This Sunday, July 23, would have been my niece’s 56th birthday. There won’t be a celebration because Carol died twenty-one years ago when she didn’t see the point in going on. Like many other young people who have suffered a loss they cannot accept or who are just too tired…
In the 1970s, I lived in the Detroit area. When I came home for a visit, I always brought presents for my parents. Often they were silly ones such as a three-foot-long box of Sander’s candy. Mom had a ball with that box. As it emptied, she kept refilling it…
Dad wasn’t much of a shopper, but every Christmas there was a box of Queen Anne Chocolate Covered Cherries underneath the tree for Mom. It was the only candy they both knew nobody would raid. Mom didn’t have to hide the box in the laundry basket or a far corner…
My daughter with her dad and cousin Lion was tired. He was tired of Mr. Ted, the man who fed him meat twice a day. He was tired of people throwing hot dogs at him, waiting for him to growl and scare them. But most of all, Lion was tired…
Mom wasn’t much for taking pictures. Either her thumb got in the way of the shutter or she cut off somebody’s head or included too much of the ground or sky. However, occasionally she plucked up a smidgeon of courage and snapped a photo that was worth saving. This one…
Anyone who has watched the television show, M*A*S*H, is familiar with the theme song, “Suicide is Painless.” And anyone who has lost a loved one through suicide knows that’s a lie. The pain of the deceased is over, but the sorrow felt by those left behind is just beginning. The…
In 25 days, Christmas Eve will be here. You know perfectly well you don’t want to think about it because you haven’t started shopping. Chances are you even avoided all those wonderful Black Friday and Cyber Monday super sales. It’s just too early to think about Christmas. You dread the…
Uncle Steve and his Turkeys Yesterday was Thanksgiving, the day everybody is as stuffed as the turkey. For weeks, cooks have been preparing menus and testing new recipes. Tables will sag beneath the weight of the usual fare. Clever techniques inspired by cooking channel chefs and recipes from magazines might…
What would you do if you knew you had only one more day to live? It’s probably a good thing we don’t know when our time will come. There would be so much to do. If we haven’t a will, we’d have to quickly write one, leaving our worldly possessions…
NOTE: The following newspaper column was published in May of this year. Today at 11:47 a.m. my beloved cousin, Mary Cryderman Cobb, left this world to join her loved ones in the Great Beyond. Her daughter, Patty Ann, called and asked me to say goodbye while Mary was still with…
Even as a young child I either closed my eyes or shielded them from sunshine. It wasn’t that I didn’t love the warmth of the yellow orb in the sky. It was because its brightness hurt my eyes. I don’t remember when I started wearing sunglasses every month of the…
Listen to Sharon M. Kennedy on Brian Bosley’s “Bamboo Lab” podcast “Believe in the goodness of man!” “Find something to get up for!” “Don’t give up. Turn the corner!” “Climb the mountain! “Listen to the voice that’s been nagging you!” Sharon spent an hour, sharing her immense wisdom and calming…
Regardless of how Tuesday’s election went, if you’re not aware of the roadshow Ret. Gen. Michael Flynn is putting on, you should be. It hasn’t received much media attention, but if ever there was a mockery of Christianity, this is it. As Flynn and his band of devotees hit the…
On November 11, 1918, the signing of the Armistice with Germany officially ended World War I. One hundred and four years ago today, the war to end all wars was over. Unfortunately, the hope that such a horrible event would never occur again was premature. There’s something inherent in the…
When we were kids in the 1950s, Mom made sure our overalls were patched, the buttons on our jackets were securely sewn in place, and bandanas protected our hair and ears. How my sister escaped wearing one is beyond me. In this photo, Jude’s shorty jacket isn’t even buttoned and…
The midterm election is one week away. Regardless of who takes the Senate and House, one thing is certain. If the donkeys are successful, Doomsday will follow due to “rigged machines, fake ballots” and a host of other excuses why they couldn’t possibly have legitimately beaten their opponents. If the…
In Plato’s “Dialogues” he posed the question someone asked his teacher, Socrates, a man accused of impiety and corruption of the young: “What is the origin of these accusations? All this great fame and talk about you would never have arisen if you had been like other men.” In response,…
As we age, it often gets harder to cling to our dignity. For some folks losing a sense of dignity is due to major health problems that require constant medical attention including poking and probing into our physical body. For others, it’s dealing with non-life threatening ailments like arthritis, knee…
A few readers have asked why I’ve been writing political pieces instead of my usual nostalgic references to the delightful days of my childhood. In response, I’ll make an analogy, however farfetched or “comical” it might seem to some folks. The orchestra on the Titanic could do nothing to stop…
It took 18 months for the public to learn that at least one House Republican called Donald Trump the “Orange Jesus” after witnessing the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. I’m not being blasphemous. That really is how the unnamed person referred to the former president when his disciples attempted…
When I was earning my M.A. from Northern Michigan University, I was 53 years old. However, I was not the oldest student in the class. That distinction fell to Millie. No one knew how old she was, and we didn’t care. She was a sweet lady who was always prepared…
Sharon and brother, Bucky, with Puff the cat, circa 1959 Another chapter in my uneventful life ended in the summer of 2015. The house of my youth was leveled. In less time than it takes to watch a soap opera, the old place took its final bow with the help…
“Simon Says” was a silly game from my youth. There wasn’t much to it. It involved no technology and could be played anytime, anywhere. There were no age or monetary requirements, and everyone was welcome. In fact, the more players the better. This was especially true if the kids liked…
“Let’s Be Brave” from The Passing Throng by Edgar A. Guest Let’s be brave when the laughter dies And the tears come into our troubled eyes, Let’s cling to the faith and the old belief When the skies grow gray with the clouds of grief, Let’s bear the sorrow and…
Have you ever had something stuck in your craw? Something you wanted to say but just couldn’t get it out? Perhaps a relative upset you, but you held your tongue because you didn’t want to create a scene. When I was a kid, Mom often used that expression. It’s one…
