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Musings From The Hill — A Lenten Glory

Anticipating more moss, I circle the house and am pleased to find the hellebores growing vigorously. Whatever prompted me to invest in three of these plants fifteen years ago, I know now it was as smart as anything I've done (yardwise, at least).Forty dollars for three was a lot to pay back then - especially now realizing how few of those purchased ever amounted to a hill of beans - or the flower I'd anticipated, for that matter.Perhaps better known as the Christmas or Lenten Rose, these provide almost year-round delight as I continue to be pleased by their pink blossoms (i.e., mine; I ...

View From Hickory Heights: Hand-Me-Downs

Most of the young people today have no concept of hand-me-downs because we live in a throwaway society. They do not think about preserving things and passing them on to someone else. Oh, they may go through their closet and decide to give something away when it is Goodwill Day at a local store, but other than that they do not think in terms of reusing something.I lived with hand-me-downs, in fact, that was even how I got some of my clothes. A relative who always had the latest and the best in fashions sent me things when she no longer cared for them or when she outgrew them. I was ...

Give It Your Best Shot

Pictured are Jamestown High School students during the 1935-36 school year. One of the students, seventh from the left, is Philip DeSantis. Photo submitted by Ron DeSantis. Send us your ''Best Shot'' of unique moments in your family's life. Write clearly your name and address on the back of the photo along with a few details, and mail to The Post-Journal, Best Shots, c/o Family Desk, P.O. Box 190, Jamestown, NY 14702-0190. Please submit only one photo per family, and include an S.A.S.E. for the return of the photo. We reserve the right to return any photo unpublished. Photos and caption ...

A Man Named Sam

I want to tell you a story about a man named Sam.He might be characterized as a "regular Joe." He worked responsibly his entire life. He came from an impoverished background. From a monetary standpoint, he earned enough to purchase a home, pay his bills and enjoy life. Family took center stage for Sam. Not long after meeting Sam did I realize a good man in my company. He and his wife of over 50 years raised several children. Each has played out his or her respective lives replete with joys and sorrows, successes and failures. Along the continuum, Sam was seen as an emotionally supportive ...

Writer Gets Her Kicks On Route 66: Part Five

Editor's Note: This is the fifth column in a series featuring the author's travels along Route 66.This was our eighth day to travel The Mother Road, The Will Rogers Highway, The Main Street of America, all names given to Route 66 over the years. This day could be described as a reverse scene from Storm Chasers. As much as I was determined to stay true to the twisting, winding route, that I had really come to love, I decided on this day we needed to get moving early and keep moving across Oklahoma, taking advantage of as many short-cuts as possible. For five days TVs and radios had blared ...

The Healing Season: Grief Is A One-Way Road And There’s No Turning Back

Tragedy strikes us all now and then, once in a lifetime, maybe a few times. When it does, we are sent reeling for quite a while, longer than seems reasonable, longer than we ourselves admit. The landscape itself seems slightly off, unfamiliar. The daily road is rocky. Even the beauty of sun and friends leaves us unwarmed. Ultimately, the reeling slows; life resumes some familiar terrain.In late March, my grandchildren lost their beautiful 45-year-old mother unexpectedly, within a few hours, due to pulmonary hypertension. One minute she was alive and thriving; the next she awoke in the ...