You can accumulate a lot of crap when you work at the same job for over 15 years. I’ve brought a lot of personal stuff into the office. I figured if I was going to spend so much time there, I could at least make it more comfortable. But perhaps all the stuff made me…
Grampa started in early with offers of Cold Duck. The same Cold Duck he had obviously already been enjoying. Even my Dad didn’t want any of that swill. Instinctively, I shrunk back, standing behind my Mom. Although Mom and Dad assured Grampa no one wanted any Cold Duck, he would check in with us on…
Are any of your family members living away from home? Do you imagine them lonely and longing for homemade treats? Maybe you want to send them a care package, but don’t know what might ship well? Perhaps you are lazy, but want to seem giving and skilled at baking? Make Toblerone Shortbread! I settled on…
It was a delicacy we had only once, but my family still speaks of it decades later. Mom’s cauliflower goo was before its time. Today she could call it “cauliflower mash,” an ingenious carb substitute! In my pre-FoodTV youth, overcooked (and/or canned) vegetables were the norm. My family hadn’t even tried Chinese take-out yet. But…
Do I miss my childhood? I miss four things about being a kid: my Gram, the close relationship I had with my older brother, summers being something special, and the excitement of Christmas. And maybe MTV playing music videos. I’m not secretive about not being a kid person. Not a very popular opinion, I know,…
There should be a special place in hell for people who commit the especially heinous offense of ruining your birthday party. My earliest birthday memory is the party during which my cousin Craig pushed me down our back stairs. I don’t remember ever speaking to him again. Cousin Craig and his family moved away a…
When I answered our rotary phone, the voice on the other end of the line was unfamiliar. I didn’t want to tell him I was alone in the house. But this guy was persistent. He peppered me with questions about my parents’ whereabouts, when I expected them back. “Wait, who are you again?” “I’m your…
I don’t celebrate Father’s Day. I have to remind Dave about dates, so he’s always late sending his Dad a card, because I never know when Father’s Day is until it’s here. I’ve written about Dad a little bit here. Some people shocked me in comments by pointing out the obvious affection in these posts….
“Hankie, keys. Comb, wallet-ey…” God, seriously? “Dad, I’m going to be late for school.” But my complaint doesn’t have the desired effect of stopping my Dad. He is compelled to start his ritual over again. Depending on how late we were and whether my brother was around to join in with me in interrupting him…
Late at night, I would sit next to my older brother and watch him play Lode Runner on our Apple IIe. The room was dark except for the bluish glow cast by the monitor. The room was quiet except for the sharp, but hollow-sounding game noises and our whispering about strategy and barely stifled laughter…