Columns

Are You Done Yet?

There are some people who give the rest of us a bad rap. You know the ones I am talking about. They have had their Christmas and Hanukkah shopping finished since October. Their gift selections have been neatly wrapped and labeled. If they actually wrap gifts, they don’t have to use half a roll of Scotch tape like I do. The corners of their packages are sharp and emblazoned with matching ribbons. With the invention of holiday gift bags, people like me are spared some of the embarrassment of messy gift wrapping. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy tackling an oversized roll of ...

I’m Not Your Bro’

Those of us of a certain age will remember how people often referred to one another as “man.” It was a silly term for just about anyone in your life or in authority. The police were “the man.” We threw the word “man” around in every conversation. I.E. : “Man, you’re looking good in that leisure suit.” If we liked someone, he was “my man.” You get the picture. It was just a catch word of the times. Obviously today that slang word has been replaced with the word “bro.” A look at online police videos will show that law enforcement officers are called ...

Looking For The Good In Winter

It’s beginning to look a lot like — winter. Standing at the kitchen window as I mindlessly wash my favorite flower-painted mixing bowl that I refuse to put in the dishwasher, I can’t help but notice that the trees are empty now. While they are void of color and leaves, they still hold the dozens of crows or blackbirds that have taken up refuge there against the wind. Speaking of that wind, it’s been howling for days. Not just a slight gust here and there, but those pesky, loud swirling blasts of cold air that rattle and toss the garbage cans around outside. They make it ...

What’s In Your Bowl?

I am no Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but standing in the cereal aisle of a local grocery store, I began to think about some of the things he is trying to change in the daily eating habits of Americans. Besides taking the food dyes out of our food, he also is pushing for less sugar in our food choices. You see, as someone who has to keep an eye on my daily carbohydrates count, I have been paying closer attention to how much sugar is in some of my favorite foods. As a product of the baby boomer generations, I grew up on mostly home-cooked meals — not so much fast food. We ate things such ...

The Place To Be At 13

There was something about that hot chocolate. I don’t know whether it was because my hands were cold despite the heavy mittens my aunt had crocheted or the sweet smell of that cocoa powder. To this day, I don’t know if that hot chocolate was made with water or powdered milk. I just knew that it was a special treat after spending a few hours circling the frozen ice rink at Wheeling Park. Ice skating on Friday nights at the park was a ritual for many in-between and young teens. As far as I know, it is still the thing to do 50-plus years later. It was where you dared hold hands with ...

Remembering …

I was only in grade school when the Vietnam War hit me where I worship. It’s not that I hadn’t paid attention to the world around me at the tender age of 13. It was unavoidable with front page newspaper stories and in-your-face live coverage of the war on the nightly NBC news with Chet and David. Those two commenters were in our living room as much as the old hound dog who laid in front of the fireplace while the news was being aired. It wasn’t unusual for the girls in my class to sing at funerals in our Catholic church located right next door to my St. Michael’s Grade School. ...