Category Archives: Autobiography

What inventions have had the biggest impact on your day-to-day life? Butch I can think of 4 main inventions that have impacted me; television, telephones, transport, and computers. Television We got our first television when I was about 7 I … Continue reading →

Describe your experience with the derecho Butch On August 10, 2020, people in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, experienced a derecho. It is sometimes described as an inland hurricane and it progressed along an East/West line that extended right through the middle … Continue reading →

What has your retirement been like? Butch My retirement came a lot earlier than Karen’s. About the time we moved into our house on Bever Circle my major client, Omnilingua, decided to restructure their work process. That resulted in all … Continue reading →

How did becoming a parent change you? Butch When I found out that Karen was pregnant with Lance, my whole world utterly and irrevocably changed. My easy going, somewhat irresponsible, and fairly uncommitted life came to a screeching halt. To … Continue reading →

What was your Dad like when you were a child? Butch My dad died when I was only 25 years old. Up until we got married and Karen and I started our own family, my father functioned as a parent. … Continue reading →

What were the first years of your marriage like? Butch When Karen and I decided to get married I was working at a low paying sign painter’s job that wouldn’t support the two of us. Karen was in college. I … Continue reading →

What were your childhood Christmases like? Butch I remember my childhood Christmases quite fondly. They usually involved us kids getting up to open our presents, sitting around in our pajamas. Once we opened our presents we would play with them … Continue reading →

What was Christmas like when your kids were young? Butch Karen started one Christmas tradition early and it was one of my very favorites. Sometime in November or December she would start getting the kids to draw a picture for … Continue reading →

Flying in a helicopter Butch For a couple of years before I started working for the Department of Planning and Redevelopment at the City of Cedar Rapids in 1972, I had been developing a keen interest in photography. So shortly … Continue reading →