What Life Lessons Did Your Father Teach You?

In a small German village on New Year's Eve 1903, my father, William Frederick, was born. He was the oldest of thirteen children. Life was challenging and after my father's brother was born, my grandfather traveled to the New World. Grandpa worked hard to save enough money to bring his family to America.

TRAVELING AS STOW-AWAYS

The day came when my Grandma and her two little boys could travel across the seas to unite with Grandpa and have a better life.   There was not enough money for the three of them to travel as passengers.  My dad and his brother were stowaways in the hull of the ship.  It was a three-week journey with little food for the boys to share.  My father was four years old and would go the kitchen and beg for the table scraps that had been thrown away.   Often, he was reprimanded for being there and not given anything to eat.

Return the Child - He Is Not Yours to Keep

I stood there...exhausted.  Staring at nothing in particular and everything in general.  It was all a blur; fuzzy, like my thoughts.

Shock does that.  Moments earlier I held my infant son in my arms, cradling him, cuddling him.  Now my arms were empty.  The ache in my heart was like none I had ever experienced.  It only exaggerated the pain in my empty arms. No one could ever take that pain away except my son - back where he belonged.

Go Ahead! Make My Day!

Have you ever wanted to say something when you observed bad behavior in a public place?  Ever take the plunge and open your mouth to encourage a stranger who needed it?

It had been an exceptionally long day.   The summer heat was close to unbearable. It was my third day in a row that I had risen at 4:15 A.M. to travel to the city by ferry.  I was on my way home and missed the ferry by a few minutes.  I decided to have some dinner as the wait would be two hours for the next boat.

It was a long walk to the closest restaurant and I hoped the food would give me the energy for the walk back to my car.  I stopped at a little fish 'n chips place.  It was packed with only one table

available.  I grabbed it and realized how much hotter it was inside, but it felt good to sit down.

Only One Waitress.  I couldn't believe it.  Ceiling fans were the only source of moving air and I was relieved to be sitting under one of them.

"Miss!  I need you to turn down those fans as they are much too drafty!"  The 'lady' in the booth next to mine demanded.

If You Don't Laugh Out Loud - You Must Be Dead

If you haven't seen this yet -- PREPARE to laugh out loud.

If you have seen this, PREPARE to laugh out louder.

I cannot begin to imagine all the work that went into preparing this -- for our viewing pleasure.  It is HILARIOUS.

You MUST watch the whole thing -- it gets funnier by the second









I think one of the funniest moments was the mistletoe -- what was your favorite?

15 Unusual Tips for Success in 2016 from Unique Sources

Do you talk to animals?  Do they talk to you?  Having rescued over 30 dogs from a variety of negative circumstances, I have discovered they will tell you their story -- all you have to do it learn how to listen to them.  It is one of the unique pleasures of life.

They wanted you to know that there is much promise for 2016 and it can be an incredible year for you -- just follow their advice:

Find perfect balance in the company you keep

 Find shelter from the storm

20 Things You Said You Would Never Do

Be honest with me.  How many of you have said "I'll never be like that when I get old?"  All of us have fallen short in some form or another by doing the things we swore we would never do.

Most of us, who have children, made some hard and fast rules when we became parents.

"I will never yell at my children."  Come on, tell us, have you ever yelled at your kids?

"I will never allow my children to talk back to me."  Did you figure out a way to make them stop?

"I will be completely aware of where my child is at all times."  You own a leash?  Well, GPS is a good one.

"I will never allow my child to eat sugar."  So, what do you do, eat that candy bar while they watch?

Christmas - Sometimes the Best Laid Plans Take a Twist

It was Christmas 1979.  My husband, Paul, and I were headed to his family's home in northern Alberta, Canada. Coming from the West coast of the U S, I had not prepared for the brutal winter weather of the North. I didn't own a heavy winter jacket or gloves.  In the Northwest, we don't have a need for four distinct seasons in our wardrobes.  

We decided to drive straight through the night and arrive two days before Christmas.  That was the plan.  It would be nice to spend Christmas with family -- my family was on the other side of the country and traveling there was not feasible.

Paul preferred to drive at night with fewer cars on the road.  I could curl up in the passenger seat and sleep.  His secret was to eat salted sunflower seeds to keep awake. Paul has been a maniac behind the wheel as long as I have known him - some 45 years. He is an excellent driver, but Speeding is his middle name.  Although we hoped the roads would be fine, we never expected to run into a blizzard or......car trouble.  But we did - both.  We were driving through the Rocky Mountains; it was bitter cold and snowing hard.

I woke up the sound of the tires on gravel as Paul pulled onto the shoulder of the highway. "I have no idea what is wrong but I have to go get help or we will freeze to death."  This was the days before cell phones and at 2 A.M. you couldn't stick your thumb out and hitchhike.  

Moptop Mania -- Were You There?

As a teenager in the early 1960s, I was not allowed to listen to the trending Rock and Roll songs on the radio.  The songs were deemed as evil music so I had to hide from my parents if I wanted to listen to them. 

I would lie low in my clothes closet with my transistor radio glued to my ear.  Beatle mania was alive and well on the radio.  I loved every song, but my favorites were "Hey Jude," "All You Need is Love," "She Loves You," "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "Come Together," and "Yesterday."   Although I dreamed about it, I knew there was not a chance to ever see the Beatles live in concert.  

I continue to love their music and each song triggers a memory  -- most of them were memories of dating or breaking up with a boy. All these years later, the memories remain vivid.

Every Christmas, my daughter searches for concert tickets to give her dad and me as a gift. As lovers of classic Rock and Roll, we are thrilled.  In addition, she gifts us with dinner and a hotel room.  It is always an evening to remember.  

THE one concert that stands out above the rest was seeing the Beatles Tribute Band, Rain. I had no idea it would be as authentic as it turned out to be.  My hubby, who had been in a Rock and Roll band a hundred years ago, was astonished at how much they sounded like the original group.  In fact, in some ways they were better (please don't tell anyone I said that!) because the sound equipment was superior.