Walt

Walter joined us in the summer of 1984, about a year after we got married and around the time we moved into our apartment in Shirlington Village, Virginia. Bert was already with us, and no doubt tried but failed to teach Walt his bad habits (Bert pissed away our security deposit and then some). Walt …

Barb & Bill Wedding Photos

The official, professional photos from our wedding, May 7, 1983. I’m pretty sure these were considered outtakes by the photographer… Barb and Bill Rehearsal Dinner Barb & Bill Wedding Ceremony Barb and Bill Wedding Reception Barb and Bill Honeymoon

Manny!

The ongoing chronicle of Manny. July 19, 2018: We meet Manny for the first time at the Howard County Animal Shelter.  He’s about 12 weeks old, originally named Merv, and we’re the first to see him. He’d been found in Laurel, caught in a cat trap covered in tar and fleas, they tell us. After …

Honeymoon

We went straight from the reception to the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown for a one-night honeymoon stay. The hotel had just opened the year before and it was our first time at a Four Seasons. We had considered other places, particularly the Red Fox Inn in Middleburg (we’ve still never been to the Red …

On 60

Today is my 60th birthday.  Most of my other birthdays have floated past without much notice or thought.  This one feels different.  I’ve noticed it coming for a while, and now it feels something like a milestone.  At least it seems to deserve a moment of reflection and assessment. I’m hoping this marks the approximate …

Susan Barnett

Cousin Susan Barnett passed away last year and is remembered in a loving document put together by husband Jim Rech and presumably others.  Yesterday, Jim shared the “book” consisting of Susan’s collected Xmas letters and many photos.  I always enjoyed receiving annual editions of “Life With Father Wreck” and was one of those that always …

Disce Pati

It’s been a long-running joke in our family that the ancient Duncan clan motto is “Disce Pati”, or “Learn to Suffer”.  The Internet says it’s true (Wikipedia, Index of Clans), at least sort of (Clan Duncan), so it must be true, at least sort of. We’ve long transmogrified the phrase to “Disco Pattie”, I think …