Category: Braidwood

Braidwood home stories

What Are You Afraid Of?

Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.  Growing up in Braidwood, I had all the unfounded fears of childhood and then some. Why? Braidwood was a safe town of 1,200. Low crime rate, friendly neighbors, extended family of Kennedys, Ginters, and Klovers … Continue reading What Are You Afraid Of? →

Braidwood Guy Meets another Braidwood Guy…in Scranton?

“Free time, those wonderful spaces between scheduled activities when one may reflect, observe, or simply write a few thoughts, may be the best times to be alive. It’s like those precious moments between sleep and wake, the caress of floating over placid lake waters. When reality releases its grip, and dreams become reality.” TRK Leader … Continue reading Braidwood Guy Meets another Braidwood Guy…in Scranton? →

The Neanderthal from Braidwood

“Hey Thomas! You have more Neanderthal DNA than 77% of other customers.”23andme.com With this greeting, I opened my 23andme.com portal to see what this means.  I knew that the Neanderthals disappeared about 40,000 years ago but not before they made close friends with my modern homo sapiens who had migrated north from Africa. Neanderthal origins started somewhere … Continue reading The Neanderthal from Braidwood →

Illusions on Streets of My Hometown

My house on Walker Street. "Towns and neighborhoods have secrets and personal stories of people and places locked inside countless memories. People move from those places, but the places should never move from their memories." Tom Kennedy Twilight Time, to dream a while, In veils of deepening blue, As fantasy strides over colourful skies, Of forms … Continue reading Illusions on Streets of My Hometown →

Partnerships: Learning from Billy and Robert

Regis/Ataneo Partners Regis/Ana G Mendez Partners “Old Wilmington residents taught me about working together to accomplish a goal.”Tom Kennedy Like many of us, brothers Billy and Robert (pseudonyms for actual people) knew all about the struggle to make a life. I remember them from my early days in Braidwood and Wilmington because we would see … Continue reading Partnerships: Learning from Billy and Robert →

“I want you…to drive the bus.”

“Just have your husband take it home and you can try it. I know that you can do it, and the kids will need transportation.”Fr. Roger Kaffer, Providence High School Principal For eight years, the lady drove a school bus from South Kankakee St. in Wilmington to Providence High School in New Lenox, Illinois, a … Continue reading “I want you…to drive the bus.” →

“How much $$$ do you want for your baseball cards?”

From the age of 12, I collected baseball cards because I was a baseball fan. I did not collect and trade cards for any other reason. At age 80, my reason remains the same. My most poignant memory at that age involved a quick stop at Floyd Nielsen’s local drug store on Main Street on … Continue reading “How much $$$ do you want for your baseball cards?” →

A Family’s Defining Moment on a Sunday in 1971

“An Oak tree is a daily reminder that great things often have small beginnings.” Matshona Dhliwayo When the parents were away. the kids were angels. We wouldn’t go very far. We knew from experience that travelling with the kids would inevitably be interrupted by disputes and urgent toilet issues. At the minimum, four of the kids … Continue reading A Family’s Defining Moment on a Sunday in 1971 →