My Portfolio

Anyone who's been writing legacy stories here in the Legacystories.org archive surely must've read one or many of Dick Pellek's amazing stories.  Dick has been a member for over a decade, and has read many new stories from members as they are published, commenting on most. I never met Dick but...

After returning from Viet Nam in 1970, my only skills were shooting people and playing music. With those limitations, combined with the humiliation of returning to an unsupportive America, it was impossible to find work to support my wife, Christine, and newborn son, Justin. So, I got together with two of...

Bunker 18 outpost in An Hoa, Viet Nam Me and My 106mm   I don’t know if JJ Ryder is still alive and I’m not sure he ever made it back from Viet Nam. I met him 'under fire' for about fifteen terrifying minutes. It was a typical hot, humid and...

I received an incredible email that was so emotionally powerful I thought I'd recreate it here in by story blog. Hopefully, others will share this because it says it all.  REMEMBER THIS! It is the  VETERAN,   not the preacher,   who has given us freedom of religion.    It is  the VETERAN,   not...

Saturday, September 10th, 2016: I'm consumed by the various TV specials about the 9/11 tragedy. I'm drawn to switch channels back and forth to watch the docudramas about the attack on the twin towers and flight 93. Christine arrives from her errands and quietly sits on the couch next to me....

This remarkable story about a defining moment in my personal history was written by Christine Bonham. daughter of my very good friend and visionary, Dave Fankhauser.    Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.                ...

   His presence on a leather seat, my work was always there   Warm and softly breathing, i could touch upon his hair   First his head and then his back, turning to and fro   The daily grind made better by, a buddy soon to go   Early morn to dusk each...

Today my family shared a very sad experience. Our long-time loyal friend Bob, our family dog for almost 15 years, was put to perpetual sleep. This is not the first time we have made the decision to euthanize a family member. We still covet the ashes of Lillian, the equally loyal...

Our big family of 10 kids squeezed into the smallest house in the neighborhood on Rockland Street. Dad continually added on to the little house as each new child was born. One of Mum's greatest dreams was to have a home that was finished. That wasn't ever going to happen on...

With nine siblings vacations were at a premium during my childhood. I can only remember going on vacation one time.  I think Dad knew someone from work who had a cottage down on Cape Cod in Barnstable. I'm sure he couldn't have afforded to rent a cottage so he took advantage...

MY SECRET TO A LONG AND HAPPY MARRIAGE I am probably the last person who should be giving marriage advice. Although I can proudly claim having been married for 46 years as of today, I attribute the reason for my happy marriage all to my lovely wife, Christine. Here is why. ...

I received my annual letter from my older brother, Jim, today. With the best of intentions he makes me cry every year because he takes the time to really think about his words. Jim is the tallest and oldest in this picture. This year was no different. He cares so much...

Now that 2012 is becoming a distant memory I will undoubtedly forget much of what happened as time rolls on. So, I thought I'd write some random thoughts while they are fresh on my mind.  The biggest elephant in the room for me has been the all-consuming challenge of building the...

{source} I recieved a hand made card the other day and it moved me to write this story. A good friend, Kathy Larsen, lost her brother in the Afganistan war. He meant almost everything to her and I remember the time when she could hardly speak trying to come to grips...

With 9 siblings there is no shortage of stories to tell about my family. They all have their own unique abilites and talents. This story is about my brother, Jim. He was the oldest of us 10 children me being second oldest. So, I always looked up to him. Today I...

With our large family moving to different parts of the country it becomes more and more difficult to do things collectively that we all can enjoy. One thing's for sure, many of us in the family love NFL football. Realizing that some are not as football literate as others, Dad decided...

I have so many fond memories of my childhood home at 70 Rockland St, Natick, Massachusetts.  Surrounded by family farms, the little home was the first for my Mom and Dad to own. As their family grew to 10 kids Dad had to keep adding space. We were all packed into...

This week's story prompt asks about activities we remember doing with our maternal grandparents. I've written about this before in different ways but despite my mother's disdain for her father my memories have all be find of Gammie and even fonder of nana, my grandmother and grandfather on Mom's side. Nan...

Boys will be boys. Oh yea. At the Cormier home the three oldest boys, Jimmy, Johnny and me, were fit to be tied. We knew Mom was too busy tending to the 7 other kids to be paying very close attention to us boys and Dad was always at work. What...

When it comes to famous family sayings there is one that really stands out when I was a kid. With 7 boys and 3 girls Dad has his hands full whenever he dared to take us anywhere outside the home. The 3 older boys, Jimmy, myself and Johnny, were old enough...