Post 1/2024. New year. New opportunities. New challenges. Still, the old comes with us. We face forward on the wings of all that has gone before, whether "before" spans thousands of years, a few generations, or last year. With the new, humans can review and renew the kind feelings we have for each other. The …
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!
Memories came flooding back
Post 50/2023. Rather than write a Year in Review blog, I've opted to comment on memories that were biding their time among a collection of things stored in a box. With almost each item memories came flooding back, along with questions of "What now with the stuff?" Sorting through boxed memories Assorted items from a …
Christmas Eve ’23
Post 49/2023. I do not remember ever reading A Christmas Story, by Charles Dickens. The movie, yes, but not the wonderfully written text published in 1843. For the youngest set, Dickens (1812-1870) tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley and …
It won’t be long now
Post 48/2023. Sister-in-law Doris recently came up with a joke that flips the frenetic dash of shopping, holiday preparations, yearend planning. "'It won't be long now,' said the monkey when it lost its tail in the lawnmower." Good time to pause and immerse oneself in a book or two. Hot chocolate alongside. Set in Scotland …
Two days in Chicago
Post 47/2023. Chicago delighted us again. "Us" included Jan and John Schwartz. Weather was perfect. Christkindlmarket came through festive and tasty, if crowded. Sadly, there was an empty spot, our friend Oscar, who always met us at the Millenium train station, now lives in Austin, Texas. Jan, John and Marty queue for a visit inside …
Festivities galore
Post 46/2023. The words "happy" and "merry" are part of festive season greetings in December. As the first season of the Christian church year, Advent, in a four-week observance, anticipates the birth of Jesus by focusing on the themes of hope, peace, joy and love. Those are hearty themes in a heavy world. An idea …
Seasons of thanks and anticipation
Post 45/2023. Sunday. It's snowing. I'm burning a soy wax candle in a jar, called "Grandma's Garden." No distinctive scent stands out, though Marty came wondering where the strange, sweet smell was coming from. Maybe the candle's more about memories than smell. Memories of flower beds. Lettuce. Potatoes. Tomatoes. Onions. Carrots. Peas. Strawberries. Raspberries. Fruit …
Thoughts far afield
Post 44/2023. Our neighbors gave us an article from The Wall Street Journal (Journal Report l Encore, November 16). Title: "Two Minnesotans Retired in Cornwall, England. They Love It--Even the Food." Subtitle: "But the thing that makes them most happy are the people around them." The writer is Ellen Hawley, who with her partner moved …
Up Michigan way
Post 43/2023. Between obligations and appointments at home we sallied forth for a few days around our favorite destination on Lake Michigan, South Haven. We took back roads that revealed fading fall colors, many corn and a few bean fields yet to be harvested, and surprises in Paw Paw on the way home. Let photos …
Hickory dickory dock
Post 42/2023. Hickory dickory dock, / The mouse ran up the clock. / The clock struck one, / The mouse ran down. / Hickory dickory dock. One source says the nursery rhyme was used to teach children how to tell the time. And how to read. Our mantel clock has no opening for a mouse, …
It's About Now 