Columns

Summer Fun Even In The Heat

It was ridiculously hot on Monday, but we persevered. We were determined to take the 9- and 10-year-old grandkids to the famed Kennywood Park as promised. And so we did. Yes I questioned our sanity at such an adventure during a heat advisory. Yet there are just some promises you cannot break. Traveling to Kennywood is a monumental feat in itself. It would not have been possible without a voice over the car radio directing each turn and stoplight through the Pittsburgh area neighborhoods. It is clear to me that it would never have been accomplished via the old paper map style of ...

What’s Bugging You?

There are some things I can put up with and some things I can’t. For one, I do not cotton to bugs, especially the eight-legged kind. It’s a true phobia that I admit but deal with. Fortunately this summer, I have not spied many of the insects that bother me the most. I have been told they are waiting for cooler weather to attempt to enter my domain. In the coming months, I will be on the lookout for spiders and stink bugs. However, summertime brings its own pests. A housefly has managed to outlive its supposed lifespan and has been torturing us for days. I am determined to suck ...

Taking Flight

I was just shy of 15 years old when I experienced my first trip in an airplane. My godmother at the time treated me to a trip to New York City and her home in Westchester County, New York. We caught the plane at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport. It was in the summer of 1969 when commercial airlines frequented our airfield. That was a time when they rolled a pair of portable stairs to the plane and you climbed the steps without any fancy escalator or internal walkway. Having never been on a plane, I didn’t know what to expect. I just know that the takeoff was swift and I wasn’t ...

It’s All In The Bag

At last count, I had 10 of them. They are in my car, my pantry and clothes closet. A couple of them carry the same logo and store name. If you haven’t guessed by now, I am talking about reusable shopping bags. It took me a while to get used to the idea of carrying my own bags into stores, but I soon learned that I liked the concept. First I can decide how many bags to use on any given shopping excursion. Second, I will most likely be packing my own bags which prevents the less knowledgeable bagger from putting my chocolate bars next to my bars of Lever soap. There is nothing ...

Made in the Good Old USA

It’s been 21 years since our son played basketball at Wheeling Park High School. I am proud to note that he lettered all four years and maintained an “A” average to earn him college scholarships. OK, enough of my proud parent’s talk. What I want to share with you about those ...

Mending What Needs Fixed

One week ago, after a freak cloudburst decimated parts of Ohio County, and I witnessed the destruction, the words of a 1972 song kept repeating in my head. They sort of summed up how I and others were feeling for all those who lost homes, businesses, vehicles and the most heartbreaking — lives. The song goes like this: “And how can you mend a broken heart? How can you stop the rain from falling down?” The truth of the matter is that none of us can truly mend someone’s broken heart at times like this. And only divine intervention can stop the rain from continuing to ...