Monthly Archives: December 2017

Manheim Steamroller: AULD LANG SYNE AULD LANGE SYNE     by Robert Burns, 1788 Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And auld lang syne. (CHORUS) For auld lang syne, my jo, For auld … Continue reading →

A college friend, Bryan Ames, wrote about a strange phenomenon he experienced while driving back home to Plymouth, Indiana this evening. Light Pillars It reminded me of a terribly cold winter’as morning around 1981 when Mother and I were driving down … Continue reading →

7:00 AM Thursday, December 28, 2017, Griffith and I were on the road to Indiana to visit Mother. It was the first visit to Green Hill Manor where she now resides, and I was impressed with the facility and staff. … Continue reading →

Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Indiana;  Saturday, 9 November 1918 Alexander A. Marone,  24 years old, died November 6, 1918. The son of Mr, & Mrs, Guiseppe Marone of 517 East Twelfth Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, died in Youngstown, Ohio where he had resided for … Continue reading →

MIAGD: Make it a great day While doing some preliminary research for a project, I stumbled across this fascinating little gem:  HISTORY OF WEATHER OBSERVATIONS INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 1861—1948   I’ve only become interested in weather these past few years, prompted by … Continue reading →

It has been just that… December 26th. No boxing day at The Haasienda.  It was more a cleaning, organizing kind of day. Perhaps my newly made potato soup could be a part of my feast for St. Stephen, but United Methodists … Continue reading →

“When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and the princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins: To find the … Continue reading →

MIAGD: Make it a great day My friend, Jeff Carter, provided this post about one of his favorite songs, “Christmastide,” which I don’t recall hearing until this morning. It’s beautiful.  Enjoy listening to this selection and do not forget to … Continue reading →

I bolted away from my earlier plans to go see THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, but I’ve re-emerged to go see the new Winston Churchill movie, DARKEST HOUR, at The Neon Movies via way of my favorite Mexican eatery, Taqueria on East … Continue reading →

My friend, Alice Kay, the adoptive mother of several cats, calls this day, “Caturday.” Every day is a cat day. And, it’s also a dog day. Today is Neko’s “gotcha day.” He’s been with us one year. While Clyde guards … Continue reading →

MIAGD: Make it a great day Irving Berlin’s popularity resurfaces every Christmas due to abundant viewings of WHITE CHRISTMAS and the movie, and its songs have become nostalgia even for younger folks. “White Christmas” heads the list, but with my … Continue reading →

MIAGD: Make it a great day Today, a dear friend will celebrate the life of his father before burial. As we each were going through our recent individual parental-health crises, I likened our similar situations to watching our parents leaving … Continue reading →

Two days after my mother remarried, my birth father was killed in an automobile accident, the result of his alcoholism. Born at home on March 22, 1942, Danny Lee Jolliff was the second child born to William Lee Montgomery and … Continue reading →

10:35 AM, from the sandhills of Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills along the Outerbanks of North Carolina, two bicycle building brothers from Dayton, Ohio took on one of the greatest challenges known since the dawn of time, and lifted … Continue reading →

I happened to actually be home this early Friday evening and turned on the television/computer. I saw LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE was in television and decided to relax and not work (as much). When I was growing up we … Continue reading →

MIAGD: Make it a great day Down the street, across from Van Buren Middle School, we have a house nearly decorated and the lights are synced with the music. In the evening cars park alongside the middle school to take … Continue reading →

In 1999 I took a three week vacation knowing I’d be starting the adoption process shortly thereafter. I figured this might be one of my last big vacations without children. The start of this trip, following an attempt to view … Continue reading →

It all began with these five boys…     100 years ago, today, Father Flanagan decided these boys needed a home, not jail or boys’ reform prison.  And he took them in and made them a home, and gave them … Continue reading →

“Now, don’t you call Diana’s baby, ‘Derwood.’ That’ll sound like you are making fun of him.” Aunt Norma admonished her young children from referring to me with the nickname used by Endora for her son-in-law on the much-beloved television show, … Continue reading →