Memories and Recipes or Cook Liberally (Volume I)
Some time after my father's death, I began to dabble a bit in genealogy, attempting to find the historical documents that supported the family lore. Coincidentally or not, at the same time I began...
View ArticleMemories and Recipes - Halloween Edition
As we approach this election, I have to admit I'm getting a tiny bit tired. The phone-banking, after-rally cleanups, sign-posting, GOTVing, as well as reading the editorials coast to coast, listening...
View ArticleRuby, Ruby or you CAN teach an old Dem new tricks!
Like many of us, I spent Tuesday on the front lines of Freedom, in my case, in Sumner Co., TN, just northeast of Nashville. I'd like to share the story of one of my memorable experiences from that...
View ArticleMemories and Recipes - Post Election Special (with Poll and Pie)
Well it's been a busy week here at our place, and an exciting one, too. Worked like a demon all last weekend phone banking, then all day Tuesday, trying, among other things to "snag and drag" voters...
View ArticleDecember 7 - Honoring those who kept the home fires burning
This morning I got a call from my 88-year old Aunt. As we chatted about various family comings and goings, she stopped to reflect on her recollections of December 7, 1941. Even before the news of...
View ArticleMemories and Recipes - Holiday Letter Edition
Been working hard to get it all done before the big events start with your tribe? Take a break and join me for a cup of your favorite beverage. I don’t want to put dessert out before dinner, but...
View ArticleCully Stimson apologizes to detainees' attorneys
In a letter to the editor published in the Washington Post on January 17, Cully Stimson has apologized for his earlier comments damning those who would give their time to represent alleged terror...
View ArticleMemories and Recipes: Incident on the California Bus
Sunday evening and the dinner dishes are cleared away. While the washer runs, time to pour a drink and pull a chair up to the kitchen table for some after-dinner chat. This week, I was particularly...
View ArticleMemories and Recipes - Irish Potato Famine Edition
Welcome to my kitchen! Clear yourself a spot and pull up a seat around the table. I hope you don't mind the papers, I've been writing a letter to the next generation in my family. I was inspired...
View ArticleMemories and Recipes - The Bunny's Tale
Nice to see you in the kitchen tonite! I didn't cook much tonite, it was too nice a day and I got wrapped up watching the deer and the wild turkeys in the back. But there's always time for a little...
View ArticleMemories and Recipes - Mother's Day Race Edition
If you've finished your own Mother's Day celebrations or remembrances for today, I'd like to invite you to spend a few minutes with mine. Mom's in a nursing home now, no longer ambulatory, and most of...
View ArticleMemories and Recipes - The Wabash Cannonball
Happy Father's Day! We've done our celebrating around here, and the spousal unit is indulging in a little well deserved R&R, so I'm left with a few minutes to myself in the kitchen. With my own...
View ArticleR.I.P. Tommy Makem 1932-2007
This is really brief for a diary, but I'm sure there are plenty of folk in Chicago and across the world who might stop for a moment to remember the incomparable Tommy Makem, who died last night of...
View ArticleBlue Laws for a Green Earth?
Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, a little spiritual indulgence that each of us can - and does - partake of from time to time. In my own case, my feeble efforts as a parent leave me often pondering how...
View ArticleMy 9/11 Flag-Waving Rant
It may have been that my coffee was overcaffeinated this morning, when I opened my email and saw a note from a relative. It was one of those "spam everyone you know" chain emails, and this is what it...
View ArticleWant to buy a pool table, Rep. Boehner?
Diarist's note: All the events in this story are true, however, in the interest of the privacy of the parties other than myself, names have been changed.We had quite a galvanizing experience a few...
View ArticleHey! It's my Birthday!
Now we all know that a lady never tells her age, and, for today anyway, I'm going to be a lady. But I can give you a hint. This will be my tenth presidential election as a voter. Of course even my...
View ArticleRacism and a Teachable Moment
It was just another rainy Saturday here in Tennessee when I opened my email. There was a note from a former student - actually about a fifth generation forwarding of one of those awful e-screeds. This...
View ArticleRacism and a Teachable Moment - Part II
In part I, I described an unfortunate - make that ugly - email I received from a former student. I'm still seething, but thanks to the gracious help of a number of commenters, I was able to craft a...
View Article"Obama To Charge Vets For Treatment of Service-Related Injuries"
That was the title of the angry email that made its way into my inbox this afternoon. Ordinarily, I would just delete and ignore that sort of thing, but the sender had been a recipient of my Obama Top...
View Article