°Cambridge
1950 |
My
family and the house where I lived from age 2 to 5. |
°Toastmaster |
Speeches
by my father: Vote, disagree but not bitterly, avoid strikes,
sell the idea of giving. |
Newark
1952 |
At
the age of 5½, I show you the house where I lived for six
months in Newark, Ohio. |
A
Literate Six-Year-Old |
At
the age of 6¼, I write to my grandmother about my stage debut
and Bun's Restaurant and cookies. |
°A
Mother's Garden
in
a New Land |
My
mother's poem about learning again how to garden on the windy plains
of Richwood, Ohio. |
°I
Am Singing Up Here |
Memories
of my churchgoing grandfather Harry Buckingham. |
°B.R.
Isaiah |
On
India's religions, the changes brought by Christianity, and a church
that our family built. |
Mother's
Flowers |
Pictures
of the flowers that Ann Thomas grew. |
Seeing
the Western USA |
The
illustrated diary of a three-week car trip in 1959. |
°Give
It a Rest |
Driving
a car used to demand much more from the feet, before the
Autronic-Eye and cruise control. |
. |
1960 |
°Deviltry
at the Thomas House |
Our
favorite dinners, including my mother's mayonnaise-free deviled eggs. |
°Christmas 1961 |
The
sounds of conversation, dinner, and music-making
with the Thomases and my Grandmother Buckingham. |
Ann
and Elifrede |
Parts
of conversations between my mother and her friends. |
°Twin
Gables |
Following
a floor plan that I drew up, the Thomases build a new house. |
|
Click
here
for a picture of my grandmother and her "toothpick tree." |
Middle
West Coincidences? |
A
1963 visit to future historical sites. |
°Ann's
Beef Stew |
My
mother's recipe. Also: chicken sandwiches Richwood style. |
°The
Great Fire of 1964 |
Vernon
M. Thomas Chevrolet is destroyed in a spectacular blaze. With pictures. |
Timeline |
My
family and I encounter Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals (through
2013) and a merry Oldsmobile. |
Cousin
Reunions |
Family
pictures from the 1960s. |
Uno
Scorcio di Milano |
A
glimpse of a storied town in northern Ohio. |
. |
1970 |
°Mother's
Day |
In
Livermore, Kentucky: conversations with relatives and a church
service on Mother's Day, 1972. |
Still
Living at Home |
Miscellany,
including a puzzle. |
Super
8: Christmas |
Images
from home movies of the 1973 and 1974 holidays. |
My
First Apartment |
In
Washington, Pennsylvania. |
Vacations
with Parents |
From
Phoenix to Plains, Georgia. |
NASCAR's
Perfect Storm |
Escaping
a blizzard, my parents and I watch a groundbreaking Daytona 500
telecast in Arizona. |
. |
1980 |
Dear
Sir: You No Longer Exist |
My
father gets an official notice of his death. |
°My
Father and Me |
More
travel, after my mother's death. |
°The
Big 8-0 |
Dozens
of folks surprise Vernon M. Thomas with a party for his 80th birthday. |
|
1990 |
Now
an Orphan |
My
father dies. Later, the 35th reunion of my high school class
prompts more memories of Ohio. |
. |
2000 |
My
Double's Still At Large |
A
mysterious neighbor must look just like me. |
Two
Thousand Tom Thomases |
Just
how unusual is my repetitive name? |
°One
Hundred Tom Thomases |
Fivescore
folks who answer to the same name as I. |
°Cringing |
My
phobia about being inside tall rooms may be related to an
evolutionarily acquired reflex. |
New
Wheels |
For
the first time in 153,351 miles, I invest in a new car. |
The
Myope |
I've
worn glasses for 50 years. But being nearsighted has its advantages. |
Memorial
Bricks |
My
father's name is a part of veterans' monuments in two small towns. |
|
2010 |
Be
Happy Now Wait Not for Heaven |
On
my own, I take a trip to the Curtiss Museum and the Jordan firemen's
site and the birthplace of Robert Ingersoll, whom I quote at length. |
'Cuse
Tales |
Back
in Syracuse in 2014, I report Dean Biklen's retirement, revisit
where I lived, and recall canine encounters. |
The
Hyperope |
Cataract
surgery clears up my vision. |
Revisiting
Michigan |
I
return to Frankenmuth and tour Henry Ford's Greenfield Village. |
Fasting
5:00 to 9:00 |
I follow my
resolutions on eating and exercise only part of the time,
watching the clock and calendar. |
|
2020 |
The
Summer's Big Event |
At
age 75, my final colonoscopy goes well if I can open the
medication and not fall asleep. |
Remembering
Chief McIntire |
Police
cars fill my little borough's streets when the chief is killed on
duty, and later for his funeral. |
Dividend
Interrupted |
A fire thousands of miles away temporarily puts a stop to a small
portion of my income. |