Ken's Ten Thousand ThingsChronicles
Father Gary
I almost forgot about him, but not in my heart. Whenever I look at the tiny framed artwork of the Madonna in silver that he gave me, I think of him. Father Gary Kibler was one of my teachers in high school, but much more than that. I was an assistant of sorts in that […]
Well into Autumn
I was going to name this post “A Year Without Halloween” but that seemed too negative. It did make me a bit sad, especially when someone came to our door by mistake. Due to a cash crunch, we couldn’t afford candy, and there are hardly any kids coming out anyway. We didn’t even decorate, except […]
Beekeeping and Joywalking
I have no idea if this is Indian Summer, late Summer, or a mild Autumn. Such labels apply here less than ever it seems. But the bees in our first backyard hive have really ramped up their honey production this last month or so, mostly from “flute-plant” (knot-weed, which I thought my apiarist mentor David […]
College Reunion
I believe I went to my 10th reunion for D’Youville College and I was the only one representing my class. Other than that, I only went to donor’s Masses (most years) and the occasional tea. But this year I actually volunteered to reach out to my classmates, and my wife and I attended a handful […]
Back in the Saddle?
Apart from a few small forays, I haven’t done any serious biking for almost 35 years. Merry has had trouble with her feet lately but discovered she could ride without trouble. A further discovery that her bike was too small prompted purchase of a bike that fits properly. That was a hint that perhaps mine […]
The Final Month
Turned the last month-page of my “Cats in Space, with Food” wall calendar. I am definitely yelling “Jumanji!” at the end of December 31st. Apart from the stress of new plots of sedition almost every day since the election, and millions of people who flat-out lost their minds over everything from wearing masks and protest […]
The “Second Half”
Working up to my 50th birthday, I decided to stop digitizing the rest of my old files — if anything was that important, I would have done it by now. It’s not a lot, just enough to add to the filing cabinet, which uses far less drawers worth of stuff than it used to. Between […]
Dad, a New Life
It’s been over a month, but I still don’t know where to start. So many things. So many feelings. My Father passed into Eternity, and my faith and memory of him brings me a peace in this, but it’s still hard, so hard. I have to keep reminding myself that Jesus wept, too. Anyone who […]
Our Pumpkin Patch
Merry wanted to be married in a pumpkin patch, but we just couldn’t pull it off. I wanted a traditional Christian priest, but the Roman Catholic Church doesn’t perform outdoor weddings without a dispensation. I called the Episcopal diocese, then Greek Orthodox (where I had friends), Russian orthodox, and possibly a few others, but their […]
Letchworth
Letchworth I remember as a child old black-and-white movie reels projected on a wall. One of them was footage of a trip taken by my parents and grandparents to Letchworth State Park. I always meant to go ther some time with Merry and finally got the chance. Earlier this year, a reunited friend from high […]