My mom used to make our clothes. This was true for most families we knew.

It was the mid-60s, and the majority of moms stayed home. Only the dad worked. There was one income, so there weren’t a lot of extras. We had one car. We bought little and grew much of our food. Store-bought items weren’t the norm.

People who had mostly store-bought items were considered rich.

My mom had a Singer machine and Simplicity and McCall’s sewing patterns stacked high. She ...

res•o•lu•tion rĕz″ə-loo͞′shən►

1. The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.
2. A firm decision to do something.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

In my previous column, I mentioned my resolution to help others during the New Year. Some readers felt that resolutions were a waste of time, while others felt resolutions are admirable, but not sustainable.

As a wise person once told me, “If you think you can’t, you’re right.”

The first New Year’s resolution I can remember making was trying to ...

Photo credit: eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-The-Waltons-Vintage-Lunch-Pail-No-Thermos/323655535070?hash=item4b5b5f89de:g:TxIAAOSwuLZY2vAY

Photo: Classic TV shows seemed so real to some viewers, they believed their favorite TV families were real. Pictured is a vintage Waltons lunchbox for sale on eBay.

When trying to decide on a 2021 resolution on how to improve myself, a thought that had popped into my head recently came back to the forefront.

I was almost grown before it occurred to me that not everyone was born into a good, loving family. I assumed all kids had ...

Each Christmas Eve In the 1960’s, my sister and I would take a ride in my grandmother’s sled.

Like most grandmothers back then, her sled was a Ford Country Squire station wagon that was about the same length as an aircraft carrier and came complete with fake wood paneling on the sides.

My dad wasn’t the kind of guy who wanted to wait until Christmas morning for Santa to visit, so my sister and I would hop in the station wagon with ...

The ways of the South are not the ways of the rest of the country. I’ve never been to New York City, but from what I hear, the folks there say exactly what they think.

And it isn’t always sugarcoated.

No one in the entire world can sugarcoat a request, direct order, suggestion, or verbal body slam, better than a Southern wife.

You get a lot of presents at your wedding reception when you get hitched. We received nice items for the kitchen ...

The days after Thanksgiving. When married men go to the ER for a new cast from falling off the roof while installing the Christmas decorations their wives insist on, and single men sit around in their underwear watching sports and consuming adult beverages.

Holiday decorations are a lot like lawns. For some reason, wives are in charge of both.

If men had our way, a lawn would have grass. No shrubs, bushes, or any plant that can sever your arm if you ...

For someone named Norm, he was anything but.

Norman Rockwell was my favorite artist even before I had any idea who he was. From a young age, I recognized his work as easily as I knew a sparrow when I saw one.

The phrase, “An American Treasure” has been used to the point of dilution, but if the phrase was ever applicable, it was absolutely the right label for Norman Rockwell.

He was and still is, an American treasure.

If you aren’t familiar with ...

When we moved into our house several years ago, it was during the month of June. A scruffy tree with small green leaves was blocking our view of the pond. I said I was going to cut it down.

Glad I got busy and didn’t. When it bloomed, it turned out to be the prettiest, largest, and oldest dogwood either of us has ever seen.

A tree is a lot like life. It starts out small. Once a root system is established, ...

I’m fairly certain my dreams have a drug dealer.

What is it with dreams? Sleep is supposed to be an 8-hour window (mine’s never that long) when we rest, regenerate, and arise feeling as refreshed as the person in the Folger’s commercial who throws back the covers and stretches with a smile before jumping out of bed and heading to the kitchen to commence guzzling a gallon of java.

But it’s impossible for me to feel that good or do morning gymnastics ...

(photo credit: Smithsonian Institution www.postalmuseum.si.edu)

I’m old enough to remember needing to dial only four numbers to call someone. And when Zip Codes weren’t necessary.

Today, everyone requires numbers for everything we do.

Everything.

I’m actually old enough to remember not having a phone at all. I think I was in third grade when dad finally agreed to get one. Once it was installed, it seemed to be something we couldn’t live without.

But before it was put in, we seemed to do just fine. ...