Joanna and I were married 45 years ago today . . . Missing her and celebrating her 
by Bill Jones

(Scroll down for links to my previous blog tributes to Joanna since her passing.) September 4, 1976, 3 p.m., University Baptist Church, Shawnee, Oklahoma. Joanna and I were married 45 years ago today. We couldn’t have imagined last year, when we ate out at Sushi Marquee to celebrate our 44th anniversary, that it would be Read more . . .

Six months after Joanna’s passing . . . remembering her humor and all that she meant to me 
by Bill Jones

(Scroll to the end for links to my previous blog tributes to Joanna since her passing.) For the past few months, our church’s parish nurse has been sending me a series of books about grief. The third in that series arrived today. In the letter accompanying it, she urged me to grieve at my own Read more . . .

100 years of baseball on radio . . . and I’ve been listening for 59 of them! 
by Bill Jones

On August 5, 1921 – 100 years ago today – Harold Arlin of Pittsburgh’s KDKA Radio took a box seat behind home plate in Forbes Field and became the first radio baseball broadcaster, EVER! He called play-by-play of the game between the Pirates and their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. To read The History Channel’s Read more . . .

Five months after Joanna’s passing . . . remembering the lively soul who brought us joy 
by Bill Jones

(Scroll down for links to my previous blog tributes to Joanna since her passing.) Friends who have lost their longtime spouses through death tell me it eventually gets easier . . . but only with the passage of time . . . years, in some cases. Daddy lived 10 years after Mother passed away. I Read more . . .

Sunday, July 4th . . . 17 years ago at Wilshire Baptist Church: “The Cross and the Flag” 
Sermon by George A. Mason, Senior Pastor, July 4, 2004 (audio)

EDITOR’S NOTE: George Mason preached this sermon on July 4, 2004, the first time Joanna and I visited Wilshire Baptist Church (we soon became members). Our previous church had given itself over completely to nationalistic fervor on patriotic holidays – America first, Jesus . . . we’ll get back to you next week. George’s sermon Read more . . .

60 years ago today: in 4th grade, watching Alan Shepard become the first American in space 
by Bill Jones

I remember it well – pretty well, anyway. I was in 4th grade. As I arrived at Spring Valley Elementary School that morning (Dallas, TX, but in the Richardson School District), May 5, 1961, I joined the throng of students on the covered walkway just outside the school, huddled around a small black-and-white TV, watching Read more . . .

Joanna spoke out against demeaning racial slurs and the fears they caused her as an Asian-American 
by Bill Jones

(Scroll to the end for links to my previous blog tributes to Joanna since her passing.) The love of my life, Joanna, passed away on Feb. 14 of complications following her kidney transplant surgery on Jan. 31. We were married 44-1/2 years, raised two wonderful children together, and celebrated the lives of four beautiful grandchildren Read more . . .

The painful journey that took the love of my life, Joanna . . . to the great heavenly banquet 
by Bill Jones

Let me begin this post with an apology. I know none of you expects brevity from me, but this post is going to be exceptionally lengthy – even for me! So please forgive me. I hope you can make it through it all in one sitting. If not, take a break, and come back for Read more . . .