My Portfolio

  Defining Moments       Since becoming a StoryKeeper I’ve found something. Every one of us has defining moments in our life, an event or experiences of such physical or emotional intensity that it has a profound impact on the nature and direction of our life.       Moments such as...

A mile or so north of town Cheyenne Creek ran under a bridge on US Highway 75.  It was an old bridge with ornamental concrete balustrades fencing in the sides of the highway to keep cars from plunging into the water below.  On each end of the bridge there was a...

One of Mother’s many household duties during the summer when vegetables and fruits were ripe was to can as many fruits and vegetables as she could. The only canning process available brought with it a tour in the very fires of hell. Vegetables tend to ripen in the hottest part of...

I returned from my LDS Mission to The Netherlands in December, 1965 and continued my studies at Utah State University. Having really struggled with the freshman year of college before my mission, I was coming back near the level of probation. My mode of transportation was a bicycle and this posed...

The “Korean Police Action,” as Truman called it, had been fought up and down that miserable peninsula for many bloody months and had come to a point where daily “success” was measured by how many North Korean and Chinese dead bodies had been created that day.  It looked as if it...

No date for me tonight.  A busy Friday night at the fraternities and here I sit.  In Smedes Parlor.  As the fellows arrive to fetch their dates, I get their names and page the girls that their date has arrived.  Each of us has this duty twice a semester.  A dull...

This months' question pertaining to our first serious relationship is a little tricky and bittersweet. Looking back, most of my early relationships were filled with plenty of girl-drama, and were not very long and not what I'd call "serious" by my standards today, but at the time I certainly I thought they were! ...

Our compound was at the bottom of a large hill . At the top of this hill was a Signal Corp Unit . Between us and the top of the hill was nothing but jungle . Our mess hall sat at the bottom of the hill . This was our Mess...

My adolescent years are filled with wonderful memories of family and friends as well as the challenges of growing up and discovering who you are. Deanne and I became the best of friends all through life and most of my memories are with her. Although my mother would make all of...

Although I wasn’t in the thick of the battle zone in Viet Nam I still served my country and I went when my country said “GO”. Several years after I was back home my wife had a job for a large national retailer in their home office in downtown St Louis...

I went to church one Sunday morning and our pastor told everyone that we were going to have guest coming . We go to a small congregation at a Non-Denominational Family Oriented Church so everyone is tight nit . When our guest arrived our pastor introduced them to everyone . There...

I guess I wouldn’t make a very good politician .With all of the “Pork Barrel Subsides “ and “ Foreign Aid “ I was an Engineer when I was in Viet Nam while others did the fighting . I know that the Infantry and the Calvary need their R & R...

At Mid-20th-Century radio stations broadcast only on what is now called “talk” or “AM” radio.  The static-free sound of FM radio was far in the future.  Our radios gave us news, entertainment and music.   And what music it was.  The “highbrow” music lover had only to avoid “The Grand Ol Opry”...

My son Ken celebrated his birthday on 24th July and, as well as the paella pan we gave him, I decided to put together a special heritage gift for him. Please take a look at my short video, as this is an idea you could try yourself.

I was so embarrassed when I returned home from my tour of duty in Vietnam that I did all I could do to avoid being recognized as a Marine. I had seen so much yet I could tell so little. I liken it to what happens when you come upon a...

The American Legion Hall was upstairs in the building across the street from the theater.  Most of the time it was used by veterans for meetings, drinking, poker games, and whatever.  Every few weeks, on a Saturday night, the Legion brought in a Country/Western band and held a dance that was...

A few steps down Fourth Street from the high school a wedge-shaped marquee hung over the sidewalk.  In neon letters and paint it identified the Gregg Theater.  Clean, soft carpeting, comfortable furniture in a sunken lobby, padded seats in the theater and a well-stocked popcorn and candy booth made The Gregg...

Every small town in America has a “main” street.  Caney’s was called “Fourth Street. Our High School and the “Clifton House”, a hotel which I thought was quite upscale as a child, marked the end of the business district on the eastern end.  Four blocks west “Main Street” ended where Pendleton’s...

Being a copier repairman isn’t the best paying job a person could have but it does have its benefits. I was at a “High Dollar “Art Gallery in what they call “The Central West End “of St Louis one day repairing the copier in the back room. I was just busy...

When I showed the finished gown to my mother, she looked at me with such an amazingly strange expression that I knew I was missing something important.

 “Why don’t you want to use the family gown”?

 “What family gown?” I asked totally lost.