Family. Food. Football. To the typical American, those three words define the Thanksgiving holiday. But to me, at least in 2025, Thanksgiving weekend was defined by another F-Word, and that word was ‘Forty’. At 5:52am on Thursday November 27, 2025,…
Tag: Ronald Reagan
342: FROM DUTCH BOY SHOES TO HIS RAWHIDE BOOTS, REAGAN NEVER FORGOT HIS DIXON ROOTS
During the afternoon of Wednesday July 23, 2025, my companions and I had become completely enthralled with the childhood of Ronald Reagan. We had spent a little over an hour in Tampico, Illinois where we toured Reagan’s birthplace, and then…
341: BABY WHY DON’T WE GO, TO A PLACE CALLED TAMPICO – AND TOUR THE BIRTHPLACE OF RONALD REAGAN
There was nary a cloud in the sky when Tom’s alarm rang at 6:00am on Wednesday July 23, 2025. Although I was anxious to visit the Iowa State Capitol Building during our first stop of the day, I was even…
340: I SANG LIKE NUN OTHER AFTER SURVIVING A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE IN THREE STATES
There wasn’t a ton of excitement in our Holiday Inn Express hotel room when Tom’s alarm went off at 6:00am on Monday July 21, 2025. The reason for the lack of enthusiasm was because my photographer, his wife Vicki, and…
252: ‘CAUSE I LIVE AND BREATHE THIS PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM
The early afternoon of Monday June 12, 2023 was hot and humid when my photographer, Bob Moldenhauer, and I arrived in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since it was only 1:20pm, we had exactly two hours to kill before our tour of…
222: JUST PLANE FUN ON BLACK FRIDAY IN DAYTON
As soon as my photographer’s alarm went off at 6:00am in our Dayton, Ohio hotel room, I couldn’t wait to hit the road. It was Friday November 25, 2022; which was more than just Black Friday to me. That’s because…
170: A KINDER, GENTLER VISIT WITH BUSH 41
Tom’s phone alarm went off at 6:20am on Friday October 22, 2021. I watched as he sat up on the couch, looked out the window, saw it was still dark, and reset his alarm to 7:10am. All I could do…
150: R-E-S-P-E-C-T FOR ROSA AND ARETHA
I was standing on the kitchen shelf waiting for our short trip to Dearborn, Michigan to begin when I envisioned a certain blonde from the 1950s and 60s singing “Happy Birthday Mr. President”. But instead of Marilyn aiming her affection…
87: A DAY WITH NIXON WAS MISSION: POSSIBLE
After my photographer hopped out of bed at 7:00am on Monday August 6, 2018, he placed me into the camera case for a full day of Presidential sites. His wife, on the other hand, was dressed in beach attire and…
83: WIN ONE ON AIR FORCE ONE FOR THE GIPPER
When the alarm went off at 6:30am on Thursday August 2, 2018 in our Sands by the Sea motel room, I was anxious to hit the road. After all, it was ‘Ronald Reagan Day’ for my photographer and me. Not…