An Irish Viking

An Irish Viking

Mother almost threw me out of the house when I told her the name Fitzsimons wasn’t Irish after all. My mother, Laura Annette Fitzsimons, was proud of her Irish heritage. She’d sing “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby)” even when there wasn’t a baby to...
Mother’s First Game

Mother’s First Game

I’d played more than a hundred football, basketball, and baseball games between seventh grade and high school graduation, but my mother had never seen me play. Not until the night we played Livingston a second time, this time on our home floor. I was excited, knowing...
A Mailman in Time

A Mailman in Time

Lifelong events sometimes hinge on fortuitous circumstances. I’d just pulled away from the curb, beginning my drive to the airport, when the mailman waved me down and handed me a letter—a letter that would change my life forever. I was preparing to fly to St. Paul,...