My war with the cattails continues. I have attacked them regularly at the pond for two years now. I trudge in the mud on the shoreline or arrive by boat, pulling them out one by one. They are densely packed and their root systems interconnect. I think they secretly laugh at my efforts.
Continue reading “Tales of the Cattails”
It wasn’t date night. We weren’t celebrating anything. It was just your average Wednesday evening, and we were tired of cooking. We decided to go out and wanted a nice restaurant. I said to Cathy, “Field and Main?”and she immediately answered “YES!” Off to Marshall we drove.
Continue reading “Wednesday Night at Field and Main”
If still alive, my buddy Tim would turn 71 on August 27th. I was recently thinking about Tim, while reminiscing about our friend Howard’s 10th birthday party in 1965. I still laugh at the story of an usher almost kicking us out of the Roxy Theatre when Tim shouted out, “LOOK AT THAT SPITFIRE!” in the middle of the movie, “Von Ryan’s Express.”
Continue reading “Tim and the Spitfire”
The dialogues always visit me in the night. “Who mourns the dead?” “We do.” “And who are you?” “Those who came before. The ones fortunate enough to survive, or lucky enough never to go to war. Soldiers we were, but now, we have questions.” I listen.
Continue reading “Nocturne at the Farm”
Ranch dressing. You know it. Most of you love it. Evidently, So do recent European World Cup visitors. I chuckle at that. While stationed in Germany in the ‘80s, Cath and I received Hidden Valley Ranch spice packets in care packages from home and introduced German friends to its deliciousness back then.
Continue reading “Chronicles of Hidden Valley”
I came around a corner on the trail and there was Carter in the distance. We waved, and he called out, “Max! Good to see you. It’s been a while—I was starting to think you might be hurt or dead.” We both laughed as I walked up and shook his hand. I didn’t know it then, but he had been lucky to survive the woods just a week earlier.
Continue reading “I Thought You Might be Dead”
Our local paper ran a story about Judge James P. Fisher freeing convicted sex offender Patrick Lundy after his most recent charges. In online comments, many people blamed liberal judges and their agendas. There is only one problem. Judge Fisher is a former Chair of the Fauquier County Republican Committee.
Continue reading “Broken Trust and Broken Laws”
As I post this, my 500th blog, I want to share something I have learned over the past ten years. Sometimes, living life exuberantly means slowing down, and taking life in. Exuberance can also be internal – a heightened state of awareness, a deeper appreciation of the present, or a “quiet” joy, more potent than a loud one.
Continue reading “500 and Change”
Over the years, Mom did many wonderful things for me, but one gesture stands out. Whenever Cath and I returned home to Ottawa from wherever we were living, we were welcomed home with unconditional love and my favorite meal ready for our first supper: potato salad and baked ham.
Continue reading “The Homecoming Meal”
As our country’s 250th anniversary approaches, my mind keeps going back to our 200th anniversary in 1976. What would the current Max say to the 21 year old West Point Cadet who was in DC for July 4th that year? As Bob Dylan sang, “I was so much older then. I’m younger than that now.”
Continue reading “250 Years”
Live Life Exuberantly 