History, Real Life and Faith
December marks the annual question about Christmas cards and Christmas letters. I’m squarely in favor of both, as I’ve written about here. People complain, though, about the nature of the Christmas letters–too much bragging, too much good news, not enough reality. I’ve had letters like that over the years, but for the most part, I relish whatever news I get….
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While I went to spend Thanksgiving with my family, I had another goal as well: scan the family photos! Have you scanned yours? Why not? I started talking to relatives in August, asking them to bring family photos to Thanksgiving and I’d bring my scanner. It’s portable and I attach it to my laptop. A few clicks and the photos are…
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When it comes to genealogy, I’m the person my family calls. I spent several years working on family histories for both sides of my family. In the days before Ancestry.com, I spent a lot of time in libraries, looking at microfilm, interviewing elderly family members and writing. I wrote books about my Italian grandparents (to commemorate my grandfather’s 100th birthday);…
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My family has already begun discussions on Christmas and The Game. If you’ll be seeing relatives this Thanksgiving and The Game is something you play, you might consider discussing it. The sooner the better. What is The Game? My family has been playing it ever since the grandkids (my generation) outgrew the need for toys at Christmas and dollars shrunk…
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Several weeks before Thanksgiving many years ago, the clouds threatened snow in Connecticut. It was a Saturday and my submariner had been out to sea way too long. He wouldn’t be coming home for awhile. Money was tight, as it so often is when you have small children and are paying a mortgage. My entire family–aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, parents, siblings, in-laws–were…
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The Sound of Music tour was a four-hour ride through Salzburg and the Austrian countryside, remembering and seeing the sites from the 1965 best picture film. As described here, I took the tour on the insistence of family and friends and had a lovely time. The scenery was spectacular and the stories fun. For example, the photo on top is…
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