Category Archives: Uncategorized

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

Living Life in H0 Gauge

Posted on October 15, 2013 by ivanbenson

I just couldn’t help myself today. I had taken my 2 1/2 year old grandson to “the train store” (although his pronunciation of that phrase sounds a bit different from what you just sounded out in your head), and while … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1920s, 1950s, chattanooga, depiction, diminutive, electric trains, Germany, HO guage, mothballed, mystique, O guage, postwar, Southern Railway, steward, toy trains | 8 Comments

The Perfect Day

Posted on October 5, 2013 by ivanbenson

I might be wrong about this, but . . . today may have been “the perfect day.” My wife got up early (for a Saturday) and drove off with a good friend at 7:22 AM, headed for a day of … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged Dunkin Donuts, errands, Fall, Family, gifts, grande salted caramel frappuccino, hard work, leisure, love, mowing, perfect day, Red Bank TN, Saturday, Starbucks, tasks, The Perfect Storm, The Wonder Years | 6 Comments

Dinosaurs on the Beach?

Posted on September 28, 2013 by ivanbenson

This morning I am sitting in a lovely beach house built in the 1890s. It’s the Washaway house at Grayton Beach, Florida; referred to as “A Grayton Tradition – Washaway” in case you happen to look it up on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beach, beautiful woman, breezeway, cyberspace, Dinosaur Train, Dinosaurs, download, electricity, Florida, Grayton Beach, latte, paleontology, Psalm 104, sunset, television, time, Washaway | 11 Comments

When Things Collide

Posted on September 10, 2013 by ivanbenson

I have been to two memorials in the past two weeks: one for my niece, Victoria; the other for my friend, Robert, who died on the morning of Vic’s memorial. Vic was 20 years old when she died; Robert was … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized, World War II | Tagged Ashland City TN, atomic particles, August 6 1945, August 9 1945, change, Collide, Hiroshima, Howie Day, Japan, Kafka, Knoxville TN, memorials, MercyMe, metamorphosis, Nagasaki, nuclear fission, The Hurt and The Healer | 10 Comments

Convergence

Posted on August 27, 2013 by ivanbenson

Jay Winik’s masterfully written book, April 1865, is both insightful and inspiring as it focuses on a single month in our nation’s history; he refers to it as “the month that saved America.” Indeed. It was not just Robert E. … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, alignment, anomaly, Appotomattox, April 15 1865, April 1865, April 9 1865, Arlington, August 24, confluence, contemplation, convergence, Jay Winik, McLean house, numbness, precursor, Robert E. Lee, rose from its ashes, The Phoenix, tornado, VA | 10 Comments

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Posted on August 20, 2013 by ivanbenson

There’s nothing like a great story, is there? A great story can lift your spirits when you’re feeling down; it can take you on adventures that are both enthralling and enthusing; it can transport not only your mind, but also … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Fathers, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 15 years old, 1939, C.S. Lewis, communication, Cowardly Lion, Dorothy, Elton John, flying monkeys, Follow the yellow brick road, Holland Michigan, Horace Greeley, http://whitestonemp.com/film/heartless-the-story-of-the-tin-man/, Judy Garland, Keeshond, L. Frank Baum, metaphysical, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, nemesis, Peekskill New York, ruby slippers, Scarecrow, Smithsonian, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, story, The Emerald City, The Wizard of Oz, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Tin Man, Toto, Whitestone, Yellow Brick House, Yellow Brick Road | 10 Comments

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