This article appeared once in the Brimley High School newspaper in the 1960s. Columnist Ann Landers has said it originally appeared in the Stars & Stripes newspaper, a US Armed Forces publication. Reprints have appeared in Dear Abby and many other syndicated columns. Stew Consentino, a Viet Nam vet, simply…
by Sharon M. Kennedy If your kitchen table is like mine, it grows stuff. No matter how hard I try to keep it tidy, it refuses to cooperate. Unopened mail, yesterday’s newspaper, Avon brochures, magazines, bills, cookbooks, condiments, and miscellaneous items litter without the slightest apology. My morning table might…
By Sharon M. Kennedy Today’s kids have no idea what it’s like to pound the keys of a manual typewriter. They’ve never heard the sharp ding announcing the approach of the right margin, and they’ve certainly never gotten their fingers black or red while untangling a wayward ribbon. They know…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Recently I was talking with a writer friend, Jill Brumwell, who spends much of the summer at her home on Drummond Island. She’s one of those gals who has the innate ability to make people laugh without even trying. She cracks me up with some of…
by Sharon M. Kennedy The summer of 1960 must have been slow and boring. I didn’t have any friends on the Brimley sideroad. I was too old to play with dolls and too young to appreciate the music of Elvis. I had stopped keeping an account of our daily activities…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Yard sale time is here. I can’t wait to spend the change I’ve been saving all winter to purchase stuff I don’t need and will most likely never use. If you’re like me, you rarely leave a sale empty-handed. The thrill of rummaging through junk belonging…
by Sharon M. Kennedy When I was a youngster, the kitchen radio was always tuned to the only American station we could get during the daytime, WSOO-AM. I remember trying to dance to the music of Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, Red Foley, and lots of other country singers. Whenever the…
The first time I invited George Mallus (aka Yorgo the Greek, aka “Guy” from my newspaper columns) to my parents’ farm in Brimley, he thought he was on the set of The Waltons. George was a product of the city, having been born and raised in the Detroit area. He…
By Sharon M. Kennedy Seventy-five years ago today I came into this madhouse we call the world. Mom used to say it was a “beautiful spring morning” and although Dad would have welcomed a son, he settled for me. I looked just like him. I was going to post a…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Uncle Steve’s manual ride circa 1940s Around this time of year, teens are anxious to develop their driving skills and take to the road with their instructors. Unlike the old days, we all know when a new driver is approaching due to the large Driver’s Training…
by Sharon M. Kennedy When you can’t find what you’re looking for, check the jumbled mess in your kitchen junk drawer. We all have one, that special drawer where we throw things when we don’t know where else to put them. Mine is stuffed with assorted lids, rubber bands, twisty…
By Sharon M. Kennedy How’s your New Year’s weight loss resolution going? I hope you’re having better luck than I am. Being overweight was something I never paid much attention to because I was always thin. When I was a kid, dresses hung on me like rags on a clothesline….
Reading LIFE IN A TIN CAN, a thoroughly entertaining a book by Sharon M. Kennedy. The book of humorous, poignant, and nostalgic stories is available at Amazon.
By Sharon M. Kennedy “Climb the mountain,” the hiking instructor yelled, and I thought to myself, it’s only a steep hill, but I kept quiet. Let the young fellow call it a mountain and encourage us to climb as if it were Everest. The year was 2001. While waiting for…
Today ushers in the first day of spring, the most welcome season of the year. For the past few days, it’s been warm in Brimley, Michigan—my little corner of the U.P. Yesterday I washed my hoodie and hung it in a closet. That means I’m down to only three layers…
Early morning beer delivery in Dublin Every St. Patrick’s Day, Dad drilled into us kids the importance of wearing something green and proudly pinning a shamrock to our clothing. March 17 was the only day of the year orange was an absolutely forbidden color for it was a reminder of…
When I was a kid, the Lenten season was a scary, somber time. Fear started on opening day when the priest ground ashes into my forehead, made the sign of the cross, and told me to remember that I was dust and unto dust I would return. Mom probably walked…
By Sharon Kennedy Dad’s Truck (March 2022) March winds are almost here. Soon they’ll blow off Lake Superior as strong and secretive forces, entities unto themselves that remind us winter does not want to let go. Today I felt their cold fingers encircle me. I watched as they lifted loose…
“A weathered hardhat, a pair of line-worn gloves, paint speckled boots, and a discharge. That’s a wrap for the season. It was a privilege to work alongside some of the best professionals on the lakes this season aboard the M/V Joe Block and SS Wilfred Sykes. Time for some time…
by Sharon M. Kennedy The greatest event in February is the day all females look forward to as eagerly as Cupid. Women of all ages anticipate Valentine’s Day for the wonderful surprises it will bring. It’s the perfect day for fellows to “pop the question” and end their carefree…
by Sharon Kennedy A snow packing roller like dad used (pic. from my Ireland trip)As January winds blow into February, we continue to hunker down and hold on. Those of us who call Michigan’s Upper Peninsula home know we’re facing eight or more weeks of snow, icy winds, and freezing…
By Sharon Kennedy My old wristwatches and clocks (above) Everybody wants to know where the time goes. Most of us have no idea what happened to January, but we all know that after Valentine’s Day February will go just as fast. Once the fuss of St. Patrick’s Day is over,…
Sharon in Plaid (center) with siblings A plaid shirt is as much a part of my wardrobe today as it was when I was a kid. Some of you might remember the plaid shirts that matched the plaid lining in our overalls. Such garments were staples for kids in the…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Sharon is no longer afraid of Herefords! s I grew up on a farm in the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula where winters are long and cold. As a youngster, I loved the first few snowfalls, especially if the snow was packy. It was great…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Growing up on my sideroad in the 1950s was a lot different than it is today. In those days, the county lacked the sophisticated equipment required to level snow banks. As kids, we often dug holes in the four feet high banks and hollowed out forts….
