Tag Archives: Joy

Springtime has always brought the promise of new life and the end of another brown, barren Illinois winter. The first tulips begin to pop open; trees get their first, almost invisible green buds, and soon, green grass springs up to carpet over the brown stuff on the ground. I remember ...

In the days of the Victorian era, a picnic in the English countryside was a fine affair. Baskets were carefully packed with meats such as lamb and beef, often put between hearty pieces of wheat bread and garnished with cheeses, lettuce, and celery. Drinks included lemonade and ginger-beer, as well ...

The farm my dad was raised on during the years of the Great Depression didn’t have indoor plumbing, but it did have two beautiful apple trees in the front yard that gave the best yellow delicious apples ever. So enticing was the fall bounty that Dad would climb the trees ...

I have vivid memories from the first home I remember as a little girl.  On summer evenings I would look for butterflies in our front yard. They seemed to flutter around the large tree that shaded our house as the last dappled sunlight fell. I loved a rainy day.  Mom ...

During the summer months of the 1940’s and 50’s many towns were filled with empty swimming pools and deserted playgrounds. These rites of passage for American children were still there, waiting to be enjoyed.  But something else was there, too.  Polio was an invisible enemy that targeted mostly little ones ...