The BoomerGuy Chronicles

This spring in Ann Arbor, I've developed semblance of a morning routine that includes a walk around the neighborhood.  The colder the morning, the less I have to worry about proper 'physical distancing' from other people. My route includes the local elementary school playground with map of the USA drawn on the asphalt (I step around the states and remember family members sheltering in place around the country). I've noticed that the playground which has been devoid of school children for several weeks has populated with robins.  They sing and fly and romp around the slides and swings and benches that aren't used by kids these days. I continue through the neighborhood of Cape Cod houses with gardens and SUVs and families ensconced for the duration of this pandemic. The neighborhood is covered with various yard signs as if we're in the middle of an election. Many sign have variations on the theme of gratefulness.... "Thank you  Essential Workers" ...

One thing all human beings have in common is that we have a mother.  The mothers I've known in my 71 years are pretty amazing people who have accomplished phenomenal stuff, often with few resources at their disposal. My own mom, who died in 1994, significantly impacted me.  I certainly appreciate her more now than I ever did when she was living. "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world" is an old saying that bears some reflection in these challenging times. I'm just floored by what the mothers I know are accomplishing these days in their homes, workplaces and communities. Raising preschool/schoolage  children at home while maintaining  a job, holding regular Zoom meetings, managing a household , getting food on the table  keeping up on "what's going on"and dealing with the anxiety of the Pandemic's effects on the family taken together is a monumental set of tasks. This generation of children will fare well due to the love, hard work, grit...

I celebrated  48 years of marriage last week...Cathe Zimmerman and I spoke our vows along the Harpeth River south of Nashville on April 29, 1972. Rev. Sam Barefield officiated. Father John Kavanaugh gave the homily. He reminded us that practicing hospitality  causes people to "entertain angels unaware"....something we've done throughout our time together as couple and family. Our families and friends witnessed and celebrated together....T.C. and Beth, Terry and Mike...Stevie and Tinker and Debbie and Mary Ellen and Kelley and Kathy and Ellenita and Bill and Janie. Steichen and Mc Conville and Turg and Marty and Leo and Janet and Adah and Lorraine and Marge and Pat and Tim and Joan and George and Eleanor and Mike and Mickey.... We promised to love each other, be hospitable to even strangers, and to help each other be the best people we could be. "Morning Has Broken" opened the ceremony  as the clouds cleared away in the early afternoon. Wonderful memories...

During my youth, television  news came of age during the November weekend in  1963 when JFK was assassinated in Dallas. I recall becoming riveted to our console on Lawndale street as Walter Cronkite and Chet Huntley and David Brinkley told us repeatedly of the details surrounding the snuffing out of Camelot, the swearing-in of LBJ on the tarmac at Love Field in Dallas,  the stone face of Jackie, and the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald on Saturday morning before our eyes by Jack Ruby. We stayed riveted to the TV for the rest of the '60s through more assassinations, marches, urban insurrections in Detroit and Los Angeles, and the killings of students at Jackson State and Kent State in the spring of my senior year at St. Louis University. I can't recall when it started, but every night on the TV news there was a chronicling of the death toll and casualty toll in Vietnam. The President or General Westmoreland or Defense Secretary Mc Namara would present the latest plan for vic...

Late Saturday morning during the seventh week of lockdown, I joined my son Rory on a "fishing trip" with his sons, Sam and James. Our first stop was Hudson Mills Park along the Huron River north of Dexter.  Amid Canadian geese and their newly hatched goslings, the guys "fished" along the bank with worms and lures .  Time was spent with snacks and seat belts and other rigamarole in preparation for the 20 minute drive to the river. James was mostly interested in the worms and why fake worms were better than live worms .( A video named 'WildKratts' was the research basis for this opinion) We spent 45 minutes with the geese and worms before deciding to seek new venues for or quest for the elusive bass. We the jumped in the van and trekked to Pickerel Lake in the Pickney Recreation Area further north and west. While Rory fished from the shore, Sam and James and I decided to " take a hike".  Not 50 yards down the trail, the guys discovered a cadre of u...

Last Fall,  Cathe and I discovered the “Ellis Island of Canada” east of Quebec City.  Located in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, Grosse île was a quarantine station for the port of Québec from 1832 to 1937. At the time, the island was the main point of entry for immigrants coming to Canada. We were  moved by the story of Grosse Île, which stands in testament to both human tragedy and exceptional dedication. We learned of the troubling experiences of immigrants who set sail in the hopes of a better future, and those who cared for them upon arrival. There is an amazing Memorial to the Irish immigrants who arrived in 1847.  More than 5000 perished on the island while in quarantine.  Here is a link: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn- nhs/qc/grosseile Our forbears left famine, oppression, poverty, and hunger for a better life in America. The conditions on the ships were atrocious. When they arrived, many were isolated and never made it to ...