If you’ve ever been the younger sibling to an older brother, you’ve likely had some good memories, as well as others you’d rather not remember. In some cases, there are memories that are impossible to forget. My brother Jim was nothing if not memorable. He was good looking, athletic, and charming to a fault. He […]
A key part of growing up in Indiana is a love for all things basketball. If you’ve seen the movie “Hoosiers”, it’s hard not to root for the underdog team from Hickory High, but the thing is, it’s loosely based on a true story, where the Milan Indians (a school of under 200) outlasted over […]
When I was in high school, I really wanted to be in radio. I listened to the DJs on WLS in Chicago, the local personalities on WIOU AM and WWKI FM in Kokomo, and the ‘big city’ DJs on-air for WNAP FM and WIBC AM in Indianapolis. I even waited for the daily spots from […]
My late January birthday always seemed to carry with it a blast of winter weather. Even if the winter had been mild up to that point, January 27th brought snow, sleet, ice and frequently Arctic weather and sub-zero wind-chill tempearatures. The previous week seemed mild enough. We had snow on the ground, but temperatures hung […]
Winters in North-Central Indiana were rarely mild. Every year, we’d have snow as early as Halloween, and as late as April Fool’s Day. In between, we’d get regular snow fall, with the occasional lake-effect snowstorm blowing in off of Lake Michigan, which would bring a wave of blocked roads, sliding cars….and school cancellations. Whenever snow […]
The final barrier between a 16-year old and (relative) freedom is getting actual drivers’ license. Now, by this point, I had been driving a little over a year, but on a learners’ permit, and with a parent sitting in the passenger seat. I was ready to graduate from two wheels and parental supervision to four-wheeled […]
The summer of my 15th year, I wanted nothing more than to get behind the wheel of a large automobile. Even though David Byrne wouldn’t write the song for another couple years, I kept asking myself, “How do I get there?” After getting a head full of classroom knowledge in Drivers’ Ed, we graduated to […]
The first car I drove was a 1971 Ford Maverick. 2 door, dark green, and about as base of a model as you could get. No pinstripes, mag wheels or body trim, just a dark green, non-descript basic mode of transportation. The interior wasn’t any fancier. Black vinyl bench seats, AM radio and not even […]
Learning to drive is a teenage rite of passage for most, and more life-changing than earlier stages like riding a bike. Up until that point, there was a tendency to stay close to home, since if you rode too far, you had to make sure you could still get home before dark. It’s the first […]
I’ve never been much of a night owl, but as a kid, staying up past my normal bedtime was a rare event, and I took advantage of it when I could. That was especially true at the end of the year. Christmas had come and gone, and hanging around the house instead of being in […]
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