Memories of a Great Teacher I recently lost two of my favorite people in the whole world: Aunt Margaret, who passed away a few weeks shy of her 91st birthday; and Aunt Rose, a few months before her 97th. They were at the top of my list for a lot of reasons, but one of […]
What Her Eyes Have Seen I lost My aunt rose a few weeks ago. Yes, that’s a sad thing, but the saddest thing was that she wasn’t just a dear aunt and wonderful person. What I lost was my own personal time machine, a magic mirror into the past. Aunt Rose was born in 1916. […]
What Are You Afraid Of? I was reading a thriller book a while back and there were a few scenes dealing with snakes that made my skin crawl. No, not in the creepy crawly way you’re thinking of, but in shock that a writer would put such nonsense in a book. All it would have […]
I’ve been on a kick lately to get to the bottom of sayings. After last week’s column I thought I’d tackle a couple of tougher ones. Let’s start with one close to my heart: See Naples and Die. Vedi Napoli e poi Muori “See Naples and die.“ It was a phrase coined during the reign […]
Another Day in Paradise I was working at my computer, doing what writers are supposed to do, when the phone rang. Caller ID showed it was from my daughter-in-law. I grabbed the phone, a little panicked, wondering why she’d be calling during the day while she was teaching. “Someone stole Joey’s phone,” she said. “What? […]
Here’s the scenario—you’re stuck on a desert island and you get to pick one person to be with you, so the question is… Who Would You Pick? Who Would I Want to be Stuck on a Desert Island With? After much consideration, I select—my wife. Your wife! Yes, my wife. I know what you guys […]
Why I Quit Drinking Coffee I love coffee. I like coffee even more than wine. So imagine my distress when several of my doctors ganged up on me and warned me off of coffee, or at least the vast amount that I consume. I used to drink about 1/5–1/4 of a pound per day, which […]
Shit Happens I know this seems like an odd topic for a blog post, but it’s one worth discussing. “Stepping in shit” has many meanings, like getting in trouble, or finding yourself in a bad situation. But it also means the literal definition—the real McCoy, the stinky stuff. SHIT! As you go through life you’ll […]
The Wisdom of Parents There are a lot of things we never thank our parents for. I’m not talking about the money it took to raise us, or the time we took from their lives, or even the love they gave, or the sacrifices they made. I’m talking about the wisdom they imparted. In particular, […]
Stereotypical Characters I was reading a book the other night and the author—in order to elicit sympathy for the hero—painted the mother-in-law as an extremely annoying…bitch. No other way to say it. It got me thinking about mother-in-laws and how they always seem to draw the short straw. You can’t argue it. Mothers-in-law get a […]
