In 1994, we lived in NY and decided to try a home exchange. Agreeing to exchange our home just north of NYC with a family living in Scotland required reaching a compromise on our trip objectives: for Maggie, it was seeing castles, churches, and tartan fabrics. My goal was to… Continue reading
In high school, my daughter Ginger was cast in a theatrical presentation of the Sound of Music. She threw herself into the two roles she played, greatly enjoying all the rehearsals and tasks associated with getting the production ready for an audience. After opening night, she had issues with her… Continue reading
When my daughter, Ginger, was in grade school, a company transfer required us to move to New York. Growing up in the Midwest, tales of callous and occasionally duplicitous New Yorkers resulted in our making a cautious integration into the community of Croton-on-Hudson, NY, our new home. One day Ginger… Continue reading
Ancestry.com began to interest me more the past couple of years. Genealogy projects seem to appear when at a certain age. My cousin on my mother’s side, Ron Herem, begin getting interested about a year before me. His fancy was caught by the history of our family, and he’s made… Continue reading
Earlier this week, on April 23, I got an email from Steve Larsen in Idaho, saying “My momma went to heaven on Sunday. I thought you might like to read about her.” He gave me a link to her obituary. She was a remarkable woman, and I’ve included the link… Continue reading
My very first newsletter (9 newsletters ago) was the story of finding a daughter I did not know about. She found me using 23andMe, reached out and made contact. If you missed that newsletter, you should read it. You will find it here: No doubt several of you have imagined… Continue reading
In 2012, I spent 14 days chasing the Dakar Rally as it transversed South America, from Buenos Aires across the Atacama Desert and Andes mountains to Chile, up its coast, then back to Buenos Aires, on the back of a BMW 1200GS motorcycle. On the flight home, I had an… Continue reading
Several significant and momentous events in the past couple of years have me wishing I stayed in better touch with my family and friends. I should have maintained my old email newsletter. That newsletter, graciously described as “a horrid, holiday-family summary run amok,” or by others less gracious as “Larsen’s… Continue reading
Recovery from my April 2015 OHS (open heart surgery) seemed to be going splendidly except for a persistent cough. It would just not go away. Recovering in San Diego, we consulted respiratory experts at Scripps Memorial Hospital, but no cause was found. Back at Mayo in Phoenix, experts diagnosed it… Continue reading
Face it, at my age (69), a primary topic of conversation with friends relates to health and our various ailments. When younger, this drove me nuts. I swore to never indulge this sort of behavior. But that was before I had health issues to trump nearly everyone elses. My 1965… Continue reading