Post 44/2024. I've no breaking news, no bombshell report, no polls comment, no recap of what I've read in various media outlets about the 2024 US election cycle; I have only one word: Harris. That said, I add, I'm taking a break. Tasks to do and we have travel plans where our tablet stays home. …
Author: John Bender
Hi, my name is John Bender, retired and loving it. I'm writing to help interested people cross bridges to and from the past. Stories from the past can shed light on life in the present and illuminate the future. We've got a lot of living to do. Let's do it!
From Massachusetts to Maine to home
Post 43/2024. Acadia National Park, Maine. Spent three fabulous nights here with niece Jan and great-niece Jenny and their husbands John and Rory (Jenny and Rory live in MA). Fine weather. Engaging walks. Tasty home-prepared meals. Trail picnic of cheese sandwiches, chips, chocolate, apple, water. Sunsets. Lighthouses. Maine features what's rugged and wild. Coast. Winters. …
By road from Indiana to Massachusetts
Post 42/2024. Boston MA. Marty and I are soaking up east coast vibe with niece, great niece and their husbands. We rode with Jan and John to the home of Jenny and Rory in a Boston suburb. Left home at 5am, arrived a bit after 7pm (850 miles). We were met with a grand welcome, …
Long, long ago
Post 41/2024. Goshen Indiana. Once upon a time, in my teens, I dreamed of starting my own business. A coffee shop on the new Ontario 7&8 Highway that bypassed New Hamburg, Baden and Petersburg. The dream faded, other businesses, large and small, filled the strip on both sides of the new bridge across the Nith …
Touched by tranquility
Post 40/2024. Goshen, Indiana. The state of being peaceful, calm and untroubled. Serenity. Tranquility. A sense of peace and quiet. How can that be in these storm-tossed, fevered, splintered October days, like similar onslaughts of September, August, July, ad infinitum? I do venture that a smile--and a spot of beauty--helps. The October Club The October …
Make mine a tranquil week ahead
Post 39/2024, Goshen, Indiana. I've reduced my diet of news reading, especially US election related. I have definite opinions and hopes related to the voting on November 5. I'm hopeful that what's better for the vast majority of people that make up the country will come to pass. I'm drawn to the First Testament book …
Moon, summer’s close, Cornwall, friendship
Post 38/2024. Goshen, Indiana. THE HARVEST MOON glowed softly as I peered at it from our driveway and snapped it handheld. Of late I've been testing my old, assumed no longer functional, point and shoot pocket camera, a Nikon Coolpix S7000. I retired the camera some years ago because of cloudy (moisture?) spots on the …
Briefly
Post 37/2024. Goshen, Indiana. Briefly, as in a text. Full, fun weekend with friend Marcia visiting. Food prepared. Plans in place. Loads to talk about. Oh, I have to water the flower pots outside. So it is. Anticipation! (Leaf on sidewalk from a year ago. I had trouble downloading all the shots from this week). …
Trite but true: time flies
Post 36/2024. Rome City, Indiana. If I've said it once, I've said it untold times: time flies. I bury my nose in a book, do various projects around home, take walks, go to appointments, nap, follow the news, get groceries, visit with folks--September has already had it all as the month sails on. Here's a …
A beautiful time
Post 35/2020 Goshen, Indiana. On Thursday we had a rare early morning fog that dissipated as we drove to Sturgis, Michigan for breakfast with Jan and John and then an overnight stay at their home on Perrin Lake. After breakfast I had my first visit to a Scrapbooking store. I needed adessive for a framed …
It's About Now 