Friday Flashback

Shortly before I got that wonderful early retirement thing from the Ninth Judicial Circuit my son decided he wanted to marry someone from Florida. She arrived via bus with a little year and a half old kid and they lived with us in G-Burg. That little kid, Michael, was a dandy and we spent a lot of time together.

I have posted pics before of us wandering around town, he on his little toy ATV I got him and me trying to keep up. We covered the town like a cold sweat. Even had to order another battery just in case one would die out while we were blocks from home.

He loved trains and we spent a great deal of time at the depot watching them as they swooshed by. We would be gone hours exploring.

It was a fun time. We were inseparable. But eventually it would end. Brendan joined the Army, and they went with him to Clarksville. Tours in Iraq didn't help with their marriage and it withered, they were just kids themselves. She eventually returned to Florida and my time with Michael was over. But before it fell apart they had a kid of their own, Alhanna Jade.

This picture was taken last month. Michael is going to be 17 next week.

"If I could save time in a bottle…"

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Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the f...

Philippe Park and The Tocobaga Indian Mound

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The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me, they came right from the MDH website. I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access. After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances. But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs. I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered. The original MDH at this site was just the front part. The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library. It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place. He passed away around 2002, I think. Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...

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