Ken's Ten Thousand ThingsFamily & Personal
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 […]
Almost a Past Life
Almost didn’t go to my 30-year high school reunion. The idea felt weird in an age of already keeping in touch with Facebook or people you already see regularly, and many of whom you really didn’t know well enough to keep in touch with in the first place, and have become essentially different people. But it […]
To Have a Pet, or Not Have a Pet
I love animals. Part of me wants to take most of the ones I see home, cuddle with them, love them. But the reality is different. First, I never liked caged pets. Logically I understand that most of them don’t mind and feel safe in a limited space, being well cared for otherwise. But eventually they die and […]
Finally Snowing
It’s dark and the recycle truck is finally picking up. And it’s finally snowing — really snowing to where it doesn’t melt when it touches the ground. It’s felt like Mother nature hit the pause button for too long. It just didn’t feel right and I’ve been out of sorts. It’s been often warmer here […]
The Odd Stillness of Indian Summer; Reflections of Bellwood
It’s not every day in November that you hit 80 degrees and hover near there for a while. Or my wife is right to be surprised that I am surprised by something that to her seems typical. It just seems the world’s out of place, out of time. Perhaps that is why I had a […]
Will the Force Awaken?
It’s hard to describe in a way most people will truly appreciate, but in a way, two things sacred to me as a child were Star Wars and Disney. They were part of how I imagined the world could and should be. But I’m all grown up. I still believe in Santa Claus, in Chivalry, […]
What a Week, What a Summer
Being finally cool outside again, I just went for a walk around the block, by myself. It would have been the perfect day to take Pasha for a walk, but she died last Wednesday morning, in her sleep and the usual “animal cracker” pose. We got used to checking her breathing when we found her […]
Handwriting: Looking Back at 2014
I was scanning the checks part of my statements from my business account, when I saw ones in my wife’s handwriting. I thought I had the wrong account — until I realized that was a year ago. In January, the checks looked normal. In February, Merry wrote my checks for me because of my hand […]
Vegas-Arizona Trip 2015
Finally managed to visit my Dad again in Sun City. Christina wanted to visit her childhood friend Lizzy and her new baby, so we took a plane to Vegas first. On the plane, I had a philosophical discussion with poker professional Phil Ivey’s uncle Xeno, and Christina lost a notebook of writing, sadly. Daughter’s adventures while […]