A few years ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.  I had been having a few strange but mild symptoms like- I was unable to make my handwriting "flow" and it was getting smaller and smaller.  My right leg and arm were q little stiff and unstable.  I didn't have a tremor; (I still don't).  I went to see two Parkinson's specialists (neurologists) and over the course of the next few years of treatment, my symptoms were annoying at worst.  Then suddenly one summer I b...

There is no other way to describe Ginger the Red Setter. She was a Birdbrain. In every sense of the word. One of the most beautiful dogs we ever had, deep red and feathery, the kind of shiny coat that catches the sun and radiates it back. But not a house dog. Our mistake. She was sweet, and she was great with the kids. But she was a chewer. Shoes (some of MamaCharlie's favorite Italian heels !!), wires, and telephones. The Bundespost (the Postal System in Germany runs all the telephones) h...

This is an article I wrote and posted on BFDs site last year.  Now that I have my own site, I think it should be here. Thinking Things Through August 27, 2007               This is an article written by MamaCharlie: Often lately I hear the statement, "Your child doesn't need you to be his friend, he needs you to be his parent." I assume that I am supposed to agree unquestioningly, thinking, "Of course!" But I don't. ...

A few years ago, about the time the current conflict was picking up speed, I was watching the political pundits on TV one Sunday morning, when the subject of the military came up, specifically the death toll in Afghanistan and Iraq. A female newsperson, whose name I will not mention, suddenly became agitated and a bit uneasy and said, "Well, they (meaning the military) knew what they were getting into when they signed up." I lost all respect for her right there. Her credibility was shot. "Th...

There are a lot of things that people say when certain subjects come up that everyone is supposed to agree with automatically, as though they were saying, "Sugar is sweet" or "the sky is usually blue". The trouble is lots of generally accepted statements just aren't true. A while back I wrote an article on parenting that falls into this category. Now I think it is time to discuss marriage. The statement is, "A good marriage is a lot of work" which you hear all the time but is nonsense. Well....