It's one of those years when our anniversary falls on Labor Day making for an odd mix of emotions.

It's not a biggie this year, #36, and we're not doing anything special after splurging on a giclée on canvas of Robert Bateman's "Defensive Stand" last year.

Mostly I'll be thinking of my grandparents today and the rest of their generation of Donovans and Hapgoods, remembering my grandmother telling me how she would send my grandfather off in the morning not knowing if he'd be home for dinner or in jail and how the deed to the Donovan farm in North Brookfield, Massachusetts used to be put up as bail on a regular basis. It's amazing how that kind of passion and courage can die out in a couple of generations.