Sometimes the little woman can be a bit trying — This morning did not begin well. I admit to being a bit grumpy due to an unseasonable chill in the air and the fact that my wife of many decades chose to sleep in, leaving me to prepare my own morning meal. I had decided to overlook that, but when…

Because it’s worse for both of you — This morning I read “Questions from an Unsuitable Caregiver” by Orrin Onken. Orrin asks a number of partly tongue in cheek questions about caring for a partner with a chronic disease. He asks questions such as “Should dinner be what the cared for person wants to eat or what the…

Don’t mess with Tony — Kids can be cruel. Socialization tames most of us eventually, but at my elementary school playground of the early nineteen fifties, only the presence of teachers prevented us from devolving into savagery, and the teachers couldn’t watch everyone at once. I am and was a wise ass. To be more…

New floor, new carpet — We are having new carpet put into two rooms this week. …

So what should I do now? — There is a body buried at my childhood home. I know that because I saw the gravestone, but there is more to the story than that. Summer, Early 1950’s I can’t put an exact date on this. I might have been as young as four, perhaps as old as six. It’s hard to…

And good riddance regardless of the cost — Our home in our new retirement community came with a whirlpool tub. …

A new challenge for the McEwan brothers — A wise old man asked his son a question. “If you cut down a tree, how much is it worth?” “I’m not sure, dad. £50 or £60.” “What if you cut it up into small logs and sell it as firewood?” “I could get £200 to £300 selling it to…

A strange reversal of roles — See that photo? That’s what bread becomes when I toast it. It looks the same on the other side, by the way. I mention that because it will become important later. Making perfect toast is probably easy if you have something like this ridiculously expensive Japanese oven (not an affiliate…

Your beast of burden awaits your command — My poor wife has fallen so many times in the past six years that we have lost count. I think it’s somewhere between 14 and 18 times, some accompanied by broken bones, but every one adding to her pain and disability. It started at a garden place. I had stayed…

Your beast of burden awaits your command — My poor wife has fallen so many times in the past six years that we have lost count. I think it’s somewhere between 14 and 18 times, some accompanied by broken bones, but every one adding to her pain and disability. It started at a garden place. I had stayed…

Your beast of burden awaits your command — My poor wife has fallen so many times in the past six years that we have lost count. I think it’s somewhere between 14 and 18 times, some accompanied by broken bones, but every one adding to her pain and disability. It started at a garden place. I had stayed…

Your beast of burden awaits your command — My poor wife has fallen so many times in the past six years that we have lost count. I think it’s somewhere between 14 and 18 times, some accompanied by broken bones, but every one adding to her pain and disability. It started at a garden place. I had stayed…

More gaps to fill — While it was tempting to spend more time on the aborted trip, the story is about Anna, not Charlotte or Lewis. We don’t know how Charlotte felt about staying in Madison. It could have been her idea, her wish. Anna may have been sickly, Charlotte may have been ill herself…

A baby to hold and love — Chapter two of the life of Anna Raymond Beardsley. The bed was not fine, the room quite small, and it was not a hotel. The birthing was attended to by the widow who rented her rooms to Westward travelers, and the birth struggles were already fading from Charlotte’s mind. …

A well told story has similarities to my family — Have you been watching The Gilded Age on HBO? We have been watching, including all the “Inside this Episode” bits that I usually ignore. I also have been watching the podcast which covers the episodes but also the real people who are mentioned in the tale. Mark Twain You may not know…

There were never any guarantees. Only hope. — It’s been 8 months. In the last few days, I haven’t thought about it. It’s relieving. And I feel guilty. Eight months ago, my world turned completely upside down and has been since. Nothing will ever be the same. Expected & Unexpected Hello! My name is Burk. It sounds like an intro to…

What it means when an infant points and babbles — and what you should do — We should all want our children to achieve their potential. Who wants to tie their kids to their apron strings and have them end up bitter and dysfunctional carers for you in your old age? Instead, help them become successful adults so they can pay for your nice retirement home…

Someday, someone will need to reckon with them — I didn’t know my neighbor was a hoarder until he moved. Joe was a retired 50-something living alone in a 3000 square foot house. He stayed after his wife left and after his kids moved away, lingering in a town hundreds of miles from the rest of his family in…

The man at the end of the pool — Sometimes I want to show my dad something I wrote. I want to ask him, “Do you think this is funny?” He was really funny. He could see through people’s facades and you couldn’t trick him into thinking you were interesting because you had money. His favorite bumper sticker was…

Photos, email, stories, do they matter? — I am ready for death. Don’t panic; I don’t mean I’m looking forward to it or am not doing everything I can to put it off. I just mean that I’ve done the other work: I have made all the arrangements I can to make my death easier for others…