My Portfolio

When I was in elementary school, a new couple moved in next door to us in Foxboro.  This couple was the first set of adults I ever called by their first name.  My story today is about my friend, Jeannie, the wife in the couple we affectionately called Jeannie and Mike,...

The Origins of the SARPosted Sat, 2009-04-11 22:47 Last updated: Tue, 2009-06-23 14:06In 1876 there were many celebrations to commemorate the centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. As part of this patriotic fervor, a group of men in the San Francisco, California, area who...

It is a chilly summer evening in San Francisco, California. It is the evening of my husband's birthday. We had just returned from dinner and are sitting on our back porch, talking. "Do you think your birth mother is thinking about you today?" My husband, Paul, was adopted, back in Pittsburgh,...

As a child and growing up, because we lived in the busy city and times were difficult through the Great Depression, I never had a pet of my own.  But my brother, Hank, was very fond of cats.  In fact, Hank was in to cats.  He had one that had a...

I think we won't have to carry a phone or computer around with us, that we will be able to simply "call up" a phone or computer in the air and be able to see it and interact with it in whatever way suits us best:  voice, touch, or eye movements.  Automobiles,...

The Oreo Cookie turned 100 years old today! I cannot at this moment think of any other icon of American Culinary Achievement that outstrips the familiarity of this cookie. Surely as it was for me, it was for others an integral part of my childhood. I even adopted a ritual for...

Black and White TV shows. Our grandchildren would ask "what is that? so here goes my description of more of a wonderful life. Wow, we did not live in a city so it was a long time before we received any TV transmission.  I was married before we had television, but...

"The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch and "To The Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson" have touched my soul.

Since November 1974, my primary occupation has been as a court reporter utilizing a variety of Stenograph Corporation's stenotype machines starting with the then modern $300 manual machine and an IBM Selectric typewriter that cost $500. That, along with a business license, was all it took to break into the field,...

PUNISHMENT CAN BE FUN Two little brothers who were best buddies were running up and down the three flights of stairs in the house. Not five minutes before they had been told by their daddy to stop doing this as it was becoming annoying, but being boys of six and eight...

Eric's Story, by His Nana Hello there, called Nana to Eric. It was a beautiful sunny July day and he was trying out his new bike his Mom and Dad had bought for him. He was excited because he was almost ready to have his Daddy remove the training wheels. He...

A TENNESSEE TALE BY LILY CORMIER Somewhere deep in the woods and mountains of Tennessee lived a man and his wife who really and truly loved nature. They hiked on the mountain trails and swam in the sparkling clear rivers and streams. One day mister Jones (that was his name) said...