The day after his ex-wife disappeared in a kayaking accident, Mr. Frykenberg answered his door to find two grim-faced State Troopers.

His seven older siblings thought he was crazy. Heirs to one of America’s biggest fortunes in the 19th century, they lived in mansions in Manhattan and on lavish estates in Newport, Rhode Island. But little Georgie Vanderbilt, a bachelor devoted to his mother, spent his money buying up land in the wilds of western North Carolina and set out building a home where he and mama could breathe clean mountain air. Family members scoffed.

Every day whether I want to or not, I ask myself if I still have all my marbles. I had lots of them when I was young, but I kept them in a tiny little leather bag that I carried to school every day. Weather permitting, I would try to win someone else’s cat’s eye, boulder, shooter, biggie or aggie if I could.

Venice is a city built on water, which offers a strong relationship with its citizens in their natural element. So, one of the main activities for a Venetian in their leisure time is to be close to water. Most local people own a boat, either a rowing boat or a motor boat. When the good season comes, everybody takes out their boats.

Two elderly women were out driving in a large car — both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along, they came to major crossroad. The stop light was red, but they just went on through.

You take you were ever you go. If you haven’t left your past behind it can actually precede you and impede the quality of your life. If you are “playing” the same old record and repeating or reliving your past, you are sabotaging your future.

Impossibilities: 1) You can’t count your hair...

I am a native of planet Earth (by way of Chicago) and I was raised by parents who taught my siblings and me to always take time to count our blessings. The following ideals are things I picked up along the way and worth remembering.

Did you know that all of us have a pair of antennas? Yep, we do. They are invisible and they are located on the top, front of our heads just like ants. No one can actually see them, but we can feel them. And, they’re never wrong.

I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People get out of the way much faster now.