“With the winter sun streaming through the windows, I feel cloistered and part of a brotherhood, because books themselves have a friendly feel about them.”

Life as we know it
Used-book Store Division

Tim Torkildson writes: “Dinkytown, by the University of Minnesota campus, had a plentitude of used-book stores when I was a lackbeard.

“On Saturdays and school holidays, I spelunked down amidst the flyblown stacks for abandoned literary geodes. I found them, too: such glittering paperback treasures as ‘Winston Churchill: An Informal Study of Greatness,’ by Robert Lewis Taylor, and the whimsical ‘Three Men in a Boat,’ by Jerome K. Jerome. I paid a quarter for each of those jewels and read them so avidly that the brown and brittle pages fluttered down upon my bedroom carpet like October leaves. No matter; I had gleaned enough wild and weird fancies from them, and others like them, to last me a lifetime.

Continue reading ““With the winter sun streaming through the windows, I feel cloistered and part of a brotherhood, because books themselves have a friendly feel about them.””

She wanted to go see “Singin’ in the Rain.” He vetoed that . . . in favor of “Singin’ in Her Ear.”

One & Done
Dating Division

The Gram With a Thousand Rules: “The recent news brought back a long-submerged memory from nearly 65 years ago.

Continue reading “She wanted to go see “Singin’ in the Rain.” He vetoed that . . . in favor of “Singin’ in Her Ear.””

“Where is Grandma? She’s not here? But she must have been. I can smell her perfume!”

 

The Permanent Grandsonly Record
Or: Ah, the smell of it!

Jomajesty reports: “As told to me by Princess #1:

“On his arrival home from school recently, oldest grandson Jack entered the house and asked where Grandma was. His mom replied that I wasn’t there, and if I was, he would have seen my car in the driveway.

Continue reading ““Where is Grandma? She’s not here? But she must have been. I can smell her perfume!””

After 72 years of use, this “very ordinary Club Aluminum pot” is one to remember.

Built to last

Little Sister writes: “It’s comforting to have something in your possession that was made to last.

“This very ordinary Club Aluminum pot was part of a complete collection my parents received as a wedding gift in 1944.

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Continue reading “After 72 years of use, this “very ordinary Club Aluminum pot” is one to remember.”

What it took to fill this woman’s heart: ‘Grandma, are you going to bake cookies?’

‘Tis the season!
Or: The Permanent Grandmotherly/Granddaughterly, Motherly/Sonly Record

Booklady: “My heart is full.

“This grandmother’s dream has been to pass along some treasured traditions to the next generation. Although my sons were happily involved in Christmas preparations as kids, enthusiasm for cookie-baking did not last. When our younger son died at the age of 21, some of the joy of the season left me, too. His daughter, just over a year old at the time, lived with us for a while and spent lots of time with us through the years.

Continue reading “What it took to fill this woman’s heart: ‘Grandma, are you going to bake cookies?’”