I remember an abandoned house somewhere near our farmhouse where I found an old Jeff City phone book from the 1950's (this was in the 1980's after we'd moved to town). 

I remember going to eat at a lunch counter downtown with a girlfriend, and after I ordered a sandwich and coke, she brought out a sandwich she had brought from home. (The waitress pointed out to her that she could not do that in the future.)

I remember an excavator digging a hole that became a pond between our farmhouse and Gertie's place.

I remember when seat belts were not required and I would extend my right arm whenever I braked to keep the child sitting next to me from being thrown forward.

I remember Mom going to back to the grocery store to pay for the one cent piece of gum I stole when we lived on the farm.

I remember the enclosed stairway on east 25th Street leading from the backdoor of the den to the sidewalk: dark and scary!

I remember Dad saying he wanted to build a chicken coop just north of our yard when we lived on the farm.

I remember keeping my 45rpm records in a metal gray box with a red lid.

I remember inviting David Underwood to my birthday party in 4th grade but he declined, saying the other boys would tease him and call him David Underwear.

I remember being able to jump a double-rope in grade school.

I remember Chris's friend who not only had the magnificent name Fangie (rhymes with Angie) but was also descended from Fangies, making him Fangie Jones III.

I remember buying a beautiful white, brocade dress with a jacket when I was in high school.

I remember Mom teaching me to crochet and I enjoyed making really long (and totally useless) single rows.

I remember listening to Doris Day singing "Que Sera, Sera" on my mother's old phonograph.

I remember Dad teaching me to drive on the gravel roads near where we owned some land northwest of Jeff City.

I remember when I had to cut up whole chickens before frying them because individual pieces of chicken were not sold in the stores.

I remember climbing the tree that used to be in Grandma and Grandpa's front yard.

I remember when I had a high fever in 1972 and saw spiders crawling all over the ceiling in my hallucinations.

I remember buying a bologna sandwich and bottle of soda for lunch when we picked blackberries or beans for the Bairds and we had a choice of mustard or mayo.

I remember when I used to drive Henry to school he'd let me know the exact minute he wanted to leave, and we'd often end up sitting in the driveway waiting for that minute to arrive.

I remembering buying a bologna sandwich and a chocolate malt for lunch many days in high school.

I remember an autumn afternoon in 2005 when Sophie and I played in the backyard leaves and I took a photo of her that now hangs in Danielle's living room.

I remember playing 'pick-up sticks" as a child.

I remember working at my twentieth (and current) job at Atlantis Valley for nearly a year before seeing anyone without a mask on.

I remember my dad watching boxing matches on television on Saturday nights.

I remember my nineteenth job was at Capital Coffee from April 10, 2006 through June 22, 2020.

I remember periodically re-arranging my mother's Tupperware cabinet because she didn't put the items in neatly.

I remember my eighteenth job was doing deliveries for a small dry cleaning place near Woodmans West.

I remember my mother fixed creamed spinach every time my Grandpa Larwig came to dinner because it was one of his favorite dishes.

I remember my seventeenth job was briefly working somewhere off Yellowstone Dr. where all I did was try to track down packages online.

I remember when wearing seat belts in the car was not required, and children of all ages sat anywhere they wanted.

I remember my sixteenth job was cleaning newly-constructed buildings part-time at Epic in Verona in preparation for the migration from Madison.

I remember one summer when Idelle had asked me to help her drive to Watertown to visit Benny that the car broke down on the way back, and she went and bought a new car and drove it right off the lot that day.

I remember my fifteenth job was working part-time for Curtis again when I moved back to Madison and was looking for other work, and I continued to pick up a few hours a week from him for several years.

I remember taking Sophie and Henry for a drive one summer afternoon and getting lost in a maze of street repairs.

I remember my fourteenth job was driving around the Twin Cities photocopying medical records for a paralegal company where my friend Lester worked.

I remember my Aunt Liz (whom we called "Elsie" when I was growing up) spent some time in a mental hospital when I was little.

I remember my thirteenth job was shoving old-timey tape cartridges into old-timey tape drives at night part-time for the Wisconsin Department of Administration on Wilson St.

I remember the names of all my elementary school teachers: Mrs. Delaney (I was in kindergarten only one day), Miss Kays, Mrs. McKinney, Mrs. Nance, Miss Crowley (She was a first-year teacher), Mrs. Robertson (She taught Dale Robertson when he was in grade school.), Mrs. Luster.

I remember my twelfth job was a part-time cleaning position in Middleton that led to six years of full-time cleaning at night, mostly in the Science Drive vicinity for a guy named Curtis who I met through my original employers Steen and Dee.

I remember my parents played pinochle once a month for several years with numerous other couples.

I remember my eleventh job was at a call center doing collections where I was the only one who didn't speak Spanish.  (See my 11/9/23 post for an epilogue...)

I remember working on the switchboard in the high school office after classes my junior or senior year.

I remember my tenth job was briefly working at a mail sorting facility when I first moved to Madison, up until they asked me to work on a Saturday.

I remember swimming in the river at Camp Lutherhoma in the summer of 1958 or 1959.

I remember my ninth job was when Century Companies hired me full-time after I graduated from college.

I remember when Henry told me how he lost his first tooth.

I remember my eighth job was an internship at Century Companies doing computer programming in COBOL, part-time during the school year and full-time the summer of 1991.

I remember eating fried calamari with friends at Madison's Cafe in Jefferson City.

I remember my seventh job was at the Missouri Highway Dept. processing rock samples in the summer of 1990.

I remember in high school I had a hair dryer that had a plastic cap that fit over the top of my head.

I remember my sixth job was in the Wartburg computer lab, helping fellow students navigate IBM PC's and Macintosh II's.

I remember Marianna Keown at Our Savior's Lutheran Church always called Dan Paul - John Paul.

I remember my fifth job was working for the Missouri Highway Dept. testing asphalt in the summer of 1989.

I remember my mother always wore an apron when she worked in the kitchen.

I remember my fourth job was working in the Wartburg cafeteria.

I remember my dad in a white undershirt and khaki pants mowing the lawn with a push lawnmower.

I remember my third job was working for the school system's maintenance department during the summer of 1987.

I remember precariously navigating the stairs on crutches in high school after one of my surgeries.

I remember my second job was delivering newspapers by car with Chris on Jeff City's south side.

I remember most of my Intemann aunts and uncles smoked cigarettes at every family gathering -- all but Harvey and Shirley.

I remember my first job was delivering newspapers on foot on Jeff City's east side.

I remember making New Year's resolutions every year until I was in my 60s.