My parents wed in 1956 and they went the distance; 62 years, until Mom died this spring. This is the story of the wedding. It is 1955. My parents announce their engagement and party is held in the house my grandparents built during the war. They set the date for July 14th, 1956, which is … More My Parents Big Fat Catholic Wedding
It is Memorial Day weekend here in the United States, is the official start of summer. The holiday resembles little in the way of the British Remembrance Day, held there each November 11th. The English have no car sales to mark the event, no barbecues, no catching up on yard work. It is instead a … More War and Remembrance 2018
Suddenly the skies opened up this week and we had a taste of high summer. No better time to get out on the bike and find out how rusty the muscles became over winter. It is pretty bad but not irreparable. On the waterfront I encountered the art work that represented my body, the rusty … More The Rusting Seagull
Where the grass lands roll in stretches like an endless tossing sea, To the mountains white and hoary, over ranges wide and free, Where the country lies unbroken, and the soft prairie breezes blow, It is there my heart turns fondly and the siren bids me go. It is far from cares and worries … More The Call From the West
Each fall the wind blows through the wheat stubble of Eastern Washington, and the spouts of winter wheat bring on an emerald green to the fields that matches the hoods on the male Mallard duck. Waterfowl and upland game cross the fields and water ways and men of my family historically go hunting for them. … More Geese Mate for Life
It is 50 years ago. My sister and I sit on the Coca-Cola ice water chest in front of the Atlantic Richfield service station watching the cars emerge from the heat shimmers off the highway, then disappear into them again. It is about 100 degrees and really dry. Occasionally we have to get off … More Summers in Idaho
I have not committed any crimes, but I am doing life behind bars…. Handlebars. I am just back from my annual birthday ride and thought I would post this up, recorded earlier. This episode of Lawyers Road Review one of those moments where I open the mike and a bottle of beer and take up … More Pete Patterson Is Doing Life Behind Bars
Five years ago while visiting family there, we happened to take exit 82 off the Garden State Parkway and find ourselves in Seaside Heights, a beach resort on New Jersey’s central coast. As it turned out, this was just weeks before Hurricane Sandy devastated the island. This summer I packed my digital recorder and we … More Hurricane Sandy and the Resilience of New Jersey
I decided to drop my portable digital recorder into one of the Ford’s cup holders again and give a running commentary on my commute. Hey now, that’s entertaining; Pete Patterson drives to work; some fun, some serious events. One woman in an aging sedan honks at me as she speeds past. Her bumper sticker: “Co-exist.” … More The Pete Patterson Commute
Conflict is a constant. Here is a 20th century exhibit. At the end of the Munich Crisis in 1938, a last ditch effort to avoid the Second World War, after all the other concessions had been made in favor of Germany, Neville Chamberlain asked Adolf Hitler to sign a pledge not to go to war … More I have here, from Herr Hitler, a piece of paper.
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