Catsongs: Music And Cats, Memories And Love

by Kevin Burton    Had I had the mind to write this while she was still alive, my late sister Pat would have loved this series.     It has been more than five months since she died, and reading that “late sister Pat” line above is still jarring and surreal. This is visceral.    Nothing …

Comfort Food: Filling Your Stomach And Heart

by Kevin Burton    You think about going home during Christmas season and you think of packed airports and busy highways.    But what if you could gain all the comforts of your childhood home via your own kitchen?    Well you can!    What many call comfort foods open a portal directly to that …

Emerging From The Dusty Old Kev Museum?

by Kevin Burton    There is a count-your-blessings exercise I do now and then that usually brings me good cheer.    I sit in a chair and keep my head still, but using my straight-ahead and peripheral vision, take in everything I can see.    I then consider where it all came from and remembers …

Two Threats Looming For Christmas Tree

by Kevin Burton’    O Christmas tree O Christmas tree, I’ve got your back O Christmas tree!    Is this me re-writing a classic Christmas song?  No it’s not. Hear me out.    Thanksgiving (the holiday, not the action) is over.  It is now cool to play the Christmas music and put up that Christmas …

“Backward And Forward” And My Memories

by Kevin Burton     I guess there’s a reason why melody and memory aren’t far apart in the dictionary. They go together like peas and porridge.     And, for those who think there is something pejorative in the term “one-hit wonder,” well what about all those no-hit nobodies?    We’re all doing our best then, …

Christmas Tree Is A Loving Family History

by Kevin Burton    By one measure it has been Christmas season for weeks now, but by another it hasn’t started yet.    I used to say it isn’t Christmas season until I have broken one of the glass Christmas tree ornaments.   At least twice before we were married, I came to Jeannette’s house to …

That Warehouse Look Annoys My Wife

by Kevin Burton    This is going to be harder than I thought, maybe much harder. Home sweet home is getting a makeover.    I have written about my mother’s move to an assisted living facility last summer and the chaos of organizing her new place and fitting new furniture and other things into our …

Win Some, Lose Some, Split The Rest

by Kevin Burton    Memories aren’t what they used to be, but I’m good with it.    For some reason one of the headlines on a story in Sports Illustrated has stayed with me down through the years. I used it above: “Win Some, Lose Some, Split The Rest.”    My memory said that headline …

Christmas Shopping In January! You Bet!

by Kevin Burton    Did a little Christmas shopping today me and the wife. We were in the moment.    The moment had been delayed at least three weeks, but it was still a moment. Let’s call it a moment out of place.    We didn’t get 100 percent of the things done that we …

Christmas Music Makes The Season Bright

by Kevin Burton    I have a friend who hates Christmas music. I just giggle every time I think about that.    If you knew this friend, actually a former manager of mine, she is so upbeat and positive about everything.  If you woke up determined to be downcast you’d want to steer clear of …