Tag Archives: Family

Terror and Kindness on Interstate 5

Posted on May 2, 2012 by russtowne

It was the middle of the night on one of those long and lonely stretches of Interstate 5 between distant small farming communities. My mom and her girlfriend were taking me and 4 of their other children to Disneyland. All … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Generosity, LIfe Lessons, Making the World a Better Place, Praise, True Stories I've Written | Tagged 18-wheeler, 18-wheelers, big beast, blaring, blaring horns, brains, bucking wildly, careened, Caring, children, dazed, Disneyland, eighteen-wheelers, eightenn-wheeler, end-over-end, facing the wrong way, families, Family, fast-motion, flat tires, flats, flipped, freeway, glaring lights, gyrating, headlights, headlights coming at us, help, horns, Interestate 5, kids, kind, kindness, mechanic, mom, Mother, mothers, never-ending, nightmare, on-coming lights, on-coming trucks, oncoming traffic, shockwave, shop, siblings, spinning, straddling both lanes, SUV, terror, Travel-All, trembling nerves, truck, trucker, trucks, wrong way on the freeway, zig-zag, zig-zagging | Leave a comment

Rusty

Posted on May 1, 2012 by russtowne

When I was in the hospital recovering from lung surgery many years ago, a friend gave a teddy bear to me. He knew that I’d long outgrown such gifts, but seeing how miserable, drugged-up and helpless I was, he decided … Continue reading →

Posted in Friendship, Generosity, Grandparenting & Grandkids, Gratitude, Healing, Random Thoughts, True Stories I've Written | Tagged bear, child, children, comfort, comforted, Family, Friend, grandchild, hospital, ill, ilness, kindness, Love, lung surgery, Rin Tin Tin, Rusty, stuffed animal, teddy bear | Leave a comment

Making A New Ending and Taking Another Look at Our Beginning

Posted on April 29, 2012 by russtowne

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” –Maria Robinson I saw the above quote from an email from The Wendling Group. In one respect I agree with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Forgiveness, Generosity, Healing, LIfe Lessons, Optimism, Quotes I Love, Random Thoughts | Tagged abandoned, abandonment, abandonment issues, beginning, beginnings, biological father, ending, endings, Family, friends, Grief, guilt, loneliness, new beginning, new ending, pain, Relationships, siblings, suffering, The Wendling Group. Maria Robinson | 2 Comments

6-Year Old’s Lemonade Stand Raises $10K to Fight His Dad’s Cancer

Posted on April 17, 2012 by russtowne

Despite having cancer, Randy Cox is a lucky man, and I’ll bet he knows it. His six-year old son Drew Cox started a lemonade stand to help raise funds to fight his father’s cancer. What happened next was truly inspiring. … Continue reading →

Posted in Generosity, Inspiring, Making the World a Better Place, Vids & Stories That Touched Me | Tagged $10, 000, boy, cancer, cars lined up around the block, donations, Drew Cox, Family, inspiring, It's a Wonderful Life, kid, kindness, Lemonade stand, Life, long and healthy life, Love, neighbors, Randy Cox, six-year old, son, wonderful | Leave a comment

What The Living Can Learn From The Biggest Regrets of The Dying

Posted on April 9, 2012 by russtowne

The URL below is to a poignant and powerful article about the biggest regrets that are most often given by those who are at the end of their life. I believe that many readers will discover a surprise or two. … Continue reading →

Posted in Friendship, LIfe Lessons | Tagged Australia, children, decisions, dying, Family, Five biggest regrets of the dying, friends, friendships, kids, living, man, men, palliative care, palliative nurse, regret, regrets, woman, women, Work | 2 Comments

The Day Girls Saved Me

Posted on April 9, 2012 by russtowne

Many years ago I was in a high school Marine Corps JROTC program as the Vietnam War was coming to an end. It was not a real popular time to be in uniform. It was a turbulent time. One of … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Friendship, Gratitude, Inspiring, True Stories I've Written | Tagged athletic, boys, bullied, cadets, camera, cameras, Family, fight, Friend, friends, girls, girls saved me, high school, jeer, jeered, JROTC, lockers, loved, Marine, Marine Corps, Marine Corps JROTC, Marines, pounded, pounded into the ground, retired, student, student teacher, students, taunt, taunted, television, TV, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Woman Marines | Leave a comment

Grandkids Say The Darnedest Things

Posted on February 29, 2012 by russtowne

A friend shared these with me and I thought you might enjoy them too: 1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she’d done many times before. After she … Continue reading →

Posted in Grandparenting & Grandkids, Humor | Tagged age, aging, airport, babies, baby, cabin, child, childhood, color, colors, Dalmatrion, Dog, Family, fire, fire truck, fireflies, flashlights, funny, God, grandchild, Grandchildren, Grandkid, Grandkids, Grandma, Grandpa, Grandparents, Granparenting, humor, kids, learn, learning, Lipstick, logic, Love, Nostalgia, old, picked berries, pony, raspberries, story, teach, teaches, Tire Swing, vacation, visit, wisdom, wise, writing | 2 Comments

What I’m Most Proud Of and Grateful For

Posted on February 12, 2012 by russtowne

I’m proud of my friends, investing ability and results, my redwood grove and fern garden, some of my songs and stories, and my dog Duke whom I mentioned in a recent post, but by far I’m most proud of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bicycling, daughter, Family, father, ferns, garandpa, grandchild, Grandson, investing, Mother, outdoors, redwood, redwoods, son, song, stories | Leave a comment

Keeping Lists

Posted on February 5, 2012 by russtowne

Some lists make life better and some worse. I’ve found that grocery lists come in handy, but lists of a person’s transgressions, failings, imperfections, mistakes, etc, do not. I’m blessed to have a wife who knows that the latter type … Continue reading →