This phrase is so true for me. It is true is a couple ways actually.
You can find many blogs I have written about the similarities between my father and I. He is my biggest influence in music, books, movies, and TV shows. When someone tells me that I am just like my dad, I take that as a compliment.
I remember my dad introducing me to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin’s music. The Sinatra channel on Sirius XM is my go to music channel. My children were familiar with it because I always had it on in the car.
When my oldest son, Dante’ got his first job, he was working at an Italian restaurant. When I dropped in to see him one night, he pointed out a picture on the wall. I am almost 100% sure it was this one:
He liked talking about Frank. When he started hanging out with this girl he liked, he told me his was singing Sinatra songs to her. I wish I would remember which ones. Anyway, the other night he texted me something and we chatted back and forth. He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was reading a good book….
I just thought he would think it was cool. His response made me smile:
“I have that same book!”
I couldn’t believe it. He’d actually bought it at the store!
“You make me proud, son. I love that you dig Frank,” I told him.
Like father like son!
I told him that he needed to compile his top 10 Frank songs and I would do the same. Then we need to compare our lists! He loved the idea. Hopefully, we’ll go over those lists soon, when our work schedules allow us to get together.
Well, the kitten woke me up about 3:30 this morning. He’s an early bird apparently. So I decided to take advantage of the kids still sleeping and I made a pot of coffee. I figured I’d read a bit.
I then remembered that today is Father’s Day. So I wanted to take a moment to wish all the dads reading this “Happy Father’s Day! Cheers to you!
I am blessed to still have my dad around. We are closer now than ever. There are a few blogs I have written about him and I will post links here for new readers:
Truth is, I could write a book about my dad (and one day I might!). I can always count on good conversations, memories and laughter when we chat. He sent me something recently that I am debating turning into a blog. He is an amazing father and I’m so lucky he is mine! Happy Father’s Day, Pop!
I also want to say Happy Father’s Day to my Father-in-law, Tony. I can’t begin to tell you how lucky I am that he is in my life. You have seen so many of the projects that I’ve completed here (the nook, grout and tile in the laundry room, building an entire new room for Ella, and countless others). I would have had to hire someone for all of those things without him. He’s another amazing dad.
I became a father 21 years ago. 5 years another son was born. 3 years ago, another blessing came with my first, and only, daughter. Finally, my third and final son arrived 20 months ago. Dante’, Dimitri, Ella and Andrew – four amazing kids – each with distinct and wonderful personalities. What an honor and privilege to be their father!
Parenting is the hardest job you will ever have. Throughout all the difficulties in life, this job is 24/7 and it is the most important! Rereading the following blog brought all of that home for me again:
Dante’ works today, so we’re planning on getting together tomorrow. We’re going to meet at a park and have a pizza picnic. The last time all four of my kids were together was around Christmas. I hope that I am able to get them all to sit still for a picture.
I’m starting to ramble, so I apologize. Even though today is supposed to be all about “me” (as “dad”), I am pausing to remember all of the great men, fathers and father-like figures who played a role in preparing me for that role as “Father.” More importantly, I am thinking about the four special children who officially gave me that role!
Today I finished my 53rd trip around the sun. Birthdays stopped being special to me a long time ago. They are just another day. However, I will tell you that today was a birthday I won’t soon forget. Let me tell you why …
Ella has been talking about my birthday for months. She’s known that mine was coming up and eventually the “next” one. So she told Sam that she was going to get all the stuff for my “party.”
So her and Sam went to the store to order my cake. She told the woman that she was positive that I loved princesses, so this was the cake they brought home:
Ella sang Happy Birthday loud and proud and both kids helped me blow out my candles.
Yes, I did wear the tiara and hold the scepter after cutting the cake.
Sam and the kids got me the coolest card and a book I have had on my Amazon wishlist for some time. Once I get through the library books I have, I will be diving into this one.
They also got me an amazing shirt. The card and shirt go together as they are both from Bluey, the cartoon I just love! Perhaps mom was trying for a Bluey theme, but the princess won out!
We even had princess plates!!
If you are wondering about the tiara and scepter – don’t worry, there is a princess at our house making good use of them!
I also heard from my dad first thing this morning. He got a chuckle out of my cake. My oldest son called me this morning too. My middle son texted on his way home from the bus stop to send birthday wishes. There were countless text messages and birthday wishes on Facebook, too.
As much as I hate counting the years (and still claim to be 39 every year like Jack Benny) it is nice to know that so many folks will take a brief moment out of their day to send a birthday greeting. It’s almost overwhelming, but it is a reminder of just how blessed I am.
My dad sent a photo to me and my brother this week of my Great Grandma (Grandpa’s mom) that I’d never seen before. That got me to thinking about the last time I saw my Great Grandma. It was at my high school graduation party where today’s photo was taken.
This is a truly amazing photo, as it marked one of the few times all of these family members were together.
In the front row from left to right – me, my Great Grandma, and my brother (sporting the pink Miami Vice jacket). In the back row from left to right – Grandpa P, his sister Marietta, Grandma D, Mom, Dad, Grandma P, and my Great Aunt Rose.
This photo was probably taken close to the end of the part, as my dad and grandpa have their suit jackets off. My grandpa came wearing what we called his Century 21 coat. For those who don’t remember, the real estate agents from century 21 used to always wear these gold colored jackets.
Here is a story about my Great Grandma that still makes me laugh. We used to call her “Light Finger Louie” because she had a very bad habit of swiping things from people and then giving then to my Grandpa. They weren’t necessarily big or expensive things (most of the time), but there were watches, Zippo lighters, cuff links, and such that would miraculously appear in my grandfather’s hands (or pockets) as he was leaving his visits from Great Grandma!
I think the saddest thing about finding old photos like these is the realization that those people are no longer with us physically. The only ones still around in that photo are my brother, my dad, and me.
I get ribbed a lot about all the photos I take of the kids. This week on Facebook, when I posted about my grandpa, I stated that the reason I take so many pictures is “because one day those pictures, and the memories from them, are all we have left.”
Ok, to be fair, I don’t know what a shamrock smells like. I tried to look it up on Google and got answers like:
“…the fresh scent of lush, green hills kissed by a sparkle of sunshine…”
” …shamrock’s smell like freshly poured Guinness, of course!“
“…Shamrock kinda just smells like dirt and grass…”
For some reason or another mint is commonly accepted as the smell of a shamrock. This could be because of the color green or the Shamrock Shake at McDonalds! I really don’t know.
Anyway, conversations at work one day led to talk of they types of soap people use. (Yeah, we have some real brilliant chats at work!) Someone mentioned these huge bars of soap from Duke Cannon. I was unfamiliar with it, and a bar was given to me. The thing is HUGE!
It is like 2 and a half bars of soap.
As the packaging suggests, it really is a “Big Arse Brick of Soap!” I had to laugh because my one coworker told me her husband uses it and he loves it because it smells good and lasts so long. She said that he gets the charcoal soaps. Why anyone would want to smell like a barbecue is beyond me, and at the same time, why would anyone want to smell like a shamrock shake? My one buddy said he gets his at the Hardware store! “It’s right up front by the register!”
So I took this “brick” home and I have used it a couple times now. It actually lathers up pretty good. It smells good. It doesn’t leave my skin dry like a lot of bar soaps either.
I also like a company with a sense of humor. The limerick is often associated with the Irish. No surprise that there is a limerick on the side of the box –
I was happy to read that a portion of the sales of this soap goes to benefit US Veterans. My dad and my Godfather both served in Vietnam. I have many friends who have also served this country and any company that supports our veterans is ok in my book!
I think I will try out another scent when this one is gone. This one may not be for me …. it says so on the label:
It is time for another round of Turntable Talk, hosted by Dave at A Sound Day. This is the 12th round that I have participated in and it has quickly become one of my favorite “features” to participate in. There has not been a topic that Dave has presented that has not been interesting for me to explore. This round is no exception. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out his site and read the contributions of other music lovers, too!
For this round, Dave’ says, “This time around I’m calling it “First Time’s The Charm.” Let’s look at an artist whose debut really impressed you. It can be one that just knocked you out first time you heard it when it was brand new, or one you went back & discovered later. As long as it showed a band or singer that hit the ground running.“
In talking with one of the other participants this week, I mentioned that with each topic, one choice always seems to hit me immediately. Then I begin to think about other possibilities, and without fail I always seem to come back to the first choice. This time around, I decided not to consider anything else and go with the first thing that came to mind.
It is 1989. In our living room is the shelving unit that contains my dad’s stereo system. One shelf holds the receiver/amplifier while the cassette deck and Sony Mini-disc players sit on top of each other on the shelf above that. Two speakers sit on top of the unit. A turntable sits on a shelf that slides out on the top left of the unit. Under that, on a shelf all by itself is a Sony CD player.
My dad calls me out to the living room and says, “Keith, you’ve gotta hear this!” My dad has certainly played a major role in sharing great music with me. The above phrase was spoken by him to me more times than I can count. Oh, the music he introduced me to! I would have to say that 9 times out of 10, it has always been something that I have really liked. The CD he popped in the player was the debut album from The Kentucky Headhunters.
The group started back in the late 60’s and called themselves “Itchy Brother.” In 1980, the group was almost signed to a record deal at Swan Song Records, which was a small label founded by the band Led Zeppelin. However, Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died that year and the label folded. Itchy Brother disbanded in 1982. In 1985, there was an attempt to reunite the group. This attempt led to a few new members joining while some original members decided not to be a part of the group. Now missing some of the original members, a new name was chosen for the band – The Headhunters. It didn’t take long to find out that there was another band using that name, so “Kentucky” was added to the name.
The group decided to take out a loan to record a demo. That demo included some original songs and some cover songs. They had hoped to press copies of the demo to sell as merchandise at their live shows. It didn’t take long for that demo to get noticed by folks in Nashville. The group was not really interested in signing a record deal, but their manager suggested that they talk with producer Harold Shedd at Mercury Records. They were signed to their deal in 1989 and the demo was released as their debut album “Pickin’ on Nashville.
I hadn’t intended on listening to the whole album that day, but when my dad hit play, I really liked what I heard. While they certainly had a Southern rock sound, it wasn’t really completely Southern rock, if that even makes sense. It is kind of a mixture of country, Southern rock, a bit of blues, classic rock, a little rockabilly, and maybe even a little bit of metal. It was like nothing I had heard in some time. It was a very unique mix of various styles and types of music.
The first cut on the album was a cover of Bill Monroe’s Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine. Bill’s version has a very bluegrass feel to it. The Headhunters had me from the opening guitar lick. Then I was really digging the harmonies of the group. The guitar solo had a rock/B.B. King feel to it, which I just loved. The debut single reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart, the first of 4 Top 40 singles for the band.
The second single from the album is probably their best known song, but not quite their biggest hit. It almost didn’t make the album, though. Dumas Walker is a song that is about a Kentucky hangout. The lyrics tell of hanging out there eating a “slawburger, fries, and a bottle of Ski.” Folks in Kentucky knew that a slawburger was a burger with cole slaw on it, and a bottle of Ski is a soda that is a lot like Mountain Dew. The record company wasn’t too keen on it, though.
Producer Harold Shedd felt that the song was too local. He felt like no one outside of Kentucky would connect with the song. He asked band member Richard Young if they would be willing to leave the song off the record. After much discussion, Young says that he convinced Shedd to keep it on the record. He said that Shedd was missing the point – that every place had their own “Dumas Walker’s and they can relate to that!” He was right. The song was a top 20 hit for the band in 1990.
Another thing that helped get the band recognition was CMT (Country Music Television), which was the country version of MTV. The early headhunter videos are a blast to watch. How could anyone possible turn off a video set in a bar with people playing marbles, the lead singer juggling bowling pins, and the drummer banging on his drum kit with no shirt and a coon skin cap on!? Incidentally, the video was nominated for the CMA video of the year in 1990.
Richard Young says that the group had a “magnetism that people just couldn’t resist” and compared it to watching the old Monkees TV show. He said, “People want to be entertained. If you can’t hold their eyes, they will wander.” Watch a few of their videos and you will certainly be entertained.
The third single from the album was another cover song. This time it was a cover of Don Gibson’s “Oh, Lonesome Me.” Gibson’s version is very typical 1960’s country. The Headhunters version kicks it up a notch with a driving beat and video that really fits the “Monkees” description above. This song peaked at number 8 and would be the band’s only Top 10 hit. The fourth and final single from the album was “Rock and Roll Angel,” which is mostly forgettable.
The band enjoyed great success in 1989/1990 because of their debut album. In 1990, they won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Vocal Duo or Group Award , The Country Music Associations Vocal Group of the Year, and the CMA Album of the Year. They also won a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group that year.
Sadly, their follow up album Electric Barnyard was a major disappointment. It was certified gold, but the singles released to radio didn’t get much airplay. Citing creative differences, Ricky Lee Phelps and Doug Phelps left the group in 1992 to form their own band, Brother Phelps.
The band has continued to tour with a variety of different members and their last album was released in 2021. They never really enjoyed much success after that debut album. That being said, I believe their fresh sound really paved the way for (and had a big influence on) some of the more recent country singers who have a more “rock” sound.
One thing I think is important to mention is that the Kentucky Headhunters hit the scene at a very unique time in country music. In 1989, this new group stood out during a time that also saw country music’s amazing “Class of ’89” hit the scene. They were in the thick of things at the same time that Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, and a dude by the name of Garth Brooks were getting their debut’s as well. The fact that they made waves amongst those guys is a testament to that first album.
It is hard to say what factored into the decline in popularity. Was it hard to get airplay with all of those other big names taking off? Was the music that followed just not good enough? Did the loss of the Phelps Brothers put the nail in the coffin for the band? Maybe it is a little bit of each of those things. The Kentucky Headhunters recorded 9 studio albums, but you really only need to get their debut, Pickin’ on Nashville. It is as good as it gets.
Welcome to another edition of the Friday Photo Flashback feature! This time around we go back to 1988 (and 1999).
In the past it has been fun for me to find a picture and examine the things in the background. The picture I have chosen really doesn’t allow me to do that, because there’s not really anything more than some of my favorite people.
In going through photos, I came across one from my graduation party and it made me smile and sad at the same time.
The photo above features from left to right: Papa Joe, my Uncle Tom, my dad, my grandpa, and Mr, Kanne.
What I love about this picture is the connection to another picture, which connects some friendships. Look at the photo below, which I may have posted on here in the past. It was taken at my first wedding in 1999:
I think it is extremely cool that the two photos are almost identical in that Papa Joe is on the left in the top picture and his son, Joe, is on the left in the bottom photo. Mr. Kanne is on the right in the top picture and his son, Steve, is on the right in the bottom picture. My dad is in the center in the top picture and I’m in the center (center-left) in the bottom picture.
(In the wedding photo: Joe, my brother Chris, Me, Steve, Jeff, and Steve)
Sadly, in the top picture, my grandpa, my uncle and Mr. Kanne have all passed away. My uncle and Mr. Kanne are buried in the same cemetery as my mom and are not that far from each other. I often stop at all three graves when I am there.
Collectively in those photos are 10 men who all played (and continue to play) important roles in my life.
On a humorous note, I can’t help but think that both photos look like a police line up …
“Oh boy. Here goes Keith talking about that Bluey show again. Isn’t that a kid show? Why does he watch that?”
I relate to it! There, I said it. There are so many things about this show that I can relate to! For example, in our house, Sam and I cannot use the bathroom without one or both of the kids being in there with us. Bandit, Bluey’s dad, deals with that …
All he wants to do is poop for crying out loud! Look at that poor dog!
Another example which hold true in our house – the short amount of time it takes to go from clean to disaster.
I swear this just happened to me yesterday! The kids have this bowl of fake fruit and veggies that they play with. They keep all of it in a plastic Tupperware bowl. I literally walked all over the loving room picking up fake cucumbers, broccoli, onions, apples, bananas, avocadoes, tomatoes and more! I put them all back in the bowl and put them in the door of the fake kitchen. I went and got a cup of coffee and returned to the living room to find all of the contents of the bowl on the floor again!
The kids had Disney on the other morning and they were playing the episode called “Dunny.” In Australia, where Bluey lives, “dunny” is a slang term for toilet. The episode takes place in the parents bedroom. The kids are hanging out in bed with their parents and discussing why “dunny” isn’t an appropriate word for toilet.
This episode led to me thinking back to my childhood and I remember many Saturday mornings getting up and going into my folks bedroom. Many times we’d crawl into bed and just goof off. I truly wish I had more photos of those times. I have a few. First, one of my favorite photos of my mom and I (forgive me if I have posted these before).
I remember going in and waking her up. She’d always snuggle us and read books we brought in there. Those Saturday mornings were always so much fun.
My dad used to get in bed with us and wrestle with us. Sometimes he’d pretend to be Moe from the Three Stooges. There would be a “bear” we had to hide from and we’d get under the covers and hide. Sometimes he’d say he’d go check to see if the bear was still there and we’d be under the covers and he’d growl and grab at us from the top of the covers. We had so much fun when he did that!
Just the other morning, Ella and Andrew woke up and it was them, Sam and me in our bed. It was just a lot of silliness and me wrestling or tickling them and hiding under the covers.
I’m not sure what it is about being under covers that is cool. We built a fort with blankets and such the other day and they loved it. Then I started sitting on the floor and covering myself in a blanket and they’d come over and get under the “tent” with me. Sam even got into the fun the other morning!
So yeah, I watch Bluey. I relate to it more than any cartoon or kid’s show before it. The more I see an episode, the more I find myself saying, “I need to do that” or “I’ve done that!”
If you have toddlers, you have to check it out. If you’re an adult, you should to. In my opinion, it is the best.
One final example? Sure. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone into the kid’s rooms after they fall asleep and just watch them. It’s not weird – only parents get it.
Hello, my friends. When I last blogged, we were gearing up for a big snow storm. While we didn’t get as much as they were saying, roads were still dangerous and as a bonus we got our white Christmas. I had to laugh at something I saw on Facebook, and had to share here. This pretty much sums up every winter storm forecast here in Michigan:
Snow was to move in on Thursday night and into Friday morning. Many patients called to cancel their appointments that night, so because of low volume, I got to stay home. It was nice to have extra family time. It is very rare to get that time.
I had already taken Friday off. Usually my boys will come over and spend the night and we do Christmas Eve morning as our “Christmas.” Because of the storm, we decided it was best to postpone things until the Monday after Christmas.
On Christmas Eve night, we usually go to Crossroads Village and do the drive through light display. It’s not too far from us and it is always a beautiful sight. On certain nights, you can board the train and see more lights, but the drive through is neat because you get to go through the little village. They pipe Christmas music through the speakers and every thing is just beautiful.
We got the kids dressed and ventured out. It didn’t take long to see just how bad the roads were. We hadn’t been out since the storm, but the roads were just awful. We take many back roads to get there and the wind was blowing across the fields and made the roads solid sheets of ice. It was actually pretty scary. I would have kept driving, but Sam told me to turn around and go back home. That’s what we did.
Earlier in the day we made cookies for Santa. Ella told Sam that Santa should drink milk from a “fancy” cup, so we put it in a wine glass. A few years ago, Sam’s sister Grace (who passed away earlier this year) made a Christmas plate. We have decided that as part of our Christmas tradition, Santa’s cookies would always be put on on that plate.
We placed the cookies on the plate and started to get things ready for the rest of the evening. We had to get the kids in their Christmas pajamas, they had to brush their teeth, and Santa had to get ready to build some stuff. After walking to the living room to gather up a few things, I walked back in the kitchen to see Andrew standing on Ella’s step stool – eating Santa’s cookies!!! Smart kid!
Once the kids were in bed, I went to work. I only had to put together a couple things, and I love being Santa. Ella got a Frozen Castle (she calls it the Elsa and Anna castle) and Andrew got a vacuum (he is all about the vacuum when we clean). They also each got a book from Santa and the rest of the gifts were from mom and dad.
It was nice to see the tree lit, with presents under it, and the baby gate out of the way!!
Honestly, I anticipated that Ella would be the first one up on Christmas morning, but instead, it was Andrew. We actually had to go in and wake Ella up. She seemed uninterested in getting up until we reminded her that it was Christmas and Santa had come.
Andrew loved his vacuum and played with it all morning. It was a hoot to see him “cleaning” the rug!
Ella loved her princess castle and when she got a princess dress, too, she had to put it on!
She was so into it and had all her princesses playing on the castle. I was lucky enough to capture this very cool picture of her playing –
I just love it! She had no idea I was taking this.
We were invited to Sam’s folks for Christmas dinner, which is always nice. My mother-in-law always puts out a big spread with ham, turkey, scalloped or potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and a ton of desserts. My nieces and nephew were there, so the kids all got to play together. It’s always kind of crazy with all of Sam’s siblings there, so I neglected to get any pictures.
Andrew gave us a memorable moment while we were there. Sam’s folks have one of those thin Christmas trees. Andrew, of course, is always curious. While my back was to him, he grabbed something on the tree (probably the string of lights) and started pulling. Naturally, the entire tree came crashing down on top of him!! When I turned around I couldn’t even see him! Thankfully, only one ornament broke. That boy is something else!!
I’m not sure when we left but it was later in the evening and Sam and I were talking about being a bit hungry. We decided to be like the Christmas Story family and we ordered some Chinese food and grabbed McDonald’s for the kids. As crazy as it sounds, we may need to do that every year because it was delicious.
On Monday, the boys came over in the morning. I made up some chocolate chip pancakes, sausage links, eggs, toast, and coffee for me. Ella and Andrew don’t see their big brothers often enough, but they seemed glad to see them.
My dad and Rose came over a bit later and I was glad that my dad got to see all his grandchildren. He brought Ella a Little People Barbie apartment, which is huge and now serves as a “neighbor” to Elsa and Anna’s castle. He brought Andrew some waffle blocks and a bowling set. The boys are older now, so the each got an envelope with cash, much like his mother (my grandma) used to give my brother and I.
As crazy as it was to get everyone together, I am so glad to have gotten this picture with my dad, Rose, and the kids.
As I stated in my Facebook post, it is never long enough when we get together, but I do treasure the time with them.
I am so glad to have had time with my wife, my children and my dad over the holidays. God willing, we will all be able to do it again next year.
It’s time for another edition of the Friday Photo Flashback. This one has a holiday theme to it. My best guess is that it was taken between 1972-1973. I make this guess based on the contents of the photo. Let’s Flashback to a Christmas morning ….
The above photo is of yours truly many moons ago. It is Christmas morning. The tree is out of the camera shot, but would be to my left, probably right in front of my mom.
As a kid, I don’t really remember unwrapping many presents. Usually, my dad played Santa and when my brother and I got up, the toys were already put together and in front of the tree. That may have been the case here as I don’t see a whole lot of wrapping paper.
Observations from the picture:
My mother is so young and beautiful in this picture. I don’t remember the robe she is wearing at all. If it wasn’t for this photo, I don’t know that I would have ever seen it before. I love that she is smiling while watching me.
I don’t recognize that couch at all! This would have been taken at the first house I remember. We lived there until the winter of 1976. I know that the tree would have been right in front of our living room window (again, just out of the camera shot).
I am obviously wearing two piece PJ’s, but only wearing the pants. That looks more like a regular T-shirt than a PJ top. It is possible, although I can’t really tell, that I am either wearing slippers OR those pants have footies on them. Hard to say.
The first thing I noticed when looking at the photo was that big boat next to me. It took me only one broad search of “Little People Boat” on Google for the toy to come up. According to Google, this would have come out in 1972.
I have blogged about Little People before, but not sure if I mentioned this set. I remember that flag so well. It was literally a plastic triangle on a long spring! I forgot about those crazy deck chairs and the life preservers. You can see one of those and the little blue boat on the floor in front of me.
To my left in the picture, was a favorite of mine – the Little People Airport.
The jet is to my right in the picture and the cars and such are scattered about. I remember that helicopter so well.
I wish I had one of those programs that brings out of focus pictures back in focus! From what I can read off the box behind me it says, “Push ‘Em Car.” I wasn’t sure if it said “cart” or “cars.” I did a search and what came up was a toybox. It is VERY possible that is what it is.
The one in the picture of me is not a Mickey Mouse one. Only two kinds came up in a search – the one above abd a generic one. The box behind me in the photo looks like it has monkeys on it. I wish I could make out what they are!
The last thing that I can make out was the book in the bottom right of the picture. I could barely make out “Zoo Keeper” so I typed that into a Google search. Imagine that, the book showed up! It’s called Zeke Zoo Keeper! I don’t remember it at all, but there it is!
I wish that I had more photos of the stuff we had under the tree. I guess without them, the proof is there that it really is never about the gifts you receive, but the experiences. Sure, I can remember some of the gifts I got for Christmas, but many of them are long forgotten. It is the memories with family that I will always remember.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 