First a story, then a letter to a senator

I have two reasons to believe this story is acceptable for a community newspaper. First it was told to me in the Flint Elks Club men’s room, and second, our recently-acknowledged, 50-year-old daughter said it was ok. An Irishman has been doctoring for some time, and this was the day he was to get the […]

Merry Christmas from the grandkids

When we first started this Jim’s Jottings holiday tradition, the two grandchildren Dan and Karen Offer (inset picture) were small enough to fit on my knees. It was 1988. Dan was 3-years-old and Karen was four-months-old. In that first picture, Karen had no hair, I had more and I still wore a suit and tie […]

Maybe my youthful neighbor will slow aging

Many years ago a friend told me his retiring father chose to live out his life in an average Florida neighborhood as opposed to a retirement community. The father said he wanted to be among, or at least be able to see and hear, young people again, as opposed to, well, you know. For a […]

Happy New Year from The Grandkids

When we first started this Jim’s Jottings holiday tradition, the two grandchildren Dan and Karen Offer (inset picture) were small enough to fit on my knees. It was 1988. Dan was 3-years-old and Karen was four-months-old. In that first picture, Karen had no hair, I had more and I still wore a suit and tie […]

Late gift ideas to be ignored (reprint from the first week in 2006)

It’s been over three weeks since Jottings has been live, and in a way that’s good. Had we been live recently, chances are we would have offered two gift ideas that would lighten your change drawer, while being totally unnecessary. Some days before Christmas, Hallmark’s Holiday Gifts folder came in my mail. Not having been […]

I turned my head, and … What happened?

I think this phrase came from a Broadway show Stop The World I Want To Get Off: ‘I just want it to slow down so I can get a handle on it.? It was hard enough to follow our own three kids become adults, but watching the grandkids grow has been nothing short of turning […]

Illegal: Not according to, or authorized, by law

And: ‘Not sanctioned by official rules.? There! The word ‘illegal? isn’t too hard to understand, is it? I am only a small voice in community newspapering, but I believe I represent the majority of legal Americans. I don’t believe the majority of major daily newspapers and airway time fillers have such representation. I believe in […]

There’s a good reason used car sales are up

For Christmas, son Jim and his wife Linda gave my car, a 2008 Ford Edge, a complete detailing from Classic Appreciation in Rochester. When I bought the car from Skalnek Ford the sales person, Kaycy, properly assumed this would be my last new car purchase. When Linda took my car to Rochester for the detailing, […]

Wanting to go to work vs. having to

It is so much easier on a person when they do something they want to do versus being told they have to. Attitudes are more refreshing, smiles come quicker, life itself is more pleasant and complaints fewer. I don’t recall a time when I fought going to work. When I worked for someone else or […]

Memorial Day; Oh, how we need to remember

I keep seeing a picture in my collection, of a man standing at his wheelchair as uniformed flagbearers pass in a parade. The caption reads, ‘The only one standing is a man at his wheelchair.? The accompanying article reads: It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. It is […]

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