Ok, people in the north and midwest, the photo above shows a wonderful natural phenom known as the sun. Yeah, yeah, I know we don't see it much up here, not in recent seasons anyway, but this shot proves the sun is still there. In this picture it's setting on the Gulf of Mexico. Tomorrow may it rise on the frigid northlands and light up our grey skies.

Yes, it's yet another dreary early-spring day in Ohio. . . Folks around here are comparing their sinus probs and wishing for bright warm days! I just had to counteract our mid-March gloom by posting another cheery Florida photo from our recent sojourn down south.

Daughter Stephanie and I have been cooking up plans for Easter Sunday. It will be at her home.

Our holiday celebration will include four generations. Of those people, between our side of the family and Stephanie's husband's side, we have a grand total of 4 family members in the

85-and-over demographic. On the other end of the spectrum our grandchildren are 15 to 22 yrs old. With Stephanie and hubby on the brink of middle-age, that leaves Grandpa and me, plus our co-grandparents (our son-in-law's parents) as the "younger" oldies, all of us in our 60s now.

Our family members, therefore, have been born all the way from 1919 until 1993. Our birthdays scatter across more than 7 decades of American history, and it looks like we will have representatives in this society for many decades to come. Have you ever tallied your own families' investments in time and place? Imagine all the good things our ancestors and even ourselves have contributed toward life in these United States!

It's so good to have traditions, and the very best one of them is. . . family!