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View from Hickory Heights: Two-wheel riding

Do you remember learning to ride a bicycle? When I was about eight years old, I got a bicycle for Christmas. Since we lived where we had snow, it sat in the garage until Spring. I was not a natural at riding a bike. It took days for me to learn the balancing technique. My mother and my grandfather took turns holding me steady and running along. I had no training wheels. Finally, one night I took off on my own. I did not realize I was on my own until I got way down the street. I was on the sidewalk by the way. My only problem was I did not know how to stop. I ended up in someone’s ...

Another Memorial Day remembrance

Memorial Day was always a special day for me, even as a child. It was a particularly important day of remembrance for my mother. Every year, she made sure we wore the commemorative red poppies to honor her youngest brother, the family hero. Kenneth Arthur MacMillan was the youngest of four children. When their mother dies, my mother, Alberta, was 6 and the siblings were 4, 2 and baby Kenny was 14 months. He never knew his mother who spent the last months of her life in a tuberculosis sanitorium. Alberta remembered the four children gathering below their mummy’s window to wave and ...

View from Hickory Heights:

Last week I reminded my grandson to take God with him to his exam. I always said a prayer before an exam. Usually, I asked God to help me remember what I studied. I did not go into an exam without the work. I knew that he worked hard. He was proud of his average with all “A”s. This professor was tough. In his mind she was very smart but not a great teacher. In my day that last week of school we only went to school on the days that we had an exam scheduled. Of course, I lived in town and could walk to school. Regents were scheduled the week after regular exams. I did my praying on ...

The big dream of exercise machines

Dream was the word I associated with exercise machines in the old days. Not the dream of ownership, but the dream of possibility. The machine promised the ultimate transformation. I was going to become the new me. Now, at my advanced age with dashed dreams, I am giving up. I decided that this old me will not be owning a new-me machine. Ever again. Although I can’t say I didn’t try. In my late 40s, I decided that I was starting to slip. A few pounds a year had crept on and I wasn’t liking the side view in the full-length mirror. What to do? I went to Weight Watchers – for ...

Rights, privileges can lead to nonsense

Judging from recent commentary, it seems the definitions of rights and privileges have been conflated in our political discourse. To start: A legal right is an action that an individual can take that cannot be legally infringed by other people or by the government. Natural rights for American citizens are defined in the second sentence of the Declaration, and are constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights. Logically, one person’s rights cannot contradict another person’s Rights; else they cannot be considered rights. A privilege always requires infringement of one ...

View from Hickory Heights: Little things make big differences

It is strange, but sometimes little things make a big difference. I recently found a recipe for Sourdough Bread that sounded interesting. I have a recipe but the starter needs to be fed regularly. To be honest that makes it too difficult to keep going. This new recipe makes two batches of starter. Then you are done. I read through the recipe and decided to try it. I knew quite a bit about sourdough bread but of course not everything there is to know. I knew that you used glass or ceramic bowls. I also did not chance using anything but my wooden spoon to mix with. That being said, I ...