100 Memoirs

Last Sunday, Stuart and I celebrated the last day of August with one of our many bike rides in the hill/woods/lake country here in southwestern Michigan. We have enjoyed watching the grape vines become green, then produce fruit, and soon we will get to observe the harvest.  Next Tuesday another sign of the season arrives–all [...]

Marriage does not come with an instruction manual. Wise couples get some kind of counseling, often from the minister who marries them. They hear about marriage being complex and sometimes challenging – and listen without believing– in the same way that people in good health receive stories about dying.
If ever a two people qualified for [...]

You know that feeling you get at the end of an exotic vacation to Disney World or New York City or Istanbul? Or the feeling in August that summer is slipping through your fingers? A feeling akin to nausea?
You wish you had time now to organize your pictures, mow the yard, sit on the deck, [...]

The pattern started on our honeymoon, 1969, 40 years ago.  Stuart had $600 in his checking account when we got married.  I spent all the money I earned that summer– the summer of my 21st birthday, the summer of Woodstock and the moon landing, and the summer of our wedding– on the wedding dress, flowers, [...]

What makes us happy?  Is it winning the lottery or getting a surprise million-dollar legacy?  In our current economy, such windfalls might sound even better than usual.  I haven’t seen Slumdog Millionaire (see trailer here) yet, but I gather that such a fantasy becomes reality in that film.  Once I see the film, I will [...]