What ever happened to my ninth decade? It wasn’t everybody’s ninth decade, just mine. It started on a tragic note. Two days before its start three thousand people lost their lives in the collapse of the twin-towers brought on by terrorists. The war on terror did not end during my ninth decade.

A number of life-changing events took place during my ninth decade, and I shall try to mention some of them. My wife, Dorothy, came down with cancer. We spent most of a year in treating the diseas...(click to continue reading)

“Pile into the car kids, we’re goin’ to Squirty’s, said Dad. Bill and I climbed into the back seat and waited for Mom and Dad. It was a Sunday afternoon and Uncle Don would probably be listening to his favorite classical music. It may seem a bit odd because few people do that; but it seemed to be one of the joys of his life. When we arrived we were greeted by the sound of music but Uncle Don didn’t let it interfere with a nice visit. This was just one of many times we made such a trip and I was ...(click to continue reading)

Looking at old pictures I see things that are sort of familiar or perhaps ought to be. For instance here is one taken in the front or side yard of an old house. I see shades of gray in broad outline except for things that are familiar such as faces and certain shapes. I depend on the vision of others to identify for me other shapes. That’s how I determined that the picture was taken in the yard of an old house. The house appears in one corner of the picture. My vision person described the house ...(click to continue reading)

As a new hire as a student engineer of Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company I traveled to Pittsburgh for the job. I had borrowed more money from Daddy to tide me over until my first payday. I hoped to save some money from each check until I had enough to soon buy myself some new duds. Those I owned had served me since my high school days. I became especially aware of the thinness of the seat of the pants of my only suit when one day I saw the shape of my hand through the trousers seat...(click to continue reading)

“Are we there yet?” comes a voice from the back seat of the car. That must be the tenth time I’ve heard the question since we left home. Here we are in the rolling hills of southern Indiana, headed for a state park, where we mean to camp for a night or two.

“Just about,” I say, “I see a sign up ahead that says ‘Park’.” We turn on to the side road and follow it for two or three miles to the park entrance, where we’re greeted by a park ranger, looking for some money, I reckon.

“W...(click to continue reading)

The Cornn family lived but a block past the schoolyard playground. Frequently kids lingered after school for a game of touch football or some other physical game. I was occasionally one of the participants but more likely I would go on by with my friend Billy, youngest of the Cornn family. Billy and I were classmates and buddies. We found lots of things to talk about but seldom about schoolwork. Now and then I failed to turn left to head for my home and we ended up on Billy’s front porch. I felt...(click to continue reading)