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Family

Our Aunt Jeanette

Our Aunt Jeanette died last month at the age of 89. She would have celebrated her 90th birthday in December. Jeanette was my mother’s older sister by 7 ½ years and was mentally robust until a few weeks before her death when her health declined to the point she needed pain medication. Aunt Jeanette was […]

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Family

Running in the Family

I guess all families have their signature rituals and habits. Some families have a thing for lawn games. Others trend towards wine and esoteric conversation. Some like to camp together, shop together and/or beach together. In my family, there are three main trends: Food is never far from our minds. We all like to eat […]

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Family

Mom’s Home Movies

Here, thanks to Jim Illo, are home movies taken from my mother’s childhood. When John, Bob and Jim visited Mom last Mother’s Day this year, they watched the video on Mom’s television. Jim set my camera next to Mom and so recorded her narration. There is a lot of great footage from the 30’s here, […]

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Family

My Dad, The Crusader

I learned a lot about my father yesterday when I read the following article for the first time. The story was published in the Carlisle Sentinel on May 21st, 1994 and my mother had slipped a photo copy of it into my 2013 birthday card. We don’t check the mail that often, but Bob had […]

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Family Kumasi

Amy

Anticipation was palpable in the crowd of Ghanaians awaiting two flights from America at the Accra airport on January 12. Bob and I were in harmony with the others and yet isolated, each heart beating with a different face in mind. We shifted from leg to leg, leaning against the railing and then standing straight […]