Columns

What Scares You?

When our son was a youngster, he really loved all the popular horror movies. He insisted I watch some of them with him, which I did with my hands over my eyes. I still shiver at the mention of “Chucky” or “Children of the Corn.” Every Halloween holiday included a marathon of Freddy Krueger movies during which I didn’t know whether to laugh at or scream at while watching. None of these experiences with scary movies appears to have affected our son in a negative way that I can see. I never got into watching such things after he left home. However recently on one of those ...

For The Love Of The Blooms

My mother was all about dirt. On one hand, she was yelling at her children for tracking dirt onto the newly washed kitchen floor. On the other hand, she would push us out the back door where a very healthy plot of dirt was one of our favorite places to play. It was a full-on mini construction site with Tonka trucks and a sprinkling of Army vehicles and G.I. Joes sharing the roads constantly being built. With seven brothers, my sisters and I resigned ourselves to the fact that we would always be cleaning up the dirt that followed the boys into the house. We also learned to dig in the ...

No One Likes A Tease

Last weekend’s brief warm-almost-hot spell was enough to convince me that spring is my least favorite season. Now before you fine readers tell me how glorious this season can be with its tulips and daffodils, spring showers and the smell of that first mowed lawn, allow me my opinion. I agree all of those things and more including Easter bunnies and the shouts of umpires on ballfields are great. It’s nice to feel the warmth of the sun and a light breeze that sends kites flying. I was caught up in all that spring fever last weekend, except that it all came crashing to a halt when ...

No More Wrong Turns

If you are of baby boomer age or older, you have more than likely done it in the past. You’ve looked to a map for directions or you stopped and asked someone for directions when traveling to an unfamiliar destination. Before computer screens in our vehicles or Mapquest directions on our cellphones, we relied on paper maps to show us how to get from one place to another when on a trip or vacation. We also depended on gas station attendants or complete strangers to point us in the right direction. Remember those folded maps you kept in your glove compartment? Many companies ...

How Sweet It Was

I’m not sure who enjoyed Easter more, my mom or my dad. They each had their own reasons for fully embracing the holy day that marked the Resurrection of Jesus. Of course, their Catholic faith played into it as they diligently adhered to the traditions and teachings of Lent and Easter. We ate a lot of fish sandwiches and mac and cheese during Lent. Our family, along with several other large families in the parish, kept the fish markets in clover during Lent. Even as very young kids, our parents made sure to take us to Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, and of course, Mass each ...

Easter Egg Hunts Attract Collectors

Collectors love Easter eggs! The smooth oval shape of a simple egg can be painted, dipped, and copied in various mediums, including precious metals, crystal, marble, porcelain and jewel encrusted to create an egg to delight even the most discerning of eyes. Egg collectors seek fancy examples like colorful German papier mache eggs, vintage spun sugar eggs with scenes inside, hand painted eggs of all kinds, carved examples, African Ostrich varieties, Ukrainian Pysanky, and jeweled eggs like the most famous eggs of all, Faberge. I have a few treasured Easter eggs myself. My favorite is ...