Tag Archives: family

Elbows Off The Table

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Silver in the Barn

  “If your mother serves fried combat boot, you kids will eat it.” Thus ended any potential debate on the edibility factor of canned beets and succinctly describes the negotiation-free tone of my childhood. We were five kids who held … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , , | 37 Comments

For Better or Worse…

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Silver in the Barn

His books, his booze, his Brooks Brothers shirts are all at home, but he is not. In their eighties, my once inseparable parents have been wrenched apart, physically anyway, by the disabling symptoms of Parkinson’s. Dad is in a veterans’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Ruminations, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 86 Comments

War Stories: The Painting

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

I grew up listening to war stories told by my father, US Army Signal Corps, and my mother, a German child of WWII. This is the third in the series. The others are here and here. And maybe even here, now that … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , , , , | 157 Comments

My Phantom Son-in-Law

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

Most days I manage to hold him at bay, that son-in-law I once imagined I’d have. It’s pointless to indulge in thoughts of what might have been if life had gone as planned. But sometimes, when I least expect it, he kicks down … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , | 137 Comments

What’s in a (First) Name?

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Silver in the Barn

I’ve been going through old photo albums and, as a result, thinking about family and family names. When I was a little girl, I used to imagine what I would name a future daughter. For a long time my choice was Elizabeth, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , , , | 38 Comments