Category Archives: Uncategorized

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

Do You Own Your Story?

Posted on February 16, 2014 by ivanbenson

When I was a little boy growing up in East Tennessee in the 1950s I never recall wanting to be someone else. But as years went by I began to notice things about other people, e.g. their possessions, their appearance, … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1950s, blockbuster movie, boredom, Brook Park Ohio, career, changing the past, Chick-fil-A, disappointment, disaster, East Tennessee, elation, failure, fantasy, Ford Motor Company, Frodo, Hollywood, Irving Stone, Landon Saunders, life orchestration, loss, love, near-disaster, Norse, qualify, saga, Samwise, The Lord of the Rings, time travel, Tolkien, triumph, your journey, your story | 5 Comments

The Biggest Loser (Losing BIG)

Posted on February 6, 2014 by ivanbenson

My youngest daughter is to blame, of course. She’s the one who introduced us to The Biggest Loser and the celebrity fitness gurus, i.e. Jillian, Bob, and Dolvett. We watched the 15th season on Hulu and finally caught up with … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged Adonis, anorexia, Aporia, Bob Harper, Craig, Dolvett Quince, February 4 1983, February 4 2014, gym, Hulu, Jillian Michaels, Karen Carpenter, OA, Overeaters Anonymous, Rachel, The Biggest Loser, The Ranch, tigress, transformation, Tumi | 4 Comments

Rehearsal (Lace Up Your Dancing Shoes)

Posted on January 28, 2014 by ivanbenson

I can’t begin to tell you how many rehearsals I have attended in my six decades of life. Play rehearsals, solo vocal rehearsals, choral rehearsals, barbershop quartet rehearsals, rock band rehearsals, country/bluegrass band rehearsals, wedding rehearsals, story telling rehearsals, voice … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, boredom, changeable, chattanooga, dancing shoes, Don Williams, effortless, endorphin, fickle, fly fishing exercises, focus, fundamentals, Grammys, Hanon, harrow, intentionality, Lamaze, pianist, pray, purpose, rehearsal, Resusci Anne, ritual, self talk | 8 Comments

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

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