An example of an early Pennsylvania dairy barn. Photo courtesy of the American Dairy Industry.
Marc’s farm was a right-hand turn off the highway and then down a long dirt road. I never paid attention to how we got there. I was around seven years old. The sky, the birds, anything outside the window had my attention. If I’m not driving, I’m not paying attention to the directions.
Ten years ago, I wrote a much shorter version of this story in a column for the Star-Herald. I was limited to 800 words. Today, on our 30th wedding anniversary, I’ve written a much more detailed version.
Page one of a writing assignment in 1988.
This was how my 17-year old brain thought when given a writing assignment in English class. The assignment was to describe a room using as many adjectives as possible, but without making it sound like shit. I chose my bedroom, though the bits about the drum set were in my mind. It was turned in on March 4, 1988. I thought I was edgy and cool then because no one seemed to understand what I was writing. I got an A. That’s all that mattered at the time.
Irene, left, and Lori celebrate Christmas c. 1973 or 1974.
On Saturday, while I was making myself a chicken chimichanga, my nephew texted to let me know my sister had passed away.
I thought I’d change things up for this month. There is a lot of talk about how YouTube is full of garbage and not worth watching. While this can be true, there are still a lot of really cool, educational videos I watch in a way to educate myself on a variety of topics. Here is a selection of some of my favorites, all of which are less than 30 minutes in length. If the videos don’t show, their titles are also a link to where you can find it on YouTube.
The blanket Mom made me and Paul.
Today would have been Mom’s 78th birthday. Even though she is gone, there are many things that remind me of her and make me smile.
I created the video above, including the music, which was shown at my mother’s funeral. I spoke the following words to all the people who came to say goodbye to Mom on April 15. Today is the one-year anniversary of Mom’s head-on collision. I’d like to remember this day with the positives Mom contributed to the world. I hope you can forgive any typos that remain.
Asparagus for sale at Walmart.
Note: This is an extended version of the 771-word column I wrote for the Star-Herald on February 17, 2016. My columns at the newspaper were limited to 800 words. I didn’t have the chance to write exactly what I wanted at the time and each time I tell the story, people want more details. This is the full version I wanted to write then and finally had the time to sit down and complete.
It has been a harrowing nine months since my mother was in a head-on collision. Our lives were forever changed on July 15, 2024. Today, her suffering is over.
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