Tag Archives: family

Family members had started gathering for Christmas dinner when the call came from one of my brothers-in-law that our mother-in-law had passed away. He was at the nursing home with his wife and my wife. Although we all knew the … Continue reading →

The past two weeks have been a lesson in life and death for my family. My wife’s mother was in declining health. She died on Christmas Day, one week after her 90th birthday. The family had planned to gather prior to Christmas … Continue reading →

The Christmas gift I received from my family will bring back many happy memories of my childhood. They gave me the box set of Batman: The Complete Television Series on Blu-ray. The show has always been a favorite of mine. The … Continue reading →

The recording of Frank Jr. reciting “A Visit from St. Nicholas” is now of legal drinking age. Our family listens to the story every year at this time. It occurred to us that it has been twenty-one years (and two … Continue reading →

Frank Jr. - Twas the Night Before Christmas - 1993 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A retweet by The Cheesecake Factory will keep your phone buzzing for the next hour or so. I was notified each time one of their fans retweeted or favorited my photo of pumpkin pecan cheesecake. A slice of pumpkin pecan … Continue reading →

The management company for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra didn’t just give me good seats for the band’s Knoxville concert on Wednesday, they gave me great seats. My wife and I had seats on the floor of Thompson-Boling Arena, in the center … Continue reading →

The Silent Heroes of the Cold War National Memorial is being built in Nevada, near the site of a plane crash that killed 14 men on November 17, 1955. The memorial is due to open in late May, 2015. My … Continue reading →

Cyber Monday did not go as planned for my family. My wife and son have been looking to upgrade their smartphones for some time. They were waiting to see what kind of discount they could get on Black Friday or Cyber … Continue reading →

It is a little odd to go out to dinner on the night after Thanksgiving when there are plenty of good leftovers in the refrigerator at home, or so I thought. The restaurants on Market Square were full of happy patrons … Continue reading →

There are many things for which I am thankful this year. One of them is the simple joy of eating figs. I asked my wife to buy some dried figs that we could enjoy while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. … Continue reading →

The opening of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade telecast brought back many memories for me. I remember my father enjoying and singing the song “New York, New York” from On the Town but it was the location that really made … Continue reading →

The Knoxville Choral Society performed several selections by composer Dan Forrest at the Tennessee Theatre a week ago. I was especially impressed with his arrangements of “Angels from the Realm of Glory,” “The First Noel,” and “O Come All Ye … Continue reading →

A Requiem Mass is most often a funeral Mass. The music consists of prayers for the dead as well as some standard Mass parts, such as the Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy), the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy), and the Agnus … Continue reading →

 If Frank Jr. is lucky, there will still be a homemade scotchmallow or two left when he visits for Thanksgiving. My wife and I have every intention of saving some for him but the temptation to eat them could be … Continue reading →