Some stories you just can't tell.

by Heidi Horchler
Yesterday I was in the grocery store and a man came buzzing down my aisle in one of the store-provided electric scooter carts. He had a friendly face and I smiled a greeting at him. The cap he wore had insignia showing that he had served in the military. As he passed me and stopped to look at the greeting cards, I noticed the back of the cap read "WORLD WAR II."

Ever since we started this blog, I've been trying to break the ice with Seniors I meet, to see if they'd be interested in sharing a little slice of their lives with us.

"I see you're a veteran," I said.

"Oh, yeah," he replied, "WWII."

He told me he was 93 years old.

I said I'd bet he'd have a lot of stories to tell. 

He paused and nodded, "We were there on Omaha beach, not D-Day, but a couple days after. We couldn't be there on that day because we were a tank unit and needed more time to get on land."

"Wow," was all I could say. I don't think I've ever spoken to anyone who'd experienced that battle firsthand. 

"I lost a lot of good friends that day," he continued, "that's why I wear this hat," and he reached up, touching the brim of his cap.

At this, he started to get choked up. His eyes watered for a second, then he composed himself.

67 years ago, he lost friends in one of the most intense battles in our nation's history. And by the look on his face; remembers it like it was yesterday.

I wish I could have talked to him more, gotten his name, asked him about his kids or his wife or where he grew up. But I didn't have the heart.

At that moment, he wasn't in a grocery store, in a 93-year-old body, confined to an electric scooter. He wasn't looking at greeting cards and talking to a young lady in the magazine aisle.

He was on Omaha beach with his buddies. 

Thanks, Dad

by Heidi Horchler

My dad, 1976

Since Eileen and I started this blog, I've been bugging my parents to send me stories. My mom's parents were from Norwegian, Irish and German descent, and Dad comes from a very colorful and interesting Italian American family. My ancestors from both sides came from the Old Country, mostly in the 1800s and settled in the Midwest. My mom's side in Minnesota and North Dakota, and my Dad's side to Chicago. I know that one of my mother's grandmothers came here as an indentured servant (what must that have been like!) and one of my father's grandfathers came the long way - by steam ship,  around Cape Horn, South America, and all the way up to San Francisco. He was there for the great Earthquake of 1906, and later made his way across country by working on the railroad, baking bread for the workers. Such stories!


Last week, while talking to my dad, he mentioned that he had been working on something for the site. I was pretty excited, and couldn't wait to see what he came up with. When he sent it to me, I had to laugh. When asked to tell about stories from the old days, and a memory of his family, for a website by, for and about Senior Citizens, my dad chose to write about his kids; me and my brother John:


by Art Giovannoni

This is for my daughter, Heidi. I am a retired tool & die maker, and I live with my wife of 27 years in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Heidi has been after me to write an article for her latest blog. I want to relate to her readers a little bit of her and her brother’s earlier years.

A totally awesome picture of us, 1981

  I became a father in August of 1967. My eldest, John, is a son to be proud of. He is a musician, teacher, and partner in a thriving music store in northern Ilinois. Oh, but when he was a teen, the drums, the DRUMS! Then he put himself through college, earning a degree in music, wow! Yes, as you can surmise, I’m a proud father. He also loves the outdoors. We spent every summer vacation camping and fishing. Once he even caught a large-mouth bass that I had lost. I know this because my hook was still in the fish’s mouth!

 In 1969 on another August day, God saw fit to bless my former wife and I with a BEAUTIFUL child. Heidi. A name, by the way, I chose. She was always, and still is, full of energy! She has always loved the outdoors; camping, fishing and since her marriage, hunting. She has a passion for acting, writing and horses. She is an excellent cook, no - chef and a fine mother of two great boys. (This from a proud grandfather)

Well, Heidi, I hope this qualifies for your blog.

Love ya, Pook. Dad

Thanks, Dad