Category: Americana
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It’s A Wonderful Life…AGAIN!
It’s the Christmas season and no season would be complete without a telecast of the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” This 1946 movie stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a man who yearns to leave the small, serene town of Bedford Falls but stays home sacrificing his dreams to help others. While not considered…
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A Christmas Gift Giving Guide for the Man Who Has Everything
My children tell me that there is a direct correlation between age and the difficulty of buying gifts. The older I get, the harder it is to pick out a gift for me. They are well aware that their father, aka Poppy, has told them on many occasions that he is a man who has…
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Chasing the Shadows of Christmas
I love Christmas. I love the way the house is lit up with lights and decorations. I love the baking of Christmas cookies, the seasonal scents of balsam, cinnamon, and gingerbread. Who doesn’t enjoy the familiar Christmas tunes that admittedly start playing way too early, yet help create such a festive atmosphere? But what I…
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I Bombed Pearl Harbor
Later this week, December 7, 2018, will be the 77th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This attack propelled the United States into World War II. President Roosevelt declared it a “Day of Infamy.” In light of this infamous moment in American history, I wanted to share a personal reflection of a little-known…
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No Room for Mr. Wiggles
The Monday after Thanksgiving is labeled Cyber Monday since it is the biggest online shopping day of the year. In an effort to counter the rampant consumerism that surrounds the Christmas season, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has, in recent years, been designated as Giving Tuesday to encourage people to donate to their favorite charity, ministry…
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A Day of Honor
November 11th is Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor America’s veterans both living and dead. Why November 11th? Because on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the Armistice ending World War I began. Initially titled Armistice Day, it was later changed to Veterans Day in 1954.…
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Grace for the Grieving – What to Say at a Funeral Home and a Few Things Not to
Let’s take a vote. A show of hands please of how many people look forward to visiting a funeral home? Nobody? Thought so. You are not alone. Visiting a funeral home ranks right up there with root canals and eating fruitcake. Face it. You never know what to say. You are not sure how long…
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October – A Time to Stop Bungee Jumping
I have mixed emotions about October. There is much to love in this first full month of Fall. Autumn’s beauty bursting forth, summer’s heat waves cooled by northerly breezes, Fall Festivals abound, the World Series caps a long baseball season, college football is in full swing, and stores are full of Halloween candy, costumes and the…
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Potty Talk
Over the past year, I have grown weary of hearing politicians, on both sides of the aisle, spew forth mean and vile language that has no place in the public discourse. Their angry rhetoric reminds me of two kids fighting in a mud puddle. Everyone gets dirty. Is anyone else tired of all this potty…
