Some of you may remember that the original title of this piece was Becoming Seventy. And as you can tell from the opening content, I was focused on the event of reaching beyond my 70th year. I updated it three years ago on my 77th birthday…and now I’m ready to begin yet another decade of life. I’ve read and reread what I had to say about getting old (er) then and I’m willing to stand my ground today. Yes, much has changed in the last 10 years. Our well used body parts are starting to wear at a faster pace. Our children are fully grown, and now their children are reaching adulthood. The world does seem to be turning a bit faster, or...
The Honorable Joseph Robinette BidenThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 20500Dear Joe, er I mean Mr President:Pardon the familiarity, but I was motivated by the fact that we are contemporaries (age-wise that is). In fact you are about 10 months older than I am. I believe that you will be blowing out 80 candles on your cake this week. The other similarities we share are that we’ve been pretty busy fellows for our entire lives. Getting an education, raising a family, and jobs that pretty much took all our time. The only difference I see is that I spent a few years in Uncle Sam’s Army, while you seemed to have slid by that one. I don’t know...
“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” ~ Vladimir Lenin ~ “Give me the child for the first seven years and I will show you the man.” ~ Ignatius of Loyala ~ “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’ ~ Matthew 19:14, King James Version of the Bible ~ Throughout history, there seems to be a consensus that children are particularly vulnerable to being taught what a teacher wants them to learn. Nowhere is this more true than in our political/social/religious institutions. I cannot attest to the effectiveness...
THE GREAT BLIZZARD OF 2021 Technically it wasn’t really a blizzard as a blizzard has to have continuous high winds and snow. Maybe it was a Blue Norther or just a plain old Snow Storm. But I don’t think that either term really works for what we experienced. The best description I can come up with is what my father-in-law would call a “cold spell” with two major (for us) snow falls, some icing, periodic winds, and several days of really, really cold weather. I’ve been hanging around Honey Grove and Dial Community since the early sixties, and my wife, Sandra’s roots go long and deep. Neither of us can remember any other weather episode quite like this. ...
Earlier this year, my darling wife S. and I enjoyed a delightful and educational voyage in the eastern Mediterranean, which culminated in a four-day tour of Israel. Yes, I know that four days isn’t long enough to work through the NYT Sunday crossword puzzle, much less understand a country with as complex a history as Israel… or is it Palestine, or maybe the Promised Land, or possibly Canaan, or even Judah? You see what it I mean. It’s complex before I even begin. Before I start, and in a nod towards full disclosure, you should know that my genealogy consultant informed me some years ago that my long ago antecedents were most probably...
After 30 years in the world of big business, Gary “retired” to pursue long ignored interests. While continuing his involvement in the corporate world by serving as a director of several public companies, he has, among other things, traveled the world in pursuit of the perfect bird photograph, served national and local charities as a director and donor, developed a personal web site as a platform for his writing on subjects of personal interest, and, occasionally, taken time to smell the roses.
Gary and his wife Sandra, shuttle between their condo in Dallas and their farm in Fannin county, Texas where they indulge themselves in organic gardening, long walks and entertaining friends and family.
