Not too long after we were married, my wife gave me a radial arm saw for a gift. Some years later, my son and I decided that we were going to build a...
Pondering a recent increase in gas prices, I remembered several years ago when there were gas-price wars. Often, several gas stations in a small suburb of Portland would advertise their low prices on local radio stations, and traffic congestion would result as people tried to...
She was so tiny, but she cried great tears as though her heart was broken. This two-year-old needed some extra attention, but her parents were busy loading up the moving van—packing away many of the treasures that she wanted to play with—so she became upset. ...
A few years ago, I was delighted with a gift I received from one of my sons and his wife. It was an Atomix brand clock that displays the day, date, and time down to the second, and corrects for daylight savings changes whenever they occur. However, this feat is...
Reminiscing over the past year, several occasions stand out in my mind. I chuckle as I remember a surprise birthday party my sister threw for me, which really surprised me! My...
One day when I was a young boy, my father and I were doing lawn maintenance at the home of a local attorney. His children and a friend had been swimming. After they pulled into the driveway, I noticed that the friend threw his swimming flippers over the car as he went into the house, and...
On my brother’s sixteenth birthday, he was so excited. He had big plans to go to the DMV and get his driver’s license as soon as school was over, and then later on our family would go to one of his favorite places for dinner and watch a movie that he had been anticipating for...
For the first time in my life, I planted a full garden this past spring. I included fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, zucchini, melons, and strawberries. My favorite has been the tomatoes—whether you consider them...
The weekend retreat surpassed my expectations. The cottage I stayed in was only a few blocks from a shore scattered with seashells and other beachcomber’s treasures. The backyard was surrounded by firs and flowers of every color. Deer, small rabbits, and squirrels feasted right outside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows....
When my grandson was three, his attention was captured during a visit to the toy department by a bright yellow plastic chainsaw that made a sound just like a real one. He begged his mom to buy it for him, but there were two little boys in the family and it would have been...