Armistice Day

“The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month”
When I was a young boy growing up in America’s Midwest back in the 1960s, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents who lived about a mile east of LaSalle, Illinois a town approximately 90 miles southwest of Chicago.
I was there first [...]

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Papa Sparks by the numbers

Days until I am with Aon, Jeremy Aaron and Bia:  50
 
Pages I’ve completed on my novel about Korea:  98
 
Kilometers I ran at the gym on the treadmill in one hour: 10
 
Kilograms I have lost since May 1st:  25
 
Slices of pizza I can eat while watching a “pizza movie” (a movie that goes well with an [...]

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For my Mother

For my Mother, Marlene Marie Miller who passed away on October 25, 2008
Mom, It’s been one year
since you’ve been gone;
and not a day has passed
when I haven’t thought
about you and missed you
more than one can imagine.
 
You brought me into this world
nurtured and protected me;
instilled in me what was right
kept me out of harms’ way;
you gave [...]

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Papa Sparks by the numbers

Papa Sparks by the numbers for Monday October 26, 2009:
56 more days until I am with Aon, Jeremy Aaron and Bia; 97 pages of my novel completed; 10 kilometers in 60 minutes on the treadmill today.

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Brotherly Love

There’s no other love like the love for a brother. There’s no other love like the love from a brother.
– Astrid Alauda
One day, when my wife Aon was pregnant with our son Jeremy Aaron, our oldest son Bia (pronounced Bee-ah) wanted to touch Aon’s belly. He was curious why she had gotten so big [...]

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100,000 Page Visits and Counting

Oh, do not ask, “What is it?” Let us go and make our visit.
When I visited my blog this afternoon, I was in for a pleasant surprise: I reached the 100,000 page visits milestone.
It’s nice to know that my blog has received as much attention as it has since I started keeping one a few [...]

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Happy One-Year Birthday Jeremy Aaron!

“If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the [...]

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Where Jeremy Aaron goes, laughter & giggles follow

Aon couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present: Jeremy Aaron decided to wait until her birthday to get his little legs a moving and spent the whole day, according to Aon, when I called her last night, walking everywhere.
While I was talking to Aon last night I could hear Jeremy Aaron laughing and giggling [...]

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Happy Birthday Aon

I can think of no better or greater present to give to the woman on her birthday, the woman who has turned my life around and given me two darling and adorable sons, than to offer my everlasting love and devotion, and to thank her for making my life beautiful and meaningful.
Ever since Aon came [...]

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Counting my blessings

Take a deep breath.
Okay, let it out slowly and look at the photo of Jeremy Aaron and Bia.
Think about how wonderful it is going to be when you are with the boys and Aon in only 108 more days. That’s right, 108 more days. Heck, you can do that standing on your head.
Yeah, today was [...]

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