I am a United States Marine. I earned the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor in 1981 in the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island, South Carolina. OPEN DISCLOSURE: My service was unremarkable and I stand in awe of my brothers and sisters who have defended us in the years since but, I did get some…
Category: Personal story
It was bitter cold when we said goodbye to Grandma Esther
My grandmother Esther passed away on December 22nd in 2000. She was laid to rest at Long & Fisher Funeral Home in Sissonville, West Virginia. It was bitter cold. The funeral home had an interesting layout. The building was immediately adjacent to the cemetery. When the service was concluded, the pall bearers carried the casket…
Graduation from Marine Corps Boot Camp and Kindness
In the summer of 1981, I joined the Marine Corps and was sent to Marine Corps boot camp, Parris Island, South Carolina where they turn young people into Marines. The way the Corps worked it at that time, before you graduated, your family was allowed to visit on the day before graduation. It was the…
The Cincinnati Bengals made it to the Show!
I am glad to see the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl. I remember their game against the 49ers in 1989. I was watching on a little, 5-inch, black and white television in the machine shop at Chase Bag Company in Chagrin Falls. One question about which I am a tad riled, Cleveland people are wondering…
Grandmother Esther Raises the Stakes
Life has a way of getting in the way of all the things we want to do and we get to them later in life. Unfortunately, that is not always possible. My Grandmother Esther was elderly when it became a priority to see her and get to know her better. I did not get to know…