Category Archives: Stories

Borrowing Time (A Visit to the ER)

Posted on May 4, 2013 by ivanbenson

We went to the ER last night with one of our adult daughters. If visits to the ER can be categorized I suppose this would go down as a good visit. She was complaining of sudden dizziness, nausea, chest and … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged borrowed time, cancer, celebrate, death, ER, friend, heart attack, Life, panic attacks, stress | 12 Comments

Time to Write (My Grandson Turned Two)

Posted on April 19, 2013 by ivanbenson

I have no idea what to write about today, but . . . I want to write. I must have something inside me that wants to come out and make itself known. Maybe I am full term with an idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged ad infinitum, adoption, apples, birth mother, birthday, chain of events, chartable, decisions, divine wisdom, fortitude, gift, giving birth, grandson, life-changing, marketing, Mickey Mouse, monumental, Papa, pectin, ramifications, sotto voce, Thomas the Tank, time, toys, two years old, writing | 12 Comments

Unfolding a Life Story

Posted on April 11, 2013 by ivanbenson

I was raised in the movie generation. And as a result, I prefer lifetimes that last about two hours, or possibly three, if they are really good. Four is too much . . . even for a classic like Gone … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged action packed, Ben Hur, Big Mac, boring, cancer, culmination, drama, Exodus, fast food, Gone With the Wind, Macbook Pro, movie, movie director, reruns, scintillating, sound bite, time | 8 Comments

George Harrison (April 1968)

Posted on April 4, 2013 by ivanbenson

My envelope from Beatle, George Harrison, April 1968. There was nothing particularly remarkable about that Saturday in April, forty-five years ago. Tucson was as it always is in the spring – absolutely gorgeous. And the work at the Villa Venice … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1968, April, Atlanta History Center, auction, celebrity, chattanooga, Christies, Cleveland, England, Fed Ex, George Harrison, India, John Charles Thomas, John Lennon, Lady Madonna, London, magical, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, memories, Metropolitan Opera, Ohio, Paul McCartney, remarkable, Rishikesh Himalayas, Robert Merrill, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Something, Tennessee, The Beatles, Tucson, Villa Venice Apartments | 11 Comments

Aragorn is Dead

Posted on March 5, 2013 by ivanbenson

Aragorn is dead. In case you hadn’t heard. He passed away on the last day of February due to complications resulting from a recent surgery. His family was able to say their goodbyes to him in the hours before his … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged adventure, aplomb, Aragorn, Arwen, bristlecone pine, canyon, Catalina Mountains, chattanooga, courage, cowboys, dendrochronology, Elves, exotic, father figure, hobbit, indians, Legolas, Lord of the Rings, LOTR, memorial, Mordor, Nazgul, Peter Howell, Peter Jackson, Pippin, Santa Catalina mountains, Saturn, Sauron, Southern Arizona Rescue Association, streambed, Strider, The Old Pueblo, Tolkien, tree ring research, Treebeard, Tucson, University of Arizona, Viggo Mortensen | 6 Comments

Dog Poop and Other Things That Stink

Posted on February 26, 2013 by ivanbenson

If you’ve lived long enough on this planet and have been out-of-doors for any period of time you’ve probably experienced it. One day you take an uninformed step on the ground beside you and you sense you’ve landed in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1951, Andy Griffith, aroma, bizarre, consideration, dependent, dignity, dog poop, elder abuse, fast-paced, freedom, ghosts, God, hurry, incomprehensible, infractors, mother, Nursing Homes, olfactory, oxygen tank, patience, Plymouth, praise, pungency, rehab facilities, respect, rush, stink, taking things for granted, veracity, waiting, wheel chair, white shepherd/lab mix | 4 Comments

A Tale of Two Settees

Posted on February 21, 2013 by ivanbenson

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . . .” Thank you, Charles, for that awesome, albeit ominous, beginning to this blog. How does one begin the story of two couches? Has one ever been … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged accident, chair, change, Charles Dickens, Hemingway, Memphis, mother-in-law, murder-suicide, Settee, stronger in the broken places, witness | 6 Comments

First Guitar

Posted on February 12, 2013 by ivanbenson

It’s hard to estimate the value of an investment, isn’t it? The stock market changes with the times, the value of our currency fluctuates, and commodities like gold and silver vary with regularity. There is no certainty that what you … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged art, Campus Brothers Music Company, commodities, currency, first, Google, guitar, investments, New Orleans, patina, piano, priceless, sports, stock market, Stone Mountain Park | 6 Comments

My Father’s Tools

Posted on February 8, 2013 by ivanbenson

My father was a crafstman with wood. He could build furniture, build a house, take some pieces of wood and shape them into a 3-inch tall replica of a rockingchair with splayed legs pegged into the seat (just like the full-size ones we sit … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged approval, baseboard, courage, craftsman, father, grandfather, imperfect, legacy, miter box, persevere, pliable, presence, saw, stowaway, Sweden, tools, Tucson, woodworking | 6 Comments

Trains, Planes, and Tricycles

Posted on January 29, 2013 by ivanbenson

I lay awake in bed today in the early morning hours somewhere between 4:30 AM and 5:00 AM. That’s when I heard it. That lonesome whistle; the distant sound of a freight train. And it called to me . . … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged Arkansas, Arlo Guthrie, buoyant, chattanooga, Colorado, cowboy, Denzel Washington, diesel, Durango, early morning, Folsom Prison Blues, gene, hobo, hop a train, impassable, indefatigable, indestructible, John Charles Thomas, John Henry, John Muir, Johnny Cash, Josh Turner, Kensett, lonesome, mystique, narrow gauge train, persistence, power, Railway Express, relentless, Searcy, Silverton, Southern Railway, steel, Stone Mountain Park, Thomas the Tank, Tim McGraw, trains, Trane, unsinkable, Unstoppable, unyielding, whistle | 8 Comments

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