The heart is a good companion

May 15, 2025

Last Friday I received a pacemaker. I’m still not over the shock that I needed one. I was skeptical because surgeons want to do their job. You know, they’re trained to cut. Same as my hairdresser. But the cardiac surgeons at St. Vincent’s in Erie were convincing. Long story short, my heart did beat normally most of the time, but when it chose to go on a whoopee spree – into atrial fibrillation – the low heartbeats were much too low. Solution? Kick them back into normal gear by giving this lady a pacemaker. I’ve been told by people who have one – all men so far – ...

Dems quick to forget Clinton, Obama acts

May 10, 2025

There is no way to concisely define the hypocrisy of Democrat party ideology and policy other than explain it as Trump Derangement Syndrome. I submit the following as evidence of TDS. Let’s briefly review past Democrat administration’s policies regarding oversight of U.S. Government fraud and illegal immigration. This information is readily available with simple Google and AI tools. Bill Clinton and Al Gore launched the National Partnership for Reinventing Government in March 1993; an initiative aimed at cutting wasteful spending and streamlining federal operations. They presented ...

View from Hickory Heights: Celebrating moms

May 9, 2025

When my mother-in-law died in 2003, I got a book back that my husband and I had given her in 2000. It was “Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul”. I only remember the year we gifted it because she wrote the date inside of the book. I know that she appreciated it and read it from cover to cover. I decided I would read it again this year. I had read it before, but as things go you forget some of the stories. I found a quote written by Ruth Bell Graham, Billy Graham’s wife. She wrote, “As a mother, my job is to take care of what is possible and trust God with the ...

Life is a ‘Special Occasion’

May 8, 2025

I get a bang out of advertisements for “Special Occasions.” Restaurants, wedding venues, florists, greeting cards – each market their goods to help us celebrate. We all have birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, and other special days in our lives tugging at our heartstrings. But at my age? Every day is a special occasion. My BFF in New York City and I have been friends since 1963. Every year, we celebrate our special occasion: our graduation date from the American Airlines Stewardess College on April 10th. Most years it’s just a phone call, but we don’t forget. That day is ...

May and Law Days

May 2, 2025

Although May 1 just passed, I want to introduce you to some of the significance of the day. First of all, May Day dates to around 2 A.D. It had its origins in the festivals of Europe. I recall the Campus School in Fredonia celebrating May Day. One year I attended the ceremony because my cousin was part of it. She attended the Campus School and was chosen I believe as a “flower girl”. We all gathered around a Maypole that had ribbons flowing from it. The ribbons were held by children who helped to weave them around the Maypole. It was a little dance of sorts with some music. The ...

Rounding Third: Witnessing a return of the natives

May 1, 2025

I like to write about the annual robins who nest on my back porch. I enjoy watching their month-long odyssey from the home building to the final fledgling fly-off. Last year’s model must have liked the neighborhood, because Rosie Robin (as I had named her) is back. And she has brought along two friends. I don’t know whether she is the same momma robin for sure, but she certainly looks like last year’s model … same red breast, same yellow bill, same black, beady, watchful eyes – amazingly just like the picture in my bird book. And her two sidekicks look identical, enough to ...