By Brad Dison As a teenager, George spent most of his free time cruising the streets of Modesto, California.  He owned a Autobianchi Bianchina, an Italian minicar based on the Fiat 500.  The car sported a convertible top, roll bar, and was surprisingly peppy for its size.  George liked driving fast.  For most of George’s … Continue reading A Change of Direction

By Brad Dison Ronald Hughes was a novice California attorney whose first trial was approaching quickly.  He was defending a woman named Leslie Van Houten in a multiple murder trial.  Three other defendants had their own attorneys.  Ronald needed a good suit for the trial.  In May of 1970, Hollywood movie studio MGM decided to … Continue reading The Hippie Lawyer

By Brad Dison It was 1957 in Long Beach, New York.  Billy’s father had finally decided to trade in their old 1948 Chevrolet for a new car.  Although it was the only car Billy could remember the family owning, he was glad to see it go.  Billy described their old car as a “big, black, … Continue reading A Car Named Nellie

By Brad Dison The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance car race held each June in the town of Le Mans, France.  The purpose of the race is for car manufacturers to focus on manufacturing sporty cars which are also reliable.  The winner in this race is not the driver who crosses the … Continue reading Not Bad for a Rookie

By Brad Dison Robert LeRoy Parker was a “medium short, stocky build, with blue eyes and an infectious smile.  His sense of humor was highly developed; he made friends easily, was highly dependable when he chose, and was loyal to his friends.”  He could “outrope, outride, and outshoot any man on the range.  He drank … Continue reading Horsing Around

By Brad Dison For months, Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, had been on the cusp of death.  Several times his skillful doctor had “snatched [him] from the very jaws of death by the timely and skillful application of medicinal remedies.”  But on that Sunday evening, the doctor’s skill was exhausted.  “The … Continue reading Funeral for the President

By Brad Dison The residents of Washington Township’s Fourth Precinct in Ames, Iowa were unenthused about the upcoming 1972 presidential election.  The Democratic Party’s nominee was Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against the incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon.  The residents of the Fourth Precinct cared nothing for the campaign promises of either … Continue reading The Residents of the Fourth Precinct

By Brad Dison Since the earliest humans roamed the Earth, theft has been a problem.  I imagine one caveman being envious of another caveman’s club and taking it when the opportunity presented itself.      Over the millennia, humans developed rules which eventually became enforceable laws to stave off thievery.  In some cases, the penalty for theft … Continue reading Crime and Punishment

By Brad Dison In February 1914, May Pierstorff’s parents prepared for their five-year-old daughter, May, to visit her grandmother.  May and her parents lived in Lewiston, Idaho.  May’s grandmother lived about 70 miles away in Grangeville, Idaho.  In the 1910s, automobiles had not yet become the predominant form of transportation in Idaho.  Most people traveled … Continue reading A Loopy Loophole

By Brad Dison It was 1945, the last year of World War II.  The USS LSM-51, a medium sized amphibious landing ship of the Navy’s LSM class, was stationed at San Pedro Bay, Leyte.  This 203 ½ foot ship was built to haul a maximum of five medium tanks, three heavy tanks, six amphibious landing … Continue reading Ship Shape

By Brad Dison John Joseph was born in Neptune City, New Jersey on April 22, 1937.  He was raised by his parents, Ethel May and John, and sisters June and Lorraine.  June was 18 years his senior, and Lorraine was 15 years his senior.  June aspired to become a famous entertainer.  In the 1930s, June … Continue reading The Chinatown Revelation

By Brad Dison During World War I, teenager Adolf Dassler became adept at repairing shoes in his parents’ home in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Adolf was his given name, but family and friends called him Adi. He scavenged the war-torn countryside for his supplies, and got his much-needed leather from belts, holsters, and worn-out shoes. He took … Continue reading A Family Feud

By Brad Dison Two American tourists took a much-needed vacation in England and Scotland.  They had visited the usual tourist attractions in London such as Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, the British Museum, and the Great Clock of Westminster, which is commonly referred to as Big Ben.  They traveled to several cities in Scotland and … Continue reading A Fly on the Wall

By Brad Dison Millions of meteors and other space debris enter the Earth’s atmosphere daily.  Most of them are small and burn up before reaching the ground.  The ones that enter the atmosphere in the daylight hours usually go unnoticed.  Meteors which enter the atmosphere at night are more visible and are commonly called falling … Continue reading A Star Fell on Alabama

By Brad Dison The coming of a new year brings hope for us all.  It is a chance to wipe the slate clean and start anew.  Many of us will set goals which we could never achieve, but we must believe that we can achieve anything.  We much believe in ourselves.  No matter what happens … Continue reading A Father’s Advice

By Brad Dison In 1910, Pietro and Lucia and their six children emigrated from a small town in Italy to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania where Pietro earned meager wages as a mill hand.  Two years after their arrival, they added their seventh child, Ronald, to their ever-growing family which eventually totaled thirteen children.  Ronald was the seventh … Continue reading The Best Barber of Canonsburg

By Brad Dison In 922, Duke Borivoy, leader of Bohemia, died in battle.  Duke Borivoy had twin sons, the eldest of which inherited his title of duke.  The young duke was just 15 years old.  He and his younger twin brother had largely been raised by their grandmother, Ludmilla, a devoted Christian who taught them … Continue reading The Duke of Bohemia

By Brad Dison 1939 was a hard year for Bob May, his wife Evelyn, and their four-year-old daughter Barbara. For the past two years, Evelyn had been fighting a losing battle with cancer and was now bedridden. Bob’s ambition had been to be a novelist, but, so far, his talents had only gotten him as … Continue reading An Ugly Duckling

By Brad Dison At about 7:00 p.m., on Sunday evening, December 18, 1921, Harry, who was the secretary to the Tulsa, Oklahoma Police Commissioner and purchasing agent for the police and fire departments, drove his car to the home of Ike Wilkerson, a police detective who lived just a few blocks away. The pair planned to … Continue reading Rabbit Hunt Gone Wrong

By Brad Dison On Friday night, October 14, 1955, Lubbock, Texas would have been the place to be. Rock and Roll was in its infancy, and Bill Haley & the Comets were there at the very beginning. Bill Haley and his band were a hot commodity in the music industry after they released a song … Continue reading ONE NIGHT WITH BILLY HALEY & THE COMETS

By Brad Dison It almost seems like the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag has been around forever. I would wager that from an early age most of us stood at attention, placed our right hand over our heart while facing the American flag in class, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. For most … Continue reading A Pledge of Allegiance

By Brad Dison Jeannette Rankin was an exceptional woman. She was born and raised in the wilderness near Missoula in what was then the Montana Territory. Jeannette was a good student. Her mother, Olive Pickering, had moved from New Hampshire to the Montana Territory to teach before she met and married John Rankin, a prosperous … Continue reading A Seat in History

By Brad Dison On June 29, 1994, a 45-year-old pilot took over the controls of a BAe 146 jet airliner as he often did from the senior pilot, Flight Captain Graham Laurie. The pilot had been flying for about 30 years. In the mid-1960s, he began taking private pilot lessons and earned his pilot’s license. … Continue reading A Narrow Escape