Tom Regner's football card from 1970 - I have two of them!
I grew up in Sugar Land, Texas in the late 1960s and lived there through the mid- 80s. My mom still lives in the house we grew up in, though it is quieter today than it ever was when my brothers and I grew up. It was at the early age of eight in 3rd grade in 1970 that I became a football fan. I was a fan of the Houston Oilers, who were not very good in the early 70s. Our next-door neighbor was Tom Regner and he played for the Oilers. The 1970 season was his fourth as a professional after a college career at Notre Dame where he was a first team All-American in 1966. As a third grader, and even today, I remember him being big, Continue reading Allegiances→
A panoramic view of the lake - you can see the ice on the lake.
New Year’s Day is meant to be a day to watch college bowl games or at least that is what I grew up doing. I remember my first memory of New Year’s Day and it was New Year’s 1971. 1971 was the year that cigarette advertisements on television were outlawed and the Marlboro man was history. I remember the Cotton Bowl from Dallas and watched Notre Dame defeat Texas. I was in third grade; I remember watching the game with my dad and rooting for Notre Dame with my dad who was a rooting for Texas, Continue reading New Year’s Day→
Grandpa, Beth, Olivia, and William pose beside the island on the deck of the U.S.S. Hornet, September 2006
Veterans Day is November 11th and for most schools in Illinois it is a holiday. But, Thursday morning found me at two schools on my day off. William had an honor breakfast and I was glad to attend. He is doing very well in seventh grade as he did in sixth grade. He is a solid young man, respectful and his character shines through. His school, Hubble Middle School, rewards students who display excellent character traits through their actions with ‘Hubble Huskie Coins.’ William had earned a ‘Huskie coin’ in the first quarter of the year and was being honored with other young men and women who had done something similar. Less than hour later, I was working as a crossing guard at Olivia’s school. When I can, I volunteer to be a crossing guard at Wiesbrook. It is always fun. After my crossing guard duty, I attended the Veterans Day flag ceremony.
I voted this evening. I arrived at the polls after six when the final push to the polls was happening. It was a hectic end of the day. Because of Election Day my school district does not have attendance, but instead has parent teacher conferences from 7:30 until 3:00 and the students have the day off. As a social studies teacher it concerns me that students get a day off for elections. However, looking at the broader perspective, safety, there is no easy way to secure a public building for a day and a polling place needs to be open and accessible. So voting won out and for the past few elections it has worked well. Continue reading I Voted!→
Painting of Christopher Columbus taking possession of the new world. In the painting, Columbus kneels on a rocky coast, with a flag in his left hand and a sword in his right. He is surrounded by European men, some of them bearing flags. In the background, three ships are in the water.
This was supposed to be the weekend I caught up but, time is fickle and just as Johann Goethe, the noted German philosopher, wrote, “Every man has only enough strength to complete those assignments that he is fully convinced are important.” So therefore, I accomplished what I felt was truly important. Some of my to do’s will just have to wait for another day, or week.
Columbus Day is one of those holidays that was intended to celebrate diversity when it first began to be celebrated in the late nineteenth century. The holiday has since been mandated as an official federal holiday, but it is now outdated. Continue reading 1492 – Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue, the rest of the story→
Ivy sleeps in front of the door with the wind blowing over her and making her 'wispies' fly.
Today was the day, really the day. Olivia was going to get her stitches out. It was also the day William and she had been looking forward to – their cousins were arriving from Texas. It was going to be a great day. However, first we needed to finish the cleaning and moving we started Sunday.
Olivia woke and reminded me about our ‘date’ and we took off for the hospital to have her stitched removed. We checked in and it was a not a busy morning. The doctor checked in and the stitches were out. Olivia noted it took hardly any time at all. Even though the stitches were out, Olivia’s wound was not finished healing. She had to stay out of the water for another week.
Olivia pleaded, ‘What about tubing?”
The doctor replied, “No, swimming, what happens when you fall off?”
Olivia, retorted, “I won’t fall off.”
A very large combine greets fans outside the 'Corncrib' in Normal, IL
It seems odd to write “Day 60,” it does not seem like it has been sixty days, but it has. Yesterday’s post was day number fifty-nine and it was my fiftieth post. After re-reading it today, I realize it was not my best post. The past several days have been tiring and Tuesday would be no different. Continue reading Day 60: SLA and Cornbelter Baseball→
We began today with overcast skies and it slowly started to drizzle and then light rain. It stopped and then started again. The pattern repeated itself many times until midday when the big rains came. By the end of the day, we had over an inch of rain on the ground and excited Ivy who did not get our much today. If she was anything like us, she relished in the light day. It was nice and I did get a few things done.
Our friends, the Harrison’s, returned to Wheaton this morning leaving us to entertain ourselves. We all got up to wish them goodbye and then the rainy morning took over. It left us all sort of lethargic and sleepy. William went back to sleep and took a long nap. Beth crawled back in bed and read a book. Olivia and I had fun in the front room: she watched the CBS Sunday Morning and the Tour de France with me trying to change the channel when I was not paying attention in bed and I wrote and paid minimal attention to the television. Both are classic Sunday morning television shows for July at the cottage. Unfortunately, the CBS Sunday Morning episode was a repeat and I remember watching part of it last fall. The Tour was not a repeat and Lance Armstrong is not leading this year. Continue reading Day 51:Rain, rain, and more rain….→
The moon and the sun set on another wonderful day at the cottage.
Thursday began with overcast and light rain. It remained that way until midday. However, we found a way to have a great day, anyway. Sometimes your weather is internal.
Mark’s family, mom, dad, and older sister, had arrived the day before and had played on the water yesterday evening and everyone slept late, including me. We woke hoping to get out on the water in the morning, but we had to wait. It would rain, then, stop. After breakfast, mark’s dad suggested we visit the Michigan CCC museum in Roscommon. The CCC is the Civilian Conservation Corps and was in operation during the Great Depression from 1933-1942. The museum told the story of the CCC in Michigan. The corps’ responsibilities were to reforest Michigan and fight forest fires, which plagued the regions vast forests. The CCC was a program initiated by FDR to combat the rampant unemployment of the Great Depression. The museum buildings were restored from CCC camps in Michigan and had detailed explanations of the jobs performed in the buildings and explained the overall purpose of the CCC. The museum was well done and I walked away with an understanding of the period. It must have been bleak. I wish I could spend more time walking and reading, but it is difficult with children who want to be out on the lake. William, Olivia, and the rest of us returned to the cottage for lunch. Continue reading Day 48: Rain, rain, go away…→
