Thank You, and Happy Holidays to All!
As 2014 draws to a close, I want to thank all my readers for their support this year and to wish you all a Happy New Year. I won’t post on this blog again until January 5, 2015. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite Christmas posts from prior years: Super-Jesus and […]
President Polk Acknowledges California Gold Discovery Ten Months After It Occurred
It wasn’t until December 1848 that President James Polk acknowledged that gold had been found in California. President Polk was a strong supporter of western expansion. He had worked to acquire Oregon south of the 49th parallel for the United States in 1846. The Mexican-American War which President Polk supported left the U.S. in possession of […]
True Christmas Story: A Visit from St. Nicholas
In some families, Santa Claus comes to call ahead of Christmas Eve every year. Other families take their children to see St. Nicholas at the mall every year. I only remember one time Santa came to see my brother and me, and one later visit to the mall to see him. The evening Santa came […]
Kindergarten Show and Tell
My youngest sibling was in kindergarten the year I started college. When I came home from Middlebury College for Christmas my freshman year, this brother had a favor he wanted. “Would you come to Show and Tell with me?” he asked. “Okay,” I responded, somewhat surprised—why did I need to go with him to Show […]
Charlie Brown and Me, Fifty Years Ago and Today
I’ve been fixated recently on what happened in 1964—fifty years ago—as 2014 winds to an end. Perhaps I should have focused on these events throughout the year, but I’ve only noticed occasionally when the media has reported on anniversaries of major happenings from 1964. I didn’t research 1964 events until this week. What started my […]
Hand-Me-Downs: The Little Blue Coat
As the oldest child, I didn’t have to wear many hand-me-downs. Occasionally, I wore clothes from the daughter of my mother’s friend. When I reached junior high, I sometimes had to wear something of my mother’s. I hated that, because styles meant for a thirty-something woman in the late 1960s seemed frumpy on a thirteen […]
Why Do I Ask Questions At the End of My Posts?
The short answer to why usually I ask questions at the end of my posts is that I read somewhere that it was a good thing for bloggers to do to get readers to engage. The long answer is a little more complicated. It is true that I’ve read that bloggers should ask thought-provoking questions […]
Judgment in Families and Beyond
It apparently caused quite a stir in my parents’ high school when Catholic Mary began dating Protestant Tommy. Not only was he a Protestant, but he was a member of DeMolay, the Masonic organization for young men. Yet Mary wore his DeMolay pin proudly. Although my mother was a devout Catholic all her life, she […]
Worldwide Gold Rush to California Begins
My Gold Rush posts this year have traced the spread of the news, from the discovery of gold in January 1848 until the knowledge reached distant corners of the earth. Although Johann Sutter wanted to keep the discovery secret, he could not contain news of such import, as we have seen. “The United States is […]
A Broken Foot, Horseback Riding, and Christmas Woes . . . And Joys
Most years about this time I get frantic over Christmas preparations. This year is particularly bad, because I have a trip planned for a week in early December, so I am trying to get as much done as possible before I leave. But I’m not having much success. When I worked full-time, I took a […]