Book Love….

I often get lost in a neighborhood bookshop, but I often find myself in a good book. Don Ferguson Everyone has their own taste in authors. My mom was an avid Danielle Steel fan but, you couldn't pay me to read any of the 190 Trashy novels she was so great at writing. I'm not …

You can take the kid out of Cambridge but…..

I just got home from a Cambridge High and Latin, high school class of 73 reunion for those who live full time or are snowbirds in the Naples Florida area. Although it was a small turnout, considering we were a class of over 600 seniors back in 1973.... small when it comes a gathering of …

The Golden Days.

You get the age you have earned..... Lately, my bladder is not the only reminder that I'm getting older. My daughters have grown into adults, my grandkids are nearing middle school ages, remembering names, dates and times elude me more and more as the list goes on..... I tend not to focus on aging, as in my …

Having the ‘craic’

Like most people I enjoy the company & loving embrace of my family and the times spent with my closest and dearest friends. The Irish have a specific word for what I'm talking about here and that word is ‘craic’, pronounced simply as ‘crack’.  It means simply having fun enjoying each others company. The pronunciation and the …

Growing up older…that door is optional.

"Growing up" means maturing .....this happens by gaining a better understanding of the world you live in, your relationships, your goals and how to affect them. "Getting old" often implies a negative or undesirable process, focusing on the physical and mental changes associated with aging. On the other hand, "growing old" or as I like …

Quotes

Being a woman is no job for a man..... I heard this quote by Robert Horn (Tootsie / Playwright) while attending a performance of Tootsie at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine. Tootsie is the story of a difficult actor whose reputation for being argumentative drives him to adopt the identity as a woman to land …

Grounds for happiness

The suggestions below are not mine.... I was listening to a pod cast which focused on motivation and these simple statements stuck with me so, I'm sharing them with you over coffee. * Stop focusing on things we cannot control....The news, world events, climate, other people...* Stop focusing on the things we do not have....... …

Taking and giving compliments

I often have time to think about life while driving alone. This week I was thinking about doing hard things like bike, run and swim training. The reward for hard work is gaining perseverance. Perseverance is the power to push past the obstacles that get in the way. When I think about perseverance, I think …

Involuntary Musical Imagery

Music that's stuck in your head Songs, melodies and jingles get stuck in my head. If it happens to you also, you know how maddening it is ... It's got me wondering why it happens to me so often, and how can I fix it? This morning for instance, a Gregorian Chant "Regina Caeli" popped …

Mad Hatter’s Day 10/6

Have you ever wondered about the meaning of the card in the Mad Hatter's hat? The 10/6 refers to the cost of a hat — 10 shillings and 6 pence, and later became the date and month to celebrate Mad Hatter Day. So what is Mad Hatter's day anyway? Simply stated ....It's a day to act …

Other People Mindsets….

You may have heard about people see the world using either a Growth Mindset or Fixed Mindset. Someone with a growth mindset views intelligence, abilities, and talents as learnable and capable of improvement through effort. On the other hand, someone with a fixed mindset views those same traits as inherently stable and unchangeable over time...... …

Through The Looking Glass

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome Long ago, I read about a neurological syndrome called "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS)" where a person experiences change in perception. It's the feeling that things are too big or too small in respect to reality. This past weekend I attended my 50th High School reunion and I believe I spent …

Triathlon – Sometimes you get more than you give.

Triathlon may seem it but, it is not a solo sport. OK, technically on race day, you swim, bike, and run yourself through each event and you cross the finish line by yourself. But, before and after that, a support network is a critical component in the triathlon journey. Working with a someone with experience or a …

A Simple Prayer

My first thought was to ask God... I wanted to bring your condition to God and pray for help. But, the more I thought about what I wanted to ask for, the more I realized that maybe my request was better placed elsewhere. So, I'm praying to the one person that I feel can best …

“Big Tom” Ferguson – Old School Lawman

Listed below is the obituary for my great grandfather Chief Constable Thomas Ferguson as posted in the Stirling Observer, Stirling Scotland on Saturday October 19th 1918.  What's interesting about this account of his life are the descriptions and references to a time and place when Scottish law and order were still largely entrusted to a …

Old Dogs & New Tricks

Whoever said "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" wasn't talking about dogs... Growing up we always had a dog in the house. At one point we had three at the same time, a malamute named Satin, a beagle named Dusty and boarder Collie named Speedy. We fed the dogs table scraps and cans …

Speaking Like Shakespeare ……

Have you ever used a quote or phrase, but were totally unaware how you knew it or where you learned it? There are very familiar ones that are easy to pinpoint like..."O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo"? That's Shakespeare right?? Quoting Shakespeare is often attributed to the more literate among us...but I think you …

Back to being seniors again….

I suppose right now you are wondering if you are going to your 50th High School Reunion. Should you or shouldn't you is completely up to you of course. However, if you are on the fence, I would encourage you to go….or at least consider it. TALK TO EVERYONE AT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION Who cares …

Ever wonder about this triple decker?

It is hard to pass by this house on the corner of Putnam Ave and Magazine Street, Cambridge Ma., and not wonder about it as I did growing up. I wondered a lot about it...who built it, what was it like inside and who lived in it? It was across the street and down the …

The Pages of Cambridgeport Memory Wall

Those that view and contribute to the pages of Cambridgeport Memory Wall do so because it reminds us of our hometown. Our neighborhood is a familiar place where we find news about the friends who shared our childhoods, the neighbors who lived next door and the celebrations of time present and past. Hometowns are like …

Anyway the Wind Blows

I'm just now crawling out of a hole called December. Something happens to me every year during the holidays where I just can't keep my motor for exercise burning. My body, mind and spirit quit...and so once again with the help and support of friends and family, I start the climb and the suffering to …

Clubbed Thumb

Clubbed Thumb Club Isaac Newton is quoted as saying the following about the thumb.... "In want of other proofs, the thumb would convince me of the existence of a God; as without the thumb the hand would be a defective and incomplete instrument.... A few years ago my teen aged daughter asked... Dad, did I …

Happy Birthday Marines

Happy Birthday Marines - As is custom during birthday celebrations, a wish is made before blowing out the candles on our cake. It is also a custom not to reveal that wish for fear that it may not come true. My Marine Corps Birthday wish each year has been the same since my 1st at …

Ebb & Flo

LooLoo and I took trip to the beach today. It's a place where we used to play fetch the stick in the waters off of Plum Island. She's on in her years now, sight and hearing are shot but her sense of humor is keen as ever. I swear I can hear her cleaver remarks …

Cursive – Add A Pinch Of Panache

Cursive Writing In or about 2010, school standards were changed in an effort to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live. During this time The Common Core standards were implemented and seemed to spell the end …