Are you into family genealogy?
For years, my mother was family historian.  Each August at the reunion, she would get up and report on births, deaths, marriages, and the like — and it was maddening.  Everybody wanted their branch of the tree represented accurately, but nobody wanted to pass along the pertinent information.  So Mom would […]

I realized something today that made me sad — and a wee bit angry.
BJ and I were on our way to physical therapy this afternoon when we drove past a restaurant that has been a huge part of the community for many years. The owner died about two years ago, and everybody misses him. […]

Hey, Alex Trebek:  Here’s a good answer for Final Jeopardy:  The only state added to the Union during the Civil War, this is also the only state ever created by Presidential proclamation.”  Give up?  The question is, “What is West Virginia?”
On June 20, 1863, after President Lincoln’s declaration some 60 days before, the 35th state […]

Ah, Memorial Day… The traditional, if unofficial, start of summer… A three-day weekend… A chance for stores to host sales of all shapes and sizes…Sending out those high school graduation announcements…
But how many remember what Memorial Day is REALLY all about?
Back in 1868, just three years after the American Civil War had ended, […]

Less than three weeks after the terrible killings at Virginia Tech, we pause to remember what happened 37 years ago today at Kent State University. On May 4, 1970, four students were killed, nine others wounded, when National Guard troops opened fire at a noontime rally protesting President Nixon’s announcement a few days […]

On Sunday, The Discovery Channel plans to debut a program (I dare not call it a documentary!) about some archeologists who claim to have found Jesus’ family’s burial site.
The discovery, some ten limestone bone boxes called ossuaries, is not new.  The ossuaries were first uncovered in a Jerusalem suburb back in March of 1980.  And […]