Category Archives: Aging Parents

The Vicissitudes of Life

Posted on April 26, 2022 by ivanbenson

My father loved vocabulary, and he encouraged us to learn words, too. One way he did this was to use words unknown to us, so that we would have to look them up to find their definition. At the time … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 2016, 2020, 9/11, alterations, authentic, catalyst, change, depression, disaster, genuine, heart attack, honest, horizon, inventions, pacemaker, Pearl Harbor, penicillin, plastic, Vicissitudes, vicissitudes of life | Leave a comment

R.I.P. Mawmaw

Posted on July 11, 2021 by ivanbenson

We called her “Mawmaw” (with an accent on both syllables) after the grandkids came along (“Mamaw” was an alternate pronunciation, emphasizing the first syllable), but she was always “Mom” to my wife, and “Mary” to her husband, Marty. Born in … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1949, brain aneurysm, breast cancer, Coat of Many Colors, Dolly Parton, Flatwoods KY, Globe KY, Guillian-Barre, Portsmouth OH | 12 Comments

My Tribute to Pop on Pearl Harbor Day

Posted on December 7, 2019 by ivanbenson

December 7 has been a reminder all my life of the horrific Sunday morning attack at Pearl Harbor in 1941. But today . . . it will take on new meaning. My father-in-law, Martin Henry Glynn will be laid to … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Fathers, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized, World War II | 6 Comments

The Running Joke

Posted on January 27, 2019 by ivanbenson

There’s been a running joke in my family ever since my wife and I married 43 years ago. You see, my father-in-law, Marty Glynn had begun to cook a good bit soon after we married, since his wife, Mary, suffered … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Comedy, Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1600s, 17th century, bell pepper, dogmatic, exclusive, freedom, green pepper, Halloween, inclusive, mango, mangoed, mangoes, Marty Glynn, Ohio, pickled, refrigeration, religious fanatic, skeptic, trick-or-treat, truth, worldview | 8 Comments

Will You ALWAYS Want to be With Me?

Posted on November 30, 2016 by ivanbenson

Sometimes the most arresting questions seem to come “out of the” proverbial “blue.” And often, they come from a source you would not expect. This particular question came from my grandson; he is 5 1/2, going on 25. My wife … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged Art Linkletter, behavior, boundless, career, children, divorce, Dunkin Donuts, elderly, foster growth, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandson, honesty, independent living, kids say the darndest things, live out the words, natural candor, need to be wanted, nursing home, out of the blue, profundity, security, sought after, teenagers, the power of words, unhappiness, want to be needed | 4 Comments

It’s a Small World

Posted on August 27, 2015 by ivanbenson

Richard and Robert Sherman penned these words for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The song, which arguably is the most translated and performed song in history, was written by the most prolific motion-picture musical songwriting duo of all time. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1929, 1964, 1990, alone, death, Disney, Frigyes Karinthy, global, Hungarian, it's a small world, John Guare, mortality, New York World's Fair, Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman, six degrees of separation, universal, world | 4 Comments

The Bourne Veracity

Posted on March 7, 2015 by ivanbenson

Matt Damon may once again breathe life into his alter ego, Jason Bourne. A 2016 release date has been mentioned, but it is still unclear if production will happen at all, so don’t get too excited just yet. Nevertheless, if … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 2016, Ansel Bourne, Christian, death, dissociative fugue, Hamlet, Jason Bourne, Jesus, Matt Damon, momentous, Robert Ludlum, sacred, Shakespeare, soberness | 4 Comments

Ashes, 2 Ashes

Posted on September 2, 2014 by ivanbenson

It happened while I was watching a favorite TV series the other night. A young man was given his estranged father’s ashes to scatter as a memorial to him. He chose Eagle Lake, a special place in Alberta where his … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Alberta, ashes, casualness, cremation, devotion, Eagle Lake, Gettysburg, Heartland, honor, human remains, interment, life is sacred, reverence, sacred ground, sacredness, Tucson Arizona, urn, urn vault, valued | 7 Comments

Return To Sender (Birds & Blooms)

Posted on April 15, 2014 by ivanbenson

Elvis Presley put it this way in his 1962 hit song, didn’t he? “Return to sender. Address unknown. No such person. No such zone.” But that is not exactly how I felt yesterday when I opened mail from the magazine, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1962, Acts, Acts 26:8, amazing, Apostle Paul, azaleas, beauty, Birds and Blooms, Bradford Pears, Dad, daffodils, dogwood trees, Easter, Elvis Presley, Genesis, Genesis 3:19, Hades, hyacinth, incredible, iris, King Agrippa, matter, mother, Passover, petunias, Redbuds, resurrection, Return to Sender, rose, spiritual, spring | 14 Comments

Not Until You Say “Uncle”

Posted on February 25, 2014 by ivanbenson

It was just a phrase that children used to say in a wrestling match when one child would get the upper hand; the beaten child would have to say “uncle” in order to be released from the debilitating grasp of … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Fathers, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized, World War II | Tagged 1950s, 1960s, 86, 92, acceptance, acquiescence, Alzheimer's, beside myself, British joke, character, concession, death, devastation, dilemma, dingy, disappointments, dreams, failures, faith, gloomy, grieving, higher power, loss, men of faith, RCA, say uncle, soap operas, submission, submit, surrender, The Lost Story, Uncle, undone, vanquished, without hope, wreckage, wrestling match | 10 Comments

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