Cindy's Blog

I think this photo is from Christmas 1959, because I look to be around 2 years old. This photo was taken at the famous Grover Cronin’s Department store.  This was THE place to shop in Waltham, MA, back in the early to mid-1900s. “Cronin’s,” as we called it, had the REAL Santa Claus, who would fly in by helicopter, and he was the main event for the annual Christmas Parade on Moody Street.  Most kids who grew up in Waltham at that time had one of these photos.
Sadly, Cronin’s went out of business in 1989, mostly because of large shopping malls.  Ironically, the shopping malls are now going out of business.  Who would have thought? The sight of the old Grover Cronin’s is now condominiums.

December 7th, 1941, is a day that will live in infamy. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to visit Oahu this year. My great-uncle was there that day and witnessed the attack from Ford Island. His family still lives in Honolulu and invited us to visit.

Of course, the one question people ask when you visit Hawaii is, “Did you go to Pearl Harbor?” Yes, we did. Here is a photo of the USS Arizona Memorial, the most poignant symbol of the attack and the greatest loss of life.

Post about Pearl Harbor Day from December 7, 2021.

More photos from our trip to Hawaii.

The Bissells appeared in the November 2025 issue of the DDS newsletter.

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I’m a saver. I have a box of school “art” treasures that the kids made. I also have my old art folder from middle school. No one in the family has any artistic skills; autistic, yes; artistic, no. I finally decided it was time to clean out some of my collection, but before tossing, I made digital copies. I thought this watercolor would be great for Thanksgiving, a Cindy original from around 1970. Happy US Thanksgiving to those who celebrate, ENJOY!

Yesterday, November 25th, was my 68th birthday. I’m thankful to check off another birthday. Every day above ground is a good day, and yesterday was a good day. Aaron took me out to a movie, and we saw Nuremberg. Definitely not a celebratory or holiday movie, but it was very good. 2 ½ hours went by so fast, which I did not expect from a historical courtroom-type film. But it was much more than courtroom drama; it was a (mostly) accurate history lesson about the Nuremberg trials. I’m very interested in history, especially WWII, and Aaron was willing to go with me for my birthday. As it turned out, he liked it too. “Liked” is not the correct word; “educational” is probably better. The real holocaust footage is not for the faint of heart, but important to remember. There are many parallels between WWII Germany and the present day, and much can be learned from watching this film. A well-done movie and highly recommended.