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These are the women who raised us
My grandmother climbed mountains in her bare feet, raised hell and three hearty children on the edge of a small Pennsylvania mining town. Oldest child of the indomitable Baba Melnyk, who hitched a ride...
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Chicago is our kind of town
“Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.” – Carl Sandburg We tasted Chicago this weekend and enjoyed 24 hours of wind-blown,...
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Surprise! Happy birthday Kathy, my most gullible sister
Under the cover of 10,000 hogs, we pulled off the perfect surprise birthday party Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee. Planned with military precision by a three-generational task force — the indomitable...
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In HOG heaven and feeling cool
I’m no easy rider, but for a little while on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I strolled through Brady Street and felt cool. Paced by the celebratory hum of idling hogs, we made our way through packed...
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Flicking cancer off her like a fly
The sun broke through a thick fog yesterday morning as we made our way to Milwaukee to celebrate my sister Kathy’s last day of chemo. After 20 weeks of treatment, Kathy deserved much more than a...
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A Tale of Two Bear Fans
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times in our little corner of section 117 at Lambeau Field Monday night. We had everything before us, and then we had nothing before us. The best of times...
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Five things I learned this weekend
The holiday season begins in T-minus three days and I’m feeling panicky generous. As I’m coming off an especially educational few days, I thought I’d share a few tips I picked up during November’s...
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We’re thankful for eyebrows
Tomorrow when I gather my family around our chaotic dining room table, I’m going to thank God most sincerely for my sister Kathy’s eyebrows, because they’re dark and lovely and brand spanking new. They...
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A winter soul-stice with Fundamentally Sound
What’s a family to do when the Packer season abruptly ends and an interminable winter looms dark and cold? Gather sweet friends for a big ole aca-awesome party. That’s what we did Saturday night and it...
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Relay for Life Round 2 — the Laughter Lap
Thanks to a creative group of high school planners, a bunch of game teammates and a resilient captain, our second Relay for Life turned out to be the laughter lap. Green-shirted teen-aged volunteers...
View ArticleMy Favorite Photo: New York
To be fair, this isn't my favorite photo of New York, it's my favorite photo of my favorite people in New York. I shot it on our last family trip to New York, which was three whole years ago. I'm about...
View ArticleHi, it’s Kathy
More than 30 years after she first started writing it (and singing it all over the house), my mom finally finished a song about my middle little sister. With an assist from an extremely kind teacher at...
View ArticleWhy we watch football
We sat facing a sweet Saturday sun, wearing our festive red gear and pondering our place in this fickle universe. Was it right to settle in and enjoy a college football game in Wisconsin while a huge,...
View ArticleShhhhh! Our librarian booked another award
My sister Kathy has been honored by almost every school she has attended. Saturday night, she received a distinguished alumni award from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee School of Information...
View ArticleThe Party of the Half Century
The story you are about to read is true. The names have not been changed because there are no innocents, just a half-century milestone we’re thrilled to be marking and a legendary party about which...
View ArticleBeautiful people: Kathypalooza
My sister Kathy approached the occasion of her 50th birthday party with unfettered glee. She mingled, hugged, high-fived, sang, chatted, reminisced, tasted, sipped, posed, and, utterly unfazed by the...
View ArticleOh say can you see? #PackersvsCancer
I had no idea Melissa Etheridge was in the house until I looked up from my usual pre-National Anthem musings "Stand still respectfully, or try to grab a quick pic?" and saw her standing on Lambeau...
View ArticleShe’ll take her cup of kindness yet
My sister Kathy has been popping over to the Columbia St. Mary's Water Tower Medical Building every three weeks to receive treatment for the breast cancer she’s been battling since 2013. As is her...
View ArticleStages of Love: Accepted Love
Editor's Note: More than 137 years ago, my great grandparents Amand and Estelle Fey received “The Stages of Love” as a wedding present. That sweet series of five painted postcards hung in their house...
View ArticleRetirement Day
Today marks my sister Kathy’s final day as an educator. She is retiring for health reasons following a 29-year teaching career. She began as an English teacher at Audubon Middle School, and spent the...
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