It’s 1960. My maternal grandfather, my Aunt Madge, my brother, and I had been summoned to “the Kremlin.” Madge consistently referred to her brother’s Glasgow home as “the Kremlin.” This reflected her disconnect with her brother, Malcolm. He was clearly keeping his distance from the rest of the family, possibly for good reasons. The backstory…… Continue reading The Time I Was Summoned to “The Kremlin”
Category: Family
The Show Had to Go On
Posted The Show Had to Go On.
The Show Had to Go On
When she was a child, my mother was acting up. My grandmother pointed to a little girl sitting passively across the room: “Why can’t you be like her?” My mother retorted: “Nobody is paying attention to her.” She was probably a little older than the toddler uncomfortably propped on the chair in the photograph at…… Continue reading The Show Had to Go On
A Suspicious-Looking Package
Posted A Suspicious-Looking Package.
A Suspicious-Looking Backpack
[wp_quiz id=”1930″] Picture the scene yesterday. We’re in the meticulously restored Minnesota Governor’s reception room. The older nephew is listening intently to a short presentation. The younger one is wandering around at the back of the room looking for some object that he could climb. Dwight and I stand by, waiting to intervene if necessary.…… Continue reading A Suspicious-Looking Backpack
Ghostbusters?
Bonus post at the Governor’s reception room at the State Capitol. Our homemade metal detector handle sticks out of my backpack. The circuit board our nephews soldered is hidden in this handle. If a guard questioned us, I promised myself I would not say we were from Ghostbusters.
Soldering 101
Taught my nephews to solder components onto a circuit board for a metal detector.
Untrashed Restaurant
It still feels like a new experience to have a family meal in a restaurant and our young nephews haven’t trashed the place. Axel’s Bonfire, Blaine, Minnesota. They grow up fast.
Planning a Trip to Spain with Kids
Our nephews (9 and 10) attend a school where literacy skills are taught in English, but several other subjects, including math and science, are taught in Spanish. It’s a joy to see the boys use their skills. In 2016, they slipped unselfconsciously into Spanish when speaking with a server from Spain in our Edinburgh hotel.…… Continue reading Planning a Trip to Spain with Kids
Seven Metal Detectors
There are things I have had to do that I’ve only done because my nephews are part of my life. Changing diapers, geocaching, and metal detecting quickly come to mind.Changing diapers is what it is. The little one does what he has to do, then I do what I have to do. Both jobs done…… Continue reading Seven Metal Detectors