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Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek     A Few Snippets, The Stuff From Whence Legacy Stories Are Born   Ø  That time in Germany when Lt. Nick Tompras fired off 250 rounds with a single pull of the trigger.  It was an M-60 machine...

Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Life Lessons in the Mahjong Tiles   Who among frequent computer users does not occasionally play a game or take an anonymous on-line quiz?  Call the practice a diversion, a habit, or an addiction…but one thing is clear,...

Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek     But Don’t Take My Word For It    Trolling the waters of Internet social sites leads to the realization that among the millions of people who choose to respond with comments, there are the cautious ones, the...

Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek     Simple Answers: Complex Questions   Did you ever notice that some people in a group get irritated when you give a complex answer to a seemingly simple question? Or, conversely, when you give a simple answer to...

Angels and Heroes Exercise "Feeling Gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William Arthur Ward   An 'Angel' is the one whose kindness and love sustained you as you have grown, faced difficult times and personal loss. A 'Hero' is the one who inspired you...

    Like a slow-motion train wreck, with nary a whimper or a scream, the extended family and all the benefits it provides are disappearing one ‘byte’ at a time.     The typical American family has changed over the last couple of generations from predominantly ‘extended families’ to majority ‘nuclear families’....

  When the generations of a family stop interacting on a daily basis the spontaneity of the interactions begins to suffer. Likewise, family visits with an elder under care become stilted and awkward, and ultimately less frequent. Changing the dynamic of the family visit to become engaging, rewarding, purposeful and productive...

Essays, Stories, Adventures, DreamsChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Why Footloose Forester Won’t Write A Novel As snippets of clichés and other prompts for new chronicles popped into his head, the Footloose Forester decided that at least two of them were determining factors in his decision to forever eschew...

Along the Elizabeth River waterfront on the southwest corner of Town Point Park in Norfolk, Virginia, is the Armed Forces Memorial that features 20 letters written home by U.S. soldiers and sailors who died serving their country from the Revolutionary War up to and including the Gulf wars.  The letters appear...

Famous people get all the adoration and recognition. But Peanuts creator, Charles Schultz, helps us recognize the real heroes in our lives, whose story should be part of our own legacy. The questions below should inspire you to share a legacy story! Just read the questions to this quiz. You don't...

On the road...again!!!Essays, Stories, Adventures, DreamsChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek     Communicating on Social Media   When I review the number of friends or subscribers that traffic counters on social media sites tell me that I have, it is a bit dismaying to think that my sphere of...

10 MOTHER'S DAY MEMORY TRIGGERS Mother's Day is the perfect time to write or record a legacy story about your Mom.  Here are 10 memory triggers to get you thinking:   What saved item mostly fondly reminds you of your mother? Describe one of your mother's unique personality traits. What advice...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek    Stand Your Grounds (Opinions Count, But Facts Matter)   It was an innocent remark.  Our house guest suggested that our morning coffee was too strong because we used too many scoops of coffee grounds.  We like strong coffee and...

Few things in life are more valuable to a family than an elder's life lessons and experiences. Most family members realize this and have every intention of one day taking time to have that special "legacy talk." Unfortunately, because of life's distractions and the convenience of social media, that day rarely...

If you've ever binge-watched a show on Netflix or any of the other platforms, you know how the first episode compels us to watch the next until the end of Season 1.   When it comes to telling your life story, why not conceptualize in the same way? After all, you...

Acer rubrum To Zyzyphus jujubaEssays, Stories, Adventures, DreamsChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek     Change Your Razor Blade—On Demand   Sometimes finding a news story to comment on is not always an obvious topic of interest to everyone. An essay about razor blades is far from a general interest...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   An Indelicate Subject   Sometimes it takes the stimulus of an ignorant post or meme on the Internet to finally push the Footloose Forester over the edge.  As repugnant and as repulsive as the subject matter is, he thinks...

Whether you are a professional caregiver or have finally gotten around to asking an aging relative to share their life stories, be prepared for the unexpected. As enthused as you might be to hear some amazing life experiences, the elder may not be so much.   Young people today are living...

Although it is important to sort out and document legacy stories from your past, not all of your defining moments and milestone events happened in your distant past. In fact, you are still making history every single day, mostly being recorded in real time on smart phones, tablets and in social...

Chart courtesy of Allianz American Legacies Pulse Survey      There is a huge unmet demand to provide a solution that can marry the client’s values with their valuables. Advisors need to know that their client’s life experience, the lessons learned and hard won wisdom cannot be listed on a balance...