Category: Life
From my earliest years I can remember my parents’ beautiful dancing. It didn’t happen often, but at the occasional wedding or banquet where “their music” was available, boy could Robert and Esther Rayner cut the rug. It was beautiful to watch. Neither fancy nor showy, it displayed an effortlessness and oneness that spoke of familiarity, […]
One of the most dreaded experiences during middle school was to walk into a classroom and suddenly see all eyes turn and focus on your groin as someone gleefully declares, “XYZPDQ!” Then comes the clumsy scramble of trying to find the little tab on the zipper as a blush blossoms across your face—suppressed laughter filling […]
In the medical and emotional hurricane of COVID-19, certain clinical terms have become commonplace. “Asymptomatic,” “vector,” “mRNA,” terms previously used only by those in the medical and science fields are now part of the conversational lexicon of the English language. We’ve seen new terms develop also including the ill-defined “long-haulers.” This unfortunate group includes those […]
“Times!” someone would shout for some reason or another. Then the race was on, and if I was fortunate enough to get there first, I would grab the garden hose from the drinking end, quickly turn the spigot on full blast and wait impatiently for the stale, hot, rubbery water to clear the hose. Then […]
In the early 1960’s RCA promoted its new color TVs as “the gift that keeps on giving.” One had to buy the television first of course, but then there was the promise of potential years of enjoyment. Fatherhood is like that, too. Like anything valuable, it takes effort, a cost, if you will, to enter […]
Memorial Day is upon us. Although its official origin is somewhat debated, we know that as far back as the middle of the Civil War people decorated the graves of fallen soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Indeed, for many years the term “Decoration Day” was synonymous with Memorial Day. The decorating eventually expanded […]
The neon sign in the tiny urban diner window read, “WORLD’S BEST CUP OF COFFEE.” Buddy the elf, having just moved to NYC from the North Pole, couldn’t contain his excitement. He burst into the diner and declared to the unsuspecting staff and guests, “You did it! Congratulations! World’s best cup of coffee…great job everybody…it’s […]
Fear can be a great motivator. Be prepared, the well-known Boy Scout motto, advises us to get ready now for potential challenges. If not, there could be bad stuff a’comin’ in the future for which we could end up in a mess of trouble. Fear also sells. Insurance comes in all forms: policies for the […]
Comedian Brian Regan has a great bit where he ponders aloud why a box of Pop-Tarts would provide alternative instructions to the standard guidance of toasting the pastries for one minute. He shares that the alternative instructions are to “microwave on high for 3-seconds.” He then declares with an accusatory tone, “If you gotta zap-fry […]
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” – Cicero Some years the Thanksgiving holiday seems extra special. Such is the case this year for my family and me. Aside from so far avoiding COVID-19 infection, and welcoming in late 2019 and early 2020 two new grandsons into […]
Cold on the Outside I hate the cold. I loathe it. Why? Because cold hurts. Even though I grew up in the “mountains” of northeastern PA, I have vowed to never again move one more degree longitude north. No matter how much wool, Alpaca, Gortex, etc. I have in my gloves, my fingers never feel […]
I’m not sure where we found it but Dan, Gary, and I dragged the old broken-down sliding board across the yard. It’s weight and curvy shape made for an awkward carry as we also struggled to avoid touching the sun-scorched, shiny metallic surface— a mistake already made when we first discovered this treasure. With an […]