it take for an event to be a “long time ago”? This question doesn’t have a ready […]

I hope he learned a lesson.   An unforgettable event happened several years ago while I was parallel parking. I was with my wife looking […]

“It is easy when you are beaten, he thought. I never knew how easy it was. And what beat you, he thought.” Ernest Hemingway, The […]

  You may have read about a miracle drug that improves appearance in the aging face … as Paul Harvey used to say, “Now, you […]

  Doing the right thing quietly   It was August in 1958 and I was visiting Barbara who was teaching 2nd grade and living at […]

  Before the secret was out   Thirty years ago I was invited to lecture at the annual meeting of the West Virginia Academy of […]

  Once you’re in, there is no getting out   I never get in line for curbside service remaining in my car if there is […]

  Ah, where’s the restroom?   A white clapboard hut sits at the edge of a green space a block away from the center of […]

  She enjoyed the challenge of finding a new house.   Born and raised in a small town, Barbara lived in the same house until […]

  A senior perspective on COVID-19.   The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on seniors has been discussed widely. Most of the reporting is about […]

  You don’t have to be a cook to prepare a delicious full-course meal.   For someone living alone, a crockpot can be useful. I […]

  A weekend not soon forgotten.   It was a Friday in September, three days before I would be leaving for Istanbul to attend the […]

  Off to a good start…   The initial meeting of Your Good Life Storytellers was a success. Beginning at 1:30 in the afternoon, the […]

  Home can be many things.   “It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home, … It don’t make any […]

  A great force held together by a fragile framework.   Seven thousand years ago, the banks of the Nile were protected by substantial stone […]

  This fulfilling activity is open to anyone who will try. Read on and learn…   A journal is defined as; a daily record of […]

  A ready smile and lots of answers   Arriving at a hotel, the first person you are likely to meet is a bellman. He […]

  Sometimes it is the only thing you can do.   The newly acquired ORBIS DC 10 widebody aircraft debuted in 1994. This refurbished plane […]

  A tale of lousy time management.   In the fall of 1989, I promised my younger daughter, Lisa, a trip to the Rose Bowl […]

  Telling a story is fun and a great way to connect with people.   I enjoy telling stories—and have for a long time. Several […]

What is your handicap?   Home from church, I immediately changed into work clothes and headed to the yard. It would take a full afternoon […]

It didn’t succeed. There are breakthroughs in medical care and there are promising programs that do not work as hoped. I will share a genuine […]

This is mostly for gents who have a stove and wonder why.   Chances are you live in a community where meals are served. There […]

There have been profound changes in how people work in an office.   My introduction to “office work” was in tenth grade typing class, behind […]

  We have faith we will remain confident and are confident we will retain faith.*   In the fall of 1962, I was driving from […]

  You get it from your mother, and it is not that bad!   Which is better, one or two? Anyone who has had their […]

  You may be teaching more than you realize!   A teacher is defined as a person who instructs others, especially in a school setting. […]

  Sometimes it is in the fine print.   In May of 1962, I was twenty-seven years old and starting my first real job. As […]

  COVID-19 a threat to all.   At home we all know the drill for dealing with COVID. We should wear a mask in public, […]

  There are no rules for being a grandfather.   What is a grandfather? Searching for an answer, begs the question “What is a father?” […]

  Something all seniors should have on their minds.   As part of a routine visit with my doctor, I completed and turned in a […]

  Definition: isolation imposed to prevent spread of disease. It remains a large part of our COVID – 19 defense.   Quarantine has been a […]

  “The group is so tolerant of people just learning the game.”   Most of us like to play games. A popular way is to […]

A tale of grandparents and family dogs   It was summer and we were at the family’s lake cottage when our younger daughter developed a […]

Sometimes the effort is more important than the result.   Have you ever undertaken a task and thought, Wow, I can figure out a better […]

Two faces of a small town.   The pandemic has changed our lives. Along the way, this may have led us to new discoveries, or […]

Homeschooling has traditionally been pursued by highly motivated parents. COVID-19 has required this to be done by unprepared parents who would rather have their children […]

Things nature teaches.   For the last seven months, I have been looking at the wind and waters of Lake Michigan. This is because my […]