Floods really change the landscape, usually only temporarily, but sometimes permanently. This past week I’ve watched the “off the beaten path” intersection near our home gradually become a small stretch of rapids in the Grand River, and a popular viewing spot for the neighborhood locals. It seems that intersection is within the 100-year flood plain of the river, and we’re … Continue reading →
Why is it such a pleasant experience to run into friends unexpectedly? Dave and Karen just happened to drop into my favorite haunt this morning and I invited them to join me for breakfast. I assured them they weren’t intruding, and we were able to catch up on things since their return from wintering in Florida. After a really nice … Continue reading →
Sometimes the best thing about life in the sandwich and being a Grandpa is just being there. The newly transplanted California contingent was home for a week for E’s first birthday. Yesterday, my son and daughter-in-law were working at home, son-in-law was home with his parents and a little under the weather, and daughter was visiting for the day with … Continue reading →
Here’s a little story about boxes you might enjoy. I wrote it a dozen years ago. “The Box” The box was actually two boxes that lay undisturbed in the attic of our family home for more than thirty years. My father discovered them when he cleared the attic to make way for some better insulation early in 2001. Late in … Continue reading →
My son and I found ourselves talking about creative things the other day, things like graphic design, logos, business cards, and business names. And then he said something that caught me by surprise. He said, “I don’t like the term ‘thinking out of the box’.” “Hmmm,” I said, “Why not?” Well, sometimes you have to work with certain constraints, particularly … Continue reading →
OK, I’ll let you know right up front that this is a post about depression, but hopefully not a depressing one. Maybe I should tell a little story to lighten the mood: My wife had this ceramic piggy bank as a kid; it was a foot tall, a half inch thick and weighed about ten pounds empty. It really was … Continue reading →
It’s funny how the mind can wander so many places in the space of about ten minutes. When I started blogging I had specific ideas about what I wanted to say. I wanted it to be a helpful place where people could identify with the experiences of life in the sandwich. I wanted it to be a resource for things … Continue reading →
Let’s see, pull out my smartphone, open Mapquest, enter destination, get directions – oops, Mapquest needs to know FROM WHERE! If you’re going anywhere you really need to know where you’re starting from. Given my last post, probably a good idea. So let’s take a little inventory. OK, we live in a nice two story, three bedroom home that can … Continue reading →