"Gruezi mitenand!" is a Swiss German equivalent for "Guten Tag" when greeting a group, and it was an appropriate greeting for some old friends whom I met last weekend on a visit to Switzerland. Read more…»»

Being a camp counselor can be a challenge. Especially if you take 20 children to an amusement park with challenging rides! Read more…»»

It’s not often that you meet a family that is an exact counterpart of sorts to your own. I met one over 30 years ago in Sprockhövel, Germany. Read more…»»

It’s that time of year again. August in Dallas. Pretty hot. Time to help my son Ted and his wife Katie with another house project. Read more…»»

No, that’s not a typo. It isn’t supposed to say "google" – the reference is to "goggles", as in the kind you wear when you go swimming. They saved the day for grandson Sean. Read more…»»

Ever try to do something helpful and wonder if it really helped? I guess that is the way I felt 13 years ago in Manila when we were foster parents for a 3 year old Filipino boy named Timmy. Read more…»»

I missed meeting Ivan last year by one week. At the beginning of July I missed Dennis by 24 hours. It looks like I picked a dandy for my first Gulf Coast hurricane, Katrina. Read more…»»

Part of the procedure in preparing for a hurricane is to anticipate the potential damage. That means getting our basement ready for a flood surge. Read more…»»

After a restless night we are up to hear the wind whipping around outside. The lights flickered once but stayed on so far. Read more…»»

After several brief power outages, we lost electric power completely at 7:30 a.m. Downtown Mobile has flooded. Read more…»»

The wind has shifted and now is coming from the south, instead of east/southeast. Apparently Katrina has reached landfall a 2nd time on the Mississippi coast. Read more…»»

Hurricane Katrina has come and gone, but her effects will be felt in Mobile and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast for a long time. Read more…»»