Two days after his fifth birthday I told Vern that Santa Claus is real. That was the end of December in the finished rec-room basement of his Minneapolis home where he likes to assemble the dinosaur, Spiderman and Batman Lego kits, following the directions, one bag at a time. Me, of all people, just told him that Santa Claus is real.  He took me by surprise, but what is this? He took me by surprise. “Grandpa,” he said, “Is Santa Clause real?” With no time to think, I only fel

Sid: Do people die having sex? Judy: Absolutely. Sid: Good way to go. Judy: Not for everybody. Sid: Oh. Yeah.

Local history creative non-fiction memoir When Once Destroyed (spring 2025) is written as a letter to my grandson, who like my father is...