Back when I was a boy, before there was a Wal-Mart or Amazon, our family went Christmas shopping the old-fashioned way. Once every year, the basement of the local hardware store transformed into a magical toy chest where me and my sisters would Oh and Ah over the toys that now graced the metal shelves of the Hugh Saum’s Store.
Continue reading Toys in the Basement
Back before the days of OSHA, on a 32-foot extension ladder far, far away, a young man took his first steps up the ladder for a short career as a house painter.
I was in-between jobs, to the point of being desperate for gas money. Not Mad Max desperate, but pretty close. A friend told me of a friend who had his own little painting business and that he was looking for some temporary help during the summertime. Continue reading House Painter for Hire
I was sitting at a bar one afternoon, hanging out with the regulars, just sipping on a beer and shooting the breeze. I hadn’t been born or raised in the area, but had morphed into a bar fly through osmosis, averaging four or five visits a week, and talking a good game while possessing the ability to drink to an unhealthy level while still working a job for 60 hours a week. That made you normal, just one of the guys. Continue reading Self Medication
How can a child look at little black ants crawling up and down the bark of a tree and become so fascinated?
There was a Man and a Woman. And there were ex-wives and ex-husbands. And there were friends and family giving the Man and Woman their advice on how the world should be. There were work conflicts and roommates with different points of view and there were bills to be paid.
And in the middle of it all was a Little Girl. Continue reading The Innocence of Children
If you were professionally moved to or from Woodstock, Virginia at any point during your lifetime, chances are very good that you know the name R.J. Lambert (my Grandfather). In February 2008, Aunt Dot compiled the following 20-page document which shares a brief history of the family business, along with memories from family members, some old photos, even business receipts from the 1920’s and 30’s. Enjoy!
History of Lambert Transfer Co. and R.J. Lambert Moving and Storage
My new book “This Book’s Not Perfect, But Neither Are We”..Now on Amazon
You know that “Christmas morning feeling” that you got as a kid, on a Tuesday afternoon in July when a package arrived from your Aunt, postmarked with something about Bangkok and something about the U.S. Army. Well, probably not. But I do. Continue reading Happy Birthday Aunt B
