Pick-up Sticks

Like my sticks? They’re mine! All mine! Our sprinkler and drip irrigation system has given up. The timer doesn’t time, the master valves stick open, the underground tubes leak … the entire system has to be replaced, and the estimate is over 2,500 bucks. Of course it doesn’t have to be replaced. I can always […]

Best You’ve Ever Seen?

I probably shouldn’t say anything about the latest social media witch hunt, but when has common sense ever prevented me from talking about things that upset people?

Fixing the Holes in the Net

If you’d told me I’d ever agree with anything Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association’s executive vice president and spokesman, said, I’d have thought you were crazy.

Thursday Bag o’ Cautious Optimism

Parents of adult children should be able to relate to this: our 40-year-old daughter Polly left her boyfriend in late June and moved in with us. It’s just until she gets back on her feet, we told ourselves. Since then she’s been employed three times: once for two weeks, once for two days, once for […]

Smile!

I posted this vintage Christmas card to Facebook to amuse my friends. The kid’s woeful expression prompted a few comments. Really, though, if you study 19th and early 20th century portraits, photos, and illustrations, unsmiling faces were the rule rather than the exception. People always looked somber. I started to wonder why that was. Well, for one thing, […]

On the Road, Talkin’ War

Daesh terrorists hit Paris while my buddies and I were in California on a motorcycle trip. We talked about it during stops, and were glued to our motel room TVs at night. I felt, and still feel, that what happened in France has the potential to swing our upcoming presidential election to the Republican candidate, whoever that […]

Thursday Bag o’ Stars & Hearts

Half my friends say they hate Twitter. Half say they don’t get it. Either way, only a few use it. That right there differentiates Twitter from Facebook. I go to Facebook to find out what friends are up to and to tell them what I’m up to. I go to Twitter for information. It’s useful in a […]