In the summer of 1966, I was 18 years old, a recent high school graduate, and had just been hired by the U.S Forest Service to work as a fire fighter for the summer. I knew next to nothing about
Why I Am the Way I Am—-Part I
I got to thinking the other day about how where I have lived in my lifetime has determined—well determined why I am the way I am. Recalling the places I have called home (even for just a short time) brought
Stumbled Across My 50-year Old High School Yearbook
The other day when looking through an assortment of cardboard boxes in my garage (I was looking for some family information to trace my heritage [more on that in a later blog]), I found my high school yearbook from my
THE BUFFALO WAS A GOOD CHOICE
Hail Our New National Mammal Just recently, President Obama signed a law making the bison our country’s first national mammal. The buffalo (I never called them “bison”) isn’t in competition with the bald eagle because the eagle already has national
Nostalgia: Glacier National Park Wildfire
Hearing that a major wildfire, the Reynolds Creek Fire, started burning along the Going-to-the-Sun Highway in Glacier National Park on July 21, brought back a rush of memories of my early days as a fire-fighter. At over 3,000 acres, the
Nostalgia: The No-name Bike
When I was a kid, 90% of the time if I wanted to go somewhere, I either walked or rode my bike. My Dad’s typical response to. “Dad, I need a ride to the bowling alley” (rarely bowled but loved
Nostalgia: Western Television Shows Geezers Watched (Kids Shows)
If you’re a GEEZER and a BOOMER and watched television as a kid, surely you remember the many westerns televised in the early 1950s. They were like the detective/crime shows are today—the most popular genre on any network. Some shows
Nostalgia: The TV Shows GEEZERS Watched as Kids
I got to thinking the other day (I do that once in a while) and let my mind wander over the TV shows I watched growing up. Specifically, I was thinking about the shows filmed in the black and white era at
Movie Review: Wild
My wife and I had two different reasons for wanting to go to the movie Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon (playing the real life Cheryl Strayed), the day after Christmas. She just wanted to see a good “chick flick” (I hate
Something New: Bing Crosby’s Home
Looking for something to do. Simply Google “ (the name of your city or city you are visiting) historic sites.” If your town is like Spokane, WA (and of a similar size) you will get a list of at least
Playing for all the Marbles
For some reason (actually because my interest was spurred by an earlier blog), the other day I asked my granddaughter if she knew what marbles or jacks were. She said she did and thought jacks were best because you could
You Know You’re a Geezer When You Can Remember (Part 2):
The car’s starter was a button you pushed down with your foot. You at some time wore Converse All-star high tops. That the great football players were Jim Brown, Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas. That the great baseball players were
You Know You’re a Geezer When You Can Remember:
Changing the oil in your car in your driveway. Talking to a telephone operator in order to make your phone call. You walked to the TV to change the channel. You made coffee in a perculator. You bought tires that were