Family

A Very Nostalgic Photo

Brothers at a Wedding

During the past week, my niece, Amanda, shared the photo above on one of the social media platforms we frequent. She said “Look what I came across!” It is a photo of me (left) and my younger (but taller) brother, James, on his wedding day. I was Jim’s best man in the ceremony when he married Darla, who also happened to be one of my classmates in High School.

I have never seen this photo despite having (obviously) been there when it was taken in July of 1970. Someone may have posed us in the tie-fixing photo but the truth is that I just don’t remember. The wedding took place nearly 53 years ago. But, there we are, all young and dapper-looking, preparing for the wedding. I was about to turn 27 and Jim was 23 years old.

Niece Amanda also attached one more photo in her social media post of the wedding couple and their folks:

Jim and Darla and their Parents

These photos will be added to my collection of nostalgic items archived on the genealogy website that I use.

Our Great Grandsons

Our eldest Granddaughter sent Alex (top) and Mikey’s 2022 School Photos to us this morning. It’s hard to reconcile how mature these boys are getting. Their Mom’s comment was “I guess Alex is already too cool to smile . . .” Alex just turned eight and Mikey will be five in a few weeks.

The boys are two of our four great grandchildren, the others being girls, Maci age six and Kenna age three; the girls are the children of our second eldest granddaughter while the boys’ Mom is our eldest granddaughter.

A third granddaughter is still without kids for the time being.

Photo Update


I thought that I posted these last April when these photos were taken, but I couldn’t find them when I looked for them earlier today. Anyhow, these were posed to send to our friend Patty who is retired and living in North Carolina. We have been friends for a very long time and now that Patty is living alone, we try to correspond with her on a regular basis. Verna sent these in a letter to her just a week or so ago.

Top photo: Verna and Tucker. Bottom photo: Bob and Cabela.

Click on either photo to enlarge.

Happy Birthday in Heaven to Dad

This would have been my Dad’s 108th Birthday. He passed away in 1982 at the young age of 67. Although that seems young to head across the rainbow bridge, Dad had a full life, having served in the Second World War, married to my mom in 1938 and had four children which gave him great pride. After his Naval Career, he became a power systems engineer for a California-based Telephone Company.

“Jack,” as he was known, loved his family, was a good Christian and voted Republican. I wish he could have been with us longer, but the medical procedures and medicine weren’t as available to him as they now are at this stage in our lifetimes.

We miss him. Happy Heavenly Birthday, Dad!

Happy Birthday Alex!

Happy eighth birthday to our great-grandson Alex! Born on this date in 2014, Alex is the eldest of our four great grandkids. He is a good kid with a great personality and is very smart.

We sent a “Birthday Box” to his Sonoma County residence in California. In the box are many goodies and interesting things for a kid that age. The box weighed in at 28 pounds and measured 19x17x14 inches — a good sized shipping carton filled with very cool stuff for an 8 year old kid.

So, here’s wishing Alex a wonderful birthday and blessings for the coming year. Happy Birthday again, li’l dude!

Our 24th Wedding Anniversary

Cutting the Wedding Cake

Today we’re celebrating the twenty-fourth anniversary of our wedding. This is a photo taken at our wedding reception which was held in Avalon, on Catalina Island, at the Blue Parrot Restaurant and Bar adjacent to the Hotel Metropole on Crescent Avenue, the main drag along the shore of Avalon Harbor. The Blue Parrot is now gone, having been converted to additional hotel spaces for the Metropole. We revisited the island for several years around the time of our anniversaries and finally, as we mentioned last year, we stopped going back.

This year was the year of Tanzanite and Verna got several small, but pretty, jewelry items made from it. Next year, we will be having our quadranscentennial anniversary, and we look ahead to celebrating the Silver Jubilee.