An 8th grade education in 1895 (Note: I promised Christine Provence, my 10-1112 grade English teacher at Holdenville High School, that I would run this column every year. She liked it better than any of the seemingly endless papers I wrote in her classes).

Hope on a sinking ship This is a “but for” story that could have resulted in me never being born, never knowing my Dad, never writing this post… Dad was in the Army in WWII and was sent to Camp Miles Standish outside Boston in the Fall of 1942. As Christmas approached, he wanted to go home to Taylor, Pennsylvania to see his family.

I am convinced of a truth after living all these years on this earth. Simply and baldly stated, there are some people who have bathed themselves in misery for years. And they truly do not want anyone to hand them a big thick towel to dry off. They experienced a severe trauma in their life some time before, and rather than grieving it, and then slowly moving past it - or at least WANTING to move on from it - they get stuck with that wet muck all over them.

Slow Down the Christmas rush I’d like to invite you to join my campaign to slow down the Christmas rush. To being, I have a suggestion this holiday season that will, hopefully, entertain both you and your family in a way to which you are unaccustomed.

Little Jimmy was one of those eight-year-boys who seem to be able to find a mud puddle in the Sahara Desert. And within seconds have his body covered with it. Sandy hair falling over mischievous bright eyes, he was an intelligent, energetic kid who had a boundless love of life.

Memories of Thanksgiving Past remains Thanksgiving is just TOO much for one column so here goes another called Thanksgiving II. Thanksgiving has always ranked high on my personal list of favorite holidays and I feel a certain pain of regret when I say it is not my FAVORITE holiday.

I remember my first job as a stock boy at a downtown department store when I was in high school. My main tasks were lifting heavy boxes, unpacking crates, and doing various other jobs. It was an important experience for me.

A Poem Worth Reading (A GOLDEN OLDIE… WORTH A REPEAT! ENJOY) VETERANS DAY EXTENDED JUST A COMMON SOLDIER (A Soldier Died Today) by A. Lawrence Vaincourt He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast, And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.

It would be my first time to cut down my “own” Christmas tree. My dad and I had gotten permission from our good friend John Daugherty to go on his land and take any tree we wanted.

Shoulda been a holiday I know that we have way too many holidays, no matter what the school kids say as they recuperate from Fall Break, look ahead to Thanksgiving and fully chill out with two weeks off during the Christmas holidays. But alas, there is one holiday important date in history that will NEVER become a holiday.