Category Archives: Stories

Remembering Dr. Harold Bowie

Posted on January 16, 2014 by ivanbenson

Early on Tuesday of this week a man who devoted his life to Christian education passed away in Memphis, Tennessee; he was 82 years old. His name was Harold Bowie. Many of my former students (as well as former colleagues) … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 2013, advocate, Cheetos, courage, Exodus 2:11-15, Facebook, fierceness, Greatness, Harding Academy, Harold Bowie, January 14 2014, Landon Saunders, Memphis Tennessee, Moses, obituary, savior, servant-leader, superintendent | 18 Comments

Weather, or Not?

Posted on January 14, 2014 by ivanbenson

It’s funny how an expression will come into your head and take up residence there, uninvited. Words. They are sometimes magical, having a life of their own. Although they are tools created by humans to depict a specific thing, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged automatrons, boring, bound, choice, confined, enslaved, freedom of choice, homophones, limited, omen, phrases, possibilities, restricted, trapped, weather, weatherless days, whether or not, words | 4 Comments

The Frozen Man (Life Imprinting)

Posted on January 7, 2014 by ivanbenson

It is 7 degrees above zero this morning in Atlanta, Georgia (Fahrenheit, of course). And the bright sun appears to be shuddering a bit as it rises for its work, today. Maybe that’s why the days are shorter in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1976, 1977, 1984, 1988, 1989, Antarctica, Arizona, Ashland City Tennessee, Ashley stove, Atlanta Georgia, below zero, Billings Montana, bionic man, Canada, Cheap Hill, circumpolar region, cold weather, cryonics, Dec. 10 2013, extremes, Fahrenheit, faucet covers, Florida, Garrison Keillor, heating with wood, imprints, inclement weather, James Taylor, John Shaw Torrington, Montana, North America, Oklahoma, permafrost, polar vortex, Rocky Balboa, scientist, survival, The Frozen Man | 6 Comments

Saving Mr. Banks (Authentic Identification)

Posted on December 30, 2013 by ivanbenson

In the late afternoon of March 28, 2009 I was traveling down a rainy street in my 2000 Chevy Metro when a young girl armed with a learner’s permit turned in front of me, causing me to hit her just … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1899, 1950s, 1960s, 1964, 1976, 1986, 2000, Adagio for Strings, Argonne Road, baby boomer, Chevy Metro, Clair de Lune, community, daisies, Danny Boy, Disney, dormant seeds, enrapturing, exhilarating, Finland, Finlandia, Five Forks Trickum Road, force majeure, God Bless America, heartstrings, Helen Goff, Hey Jude, intimate communion, irresistible, Irving Berlin, Jean Sibelius, Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins, Mrs. Travers, newly mown grass, nudge, platoon, Portsmouth Ohio, prompt, rubric, Russian, Samuel Barber, Saving Mr. Banks, schema, September 11 2001, The Beatles, time machine, time travel, Tom Smith Road, touch, Tucson Arizona, University of Arizona, Vietnam War, Walt Disney, your story | 12 Comments

Merry, Mary, and Marry Christmas

Posted on December 11, 2013 by ivanbenson

I remember being instructed many years ago in the subtle but distinguishable difference in the pronunciation of the words merry, Mary, and marry. I’m sure that on that same day I probably learned the difference between pin and pen. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1977, 2006, Archie Bunker, Gospel of Luke, illumination, Jesus of Nazareth, King, Luke 1:29, Luke 1:48-49, Luke 2:13-14, Luke 2:35, marry, Mary, Matthew 2:1-12, Merry Christmas, nuptial, The Nativity, Virgin Mary | Comments Off

Hitting Hard

Posted on December 7, 2013 by ivanbenson

On Wednesday of this week the traffic on the way to work was unusually heavy, and the pouring rain made it an even greater challenge to navigate. As I crept along in the seemingly endless slow moving stream of cars … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged accident, Alzheimer's, amazing star, appreciation, Bedouin, bleeding on the brain, change, Christmas, clarity, dead teeth, dementia, dentist, falling, Family, friends, give of ourselves, hard hit, ice, irreparable, Jesus, life events, murder of infants, pause, rain, refocus, routine, sacrifice, Salvation Army, shepherds, slipping, trauma, value, wise men | Comments Off

Dirty Stories (Adults Only)

Posted on November 19, 2013 by ivanbenson

I generally try to keep my blog stories clean and wholesome for readers, but from time to time I have to deal with subjects that are best termed dirty stories. I hope no one is offended, but . . . … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Comedy, Family History, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 88 years, attitudes, bad behavior, bed wetting, decency, diapers, dirty stories, Dunkin Donuts, final breath, growing, maturing, meaningful relationships, nurturing, pain in the butt, potty training, propriety, respectability | 10 Comments

60 Years . . . and Counting

Posted on November 12, 2013 by ivanbenson

All right, all right! Some people are impressed that today’s numerical date (not in Europe, since they do it backwards) is 11/12/13. I think that’s pretty cool. But it’s especially cool because today is also my 60th birthday! That’s right! … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 11/12/13, 60, birthday, Buddy Hoffman, deny, Dylan Thomas, failure, incubator, Landon Saunders, natural, perfection, preemie, premature, success, The Heart of the Fighter, transformation, unhealthy | 14 Comments

Thanksgiving

Posted on November 6, 2013 by ivanbenson

Three weeks from this Thursday families across this country will celebrate a day that Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day in 1863. Prior to that there is evidence that some form of it had been celebrated by various colonies (and later by … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1621, 1863, Abraham Lincoln, Alan Jackson, aunts, children, Family, Garrison Keillor, Gettysburg, grandparents, it takes a village, Kermit the Frog, love, Massachusetts, mother, niece, parents, pets, Plymouth, roots, seasons, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, togetherness, tryptophan, uncles, unifying, Wampanoag, Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) | 16 Comments

Waiting

Posted on October 22, 2013 by ivanbenson

I am sitting in a surgical waiting room at Piedmont Hospital in midtown Atlanta, Georgia. The room was designed for waiting. And that is what I am doing. Waiting. I am waiting along with a host of strangers. An adjoining … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1905, 1907, 1957, 1960s, 1983, Atlanta Georgia, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Bible, Capitol Avenue, Columbia South Carolina, Epworth Orphanage, Peachtree Road, Piedmont, Piedmont Hospital, Piedmont Sanatorium and Training School for Nurses, surgery, Tucson Arizona, waiting, waiting room | 10 Comments

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