Randomly Accessed Memories in a Blog
How I got an Inch Taller without Drugs or Voodoo
Having recently moved to Mississippi from Tennessee, getting a new driver’s license was a big item on my to-do list. The same day I decided to tackle that task, my sister Leana mentioned she was taking her truck to the shop for needed maintenance. I offered to pick her up so she could come with…
Substitute Kitty
In the Spring of 1995, I was finishing up my graduate education and writing my dissertation. I had been thinking about getting a dog, and, since I was spending so much time at home writing, it seemed like the right time. Anyone who has ever had a puppy will probably recognize that that was not…
Tip of the Spear
August 10th is Agent Orange Awareness Day in recognition of that day in 1961 when the U.S. began aerial spraying of herbicides in Vietnam. More than 50 years after the use of Agent Orange ended, this chemical continues to impact veterans and their families as well as multiple generations of Vietnamese. On Vietnam Veterans Day, March…
Unintended Consequences
During the early days of World War II, four groups of scientists, two in the U.S. and two in Great Britain, were independently working to identify herbicides that could be used to boost production of food crops by eliminating weeds that depleted the soil or crowded out the desired plants (1). As the war dragged on,…
Lucky
Today is my older sister’s birthday. I could have gotten her a gift, but public embarrassment sounded like something she would really enjoy. So here we go. Growing up, people always said I was the smart one while Leana was more athletic and adventuresome. Here’s an example. One of my earliest memories of my sister…
Thursday’s Child
When my first child was born at 5:24 A.M. on September 20, 2001, he just missed being “Thursday’s Child.” As a human-interest story, a Nashville TV station ran a news feature profiling the family of the first baby born each Thursday. At first, I was a little disappointed. Kendrick was perfect, and I wanted to…
Transitions
I live in a large neighborhood in a suburb outside of Nashville. It’s a wonderful neighborhood that has been a great place for my sons to grow up. There’s a creek that runs along one end and a trail that encircles it. I’ve walked that trail more times than I can count and never grow…
Welcome Home
America’s involvement in Southeast Asia began shortly after World War II. In the beginning, the United States sent only money and military advisors to assist South Vietnam in their fight against the communist forces of North Vietnam. A decade later, U.S. assistance also included elite combat troops to further bolster South Vietnam’s military effort. America’s…
More than a Game
For most of my life, I never understood the joy so many people get from watching other people play sports. Honestly, watching grown men chasing a ball for millions of dollars just seemed ridiculous to me. Didn’t they have better things to do with their lives? My dislike of sports and utter disdain for watching…
Moments
There are moments in life that stay with you forever. Sometimes their significance goes unnoticed when they are happening, and it is only later when you realize the memory of that moment has wormed its way into your soul and will never let go. For me, one of those moments came in 1975 in the…
Lost & Found
In 1999 at a Catholic church in Richmond, Virginia, this white, redheaded girl from Mississippi married a Vietnamese immigrant. Our children, both sons, followed in 2001 and 2003. A decade and a half later having all our DNA analyzed sounded like an interesting idea. I bought four AncestryDNA kits. We spit in our tubes and…
Not My Type
I love the word game Scrabble. Growing up my dad was kind of a jerk, but he was something of a wordsmith and we played a lot. When my sons were little, we played the many little kid variations of Scrabble, but as they got older they lost interest in game night, and I had…
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