“Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” Thoreau. With Tech School at Ft. Lee, Va. almost complete, we set out sights on our new duty station in California.  The papers for a 30 day leave in my pocket, we began to get ready to spend some time in New York, visiting family and friends.  The Rambler didn’t look like it would make the trip to Albany, and surely would not make the West Coast.  We spotted a used car ad on television for a Barracuda that was in our price range.  Saturday morning we headed for Richmond to check it out.  A cool, October rain was tapping the convertible roof when we arrived at the dealership.  I found...

My Great Grandmother was born in Quebec, Canada in 1880.  She had seen a lot in her lifetime.  Born only 15 years after the Civil War, she witnessed two World Wars, Korea and Vietnam, the onset of the automobile and the beginnings of space travel before her passing in 1967.  Home was a houseboat on the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan during the 1920s where she lived with her husband, daughter and granddaughters (my mother and her sister), along with an assortment of other family members.  Later, they bought a farm in East Postenkill where they would raise a very, very extended family.  Moving from there once the house was free of kids and sundry guests, her and Grandpa...

It was a typical Upstate New York day in early spring for most people getting out of bed that March morning, .  The sun poked through my bedroom window on the second floor of my parents cozy little cape out on Spring Avenue.  I stumbled my way downstairs to the familiar smell of bacon frying as my dad was cooking his usual breakfast for him and me.  Dad did not take sick-days during his career at Behr Manning in Watervliet.  Nor, did he take “personal time”.  In fact, he did not take any time off, other than his scheduled vacations.  Two weeks during the shutdown in July and August and another week or two over Thanksgiving to hunt deer.  That day would be the only...

We arrived a few hours before the ceremony to be sure everything was in place.  I scattered a few bottles of water along the front pew for the bridal party.  Our son Jim and his soon-to-be bride Paula, were preparing to tie the knot on what seemed like the hottest July day in the history of the world.  We were sweating through our three-piece tuxedos as we jammed ourselves into the sanctuary.  The place was packed out as we felt the excitement that only a wedding can bring. The music began as the guests entered and, after the usual preliminaries, the wedding attendees began to do some singing as a prelude the main event.  The hymnals began their leafy noises as the congregation coughed...

You could feel the low-hanging sky as the dew clung to the grass on that July morning, as soon as you walked outside.  I like to walk the yard soon after sunup, inspecting the flowers and our little vegetable garden.  This particular morning, I noticed an animal taking an early-morning swim in our pool.  A close look revealed a little black and white creature that looked more like a wet kitty than a skunk.  Unfortunately, it was the latter.  He had somehow managed to get down the stairs into the pool, no doubt drawn by the cool water.  I’m used to fishing out chipmunks, squirrels, frogs and the occasional snake but this one caused me to hesitate.  Anyway, this guy was pretty...

The Virginia heat and humidity were a little strange to us, having grown up in Upstate NY.  Our tiny bedroom in the apartment had no air conditioning and precious little breeze in the tightly packed complex that we called home.  The summer months began to drag a little with the onset of ordinary life in the Military.  Temperatures caused us to rise slowly most mornings and dress into clothes that were damp from the night air that had been pressed unwillingly through the window screens.  My fatigue uniform wouldn’t hold a decent press, even with starch, frustrating my new bride as she adjusted to married life.  So you don’t think poorly of me leaving that task to Olga, I had...

The enemy was hunkered down at Normandy as the fog began to clear.  Appearing on the horizon, were the Allies who had summoned the greatest invasion force in the history of warfare.  They were determined that the tyranny of the Nazi’s would not be allowed to stand.  While the Fuhrer was focusing on Pas de Calais, more than 160,000 troops landed further south on that fateful morning along the French coastline.  Names of those beaches would be seared into the memory of every soldier, airman and sailor that struck the field of battle.  Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword would live as a testimony to the Allies strength that would turn the tide of the War on June 6, 1944. Among the...