Category Archives: history

How The Poles Saved Christian Europe

Posted on January 15, 2019 by

It is September 10, 1683.; perhaps the pinnacle day of Ottoman power. The armies of Mehmet IV, which had been camped outside of the walls of Vienna for two months were preparing to storm and take the city.  The Habsburg … Continue reading →

Posted in history | 1 Comment

The Toritto Phone Book

Posted on January 6, 2019 by

. The white pages of Toritto, pulled from an Italian phone book in the mid 80s. I have often expressed  that I grew up in a village, surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  I wrote about it last year … Continue reading →

Posted in family, history | 3 Comments

On Christmas Traditions

Posted on December 20, 2018 by

Well Christmas will be upon us next week and most of us will participate in all of those Christmas “traditions” handed down to us by our parents as cultural imperatives.  Even if you don’t participate you know what they are. … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Mona Lisa Who?

Posted on December 15, 2018 by

Back in the mid-1990s while on one of several business trips to Paris (somebody’s got to do it!) I made a special effort to cross off one of the items on my bucket list. I went to see Mona Lisa.  … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

“It Was The Best of Times…..

Posted on December 10, 2018 by

it was the worst of times.” Thus the opening line of Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”  a historical novel set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

The Real King of England

Posted on December 3, 2018 by

Edward IV  – King of England In June of 2012 an Australian guy named Mike Hastings, a forklift operator living in the outback, passed away at age 71. Why was his passing noteworthy?  Why did his passing rate an article … Continue reading →

Posted in history | 6 Comments

Craiglockhart War Hospital – Voices Of The Great War

Posted on November 18, 2018 by

Fifty five years ago today I entered the Army.  I clearly remember my first night at Fort Dix in my bunk beginning to feel ill from the massive of doses of multiple vaccines I had received earlier in the day.  … Continue reading →

Posted in history | 4 Comments