My Portfolio

In September 1964, when I was a teenager of 17, Hurricane Dora came to town. My family was fairly well prepared for a storm. We lived in a single story concrete block house in a Southside neighborhood, and, since we were a family that camped out a lot, we had cooking...

  NOTE: This is a "Coming of Age" story. It isn’t pretty nor is it pleasant for me to recall. But life consists of pleasure, pain, success, failure, ugliness and beauty. If my legacy consists of memories of significant events in my life and if it is to be complete and honest, it...

On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek                                         Those Untold Secrets     Every month Legacy Stories encourages members to submit entries and thus keep...

    What is something you were afraid of as a child? For me, it was always the dark.  I was terrified of the night.  That blanket of darkness that would swoop down and take away my sight.  My heart would thump in my chest and I just knew that something...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   How Do We Know If We Are Making An Impression?   All too often in our daily lives, we are just guessing about how we are perceived by others.  The impressions we make in some face-to-face encounters may or...

Add a story, photo or Pict-Oral Memorytm about hope in adversity Adversity: Recovering Heroes They say that angels come in many forms, and we sense their nearness when, in crisis, help arrives. But sometimes, in the aftermath of what they do best, our heroes need healing, too. On September 11, 2013, I...

On the road …again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   A Résumé Never Read   With the massive outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa in recent months, the Footloose Forester was reminded that the US Agency for International Development, or U.S.A.I.D., is one of the leading...

I have had many challenges in my life. Some, I overcome with grace and perseverance, some, well, not so much. I think the one that has been the hardest one for me is depression. It is so much like the cloudy night sky in the picture that I took above. The...

  REMINISCENCES Where did you attend first grade? Memory Triggers- Favorite teacher, classroom walls, best 1st grade friend, favorite activity. I went to first grade at Laird Elementary School in Tempe AZ.  I don't even remember the name of my first grade teacher, although I do know that I loved her.  She...

  Describe a special talent you have used to your advantage.   I suppose that the only talent I have used to my advantage is writing.  I never knew how to write.  When I was young, I did not get good grades in English.  I did however, read like a crazy...

Add a Story, Photo or Pict-Oral Memory about an embarrassing moment to your Legacy Portfolio Have you ever seen the Youtube footage of former President Gerald Ford as he tripped and fell down the steps of Air Force One?  My mother-in-law calls those moments "hummers," and when we see or hear of somebody...

Perhaps you’ve heard the expression: “Nobody wants to read your diary except your mother,” but if that were true, why do so many of us love autobiographies? Is it because we feel less isolated when somebody else shares his or her secrets? In Diane Keaton’s book: “Let’s Just Say it Wasn’t...

Our Senior Spotlight this month is Ed Solie.  He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 1924, which makes him 90 years old.  He lived there until he was three.  His dad had a sheet metal business and they moved a couple of times, finally settling in West Dallas, Wisconsin (home...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Taking The ALS Challenge   The occasion was the birthday party for 76-year-old Footloose Forester who was visiting the Pittsburgh area with his wife. Their main purpose for traveling north from Virginia was to clean up the weediness around...

    Today is Memoir Monday (OK, it is Tuesday, but I have an excuse).  This is where I give you a chance to write and link up and answer the question about your past.  Yesterday was my 20th anniversary, and my husband and I actually went on a date!  It was...

I was very blessed to know all four of my grandparents.  I grew up next door to my dad's parents in Boxville, Kentucky.  Their names were Charles Henry Jenkins and Harpie Dera Jenkins, but we called them Daddy Monk and Mama Harpie.  They were very special to me because I was...

Since publishing BIG WAVE - CAPSIZED I sent the story to my cousin Kitty Susan Hylton, who was struggling with me in the water.  After reading my account of that July 4th day in 1965, Susie sent some details I had forgotten. Our rescuers were not deputy sheriffs but county game wardens.  One of...

On May 31st, during our trip to Charleston with Michele and Pat I had a horrific fall.  Fell forward and hit the left side of my face and the outside of my hands.  By the time they got me on my feet and sat me on a bench my hands were...

   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...