stories about family

My sister Laura recently gave me this picture she found. It was taken at her house the day I graduated from college in 1996. I have a vague memory of standing there in her living room wearing my cap and gown, draped in the honor chords I was so proud of.…

I spent several hours last week searching for people who served with my dad in the 1950s. He was drafted in 1952, served in the 4th Infantry as part of the United States Army Europe (USAREUR), and was stationed in Germany until 1954. He took hundreds…

I guess we’re having some kind of polar apocalypse in the Midwest. Here in Cincinnati, my kids are home from school today and I’ve heard that the entirety of Illinois and Minnesota is shut down. I might even skip running outside today. I joke, but…

No need burying the lead on this one: We got a cat a few weeks ago! Isn’t she adorable? Her name is Madeira, which also happens to be the name of the little town where I live. This is not a coincidence. This might be the reason we have her at…

A few weeks ago, I took my 10-year-old son to Los Angeles for a freestyle trampoline event on Venice Beach. I took him because he desperately wanted to go (he’s a very good freestyle flipper—that’s him below) and I wanted to write more about this…