On September 20, 1964, Mom and Dad were joined together in the bonds of holy matrimony. For many years, I’ve posted pictures of Mom and Dad shortly after they were married and two things always stand out about the photos, “Wow, your Mom was pretty!” and “I never saw your Dad without a beard before

I come from a long line of people who made a living by the sweat of their brows and the labor of their hands. Hands that could handle a plow or a crosscut saw, break an ornery mule or hold an infant baby.

Simple men who stood on the streets of small town America on Saturday afternoons while the wife bought supplies for the week and talked about the weather, the price of corn or the latest exploit of their prize coonhound or how this year's high school football team didn't quite come up to last year's