The morning of Dec. 8 was like most Sunday mornings. I slept in a few hours later than usual and had a quiet cup of coffee while checking emails and statistics related to my book with the Investigation Discovery channel on in the background. That day was going to be a little different because I […]
Twelve Days of Christmas 2024, Part X: An early gift from Mizzou Read More »
As I watched “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” with my wife and daughter last week, it occurred to me that my great grandchildren and great great grandchildren will be watching it 50 years from now and beyond. Along with “Frosty the Snowman,” it’s always been my favorite animated Christmas show/movie, partly because of the nostalgia. My
Twelve Days of Christmas 2024, Part IX: Ranking the animated Christmas shows Read More »
Christmas has always been a big deal to my family, and there have only been a handful times where I wasn’t with mine through the years. All of those were tied to my decade-long career in newspapers, one that included six publications and cities and 12 residences. Talk about your nomadic existence. I wasn’t away
Twelve Days of Christmas 2024, Part VII: Christmas away from home Read More »
It’s amazing how the smallest thing can unlock a memory. That happened a few Sundays ago when we decorated the family Christmas tree. Before I get to that, though, I have to say the fact that the tree was even up was stunning. My wife has been adamant about not setting it up too early.
Twelve Days of Christmas 2024, Part VI: Remembering ‘Woody’ and Lebanon Read More »
If you’ve read the annual Twelve Days of Christmas blog series, you’ve learned that video games were an important part of the big day (and my youth). Heck, while I don’t have much free time these days, I still fire up my Super Nintendo and NES Classic several times a year. I fell in love
Twelve Days of Christmas 2024, Part V: Video games then and now Read More »
I’ve written in this space about nearly flunking kindergarten. If not for my father stepping in and telling Mrs. Booth “no,” I would have spent another year intentionally circling the wrong elephant on worksheets and graduated a year later from high school and college. My grades really didn’t improve until the third grade in 1984-85.
Twelve Days of Christmas 2024, Part I: All is right with a Lite Brite Read More »
“It really shouldn’t be this difficult to find somebody named James Danny Hollingshead.” I think this virtually every time I renew the search for my late father’s best friend, a man who he had not seen for nearly 50 years when he died in 2019. It’s also a man who he thought enough of that
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part XII: The ongoing search for James Danny Hollingshead Read More »
Good old Lebanon, Missouri. White outlining this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas, it occurred to me that I write about that city a ton in this space, especially during this series. It also occurred to me that it makes sense. This series is all about nostalgia. While Joplin is my official hometown (as is the
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part 11: Don’t call me Al Read More »
Tis the season … for Casey’s top 40 countdown, arcades, movies at the mall and an endless run of 1980s pop music. That’s what I’ll always remember when I think about Christmas with my mother. In particular, the Dec. 17, 1988, edition of the American Top 40 is lodged in my memory. That school year
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part IX: Mom and Christmas Read More »
Have stained glass or leather, will travel. That described a big part of my brother and I’s youth as the children of parents who owned a small crafting business. The only way to survive financially in the early years was for both parents to do shows nearly every weekend, so we typically hit the road
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VIII: Thank you, Hannibal Read More »
