No choir robes needed here

No choir robes needed here

I grew up in a strictly no-pets household. My father wouldn’t tolerate one anywhere around our 25-acre property. My mother wouldn’t stand for one to be in her house. That pretty much took care of that issue. My sister, Faye, despite the odds, became a dog mom, the...
Lost and Found

Lost and Found

They’re called awareness ribbons. You see these looped symbols as bumper stickers, lapel pins, included in logos, in advertising, etc. A bit of investigating reveals there are over 1,000 causes represented by variously colored/patterned ribbons. Their proliferation is...
More than meets the eye

More than meets the eye

Names, and their diminutives, are fascinating! Our relationship to our own name is highly personal. Some prefer to keep the full given name intact, with no abbreviations or alterations. Others are given no choice, growing up with all embarrassments of nicknames. I had...
How many zeroes in a billion?

How many zeroes in a billion?

One of the least-photographed, momentous life occasions, is a baby’s first steps. Not because it is not a golden photo op, but because it happens so randomly, without dress rehearsal, without formal invitations to the big show.  Subsequent solos, of course, are...
Do you hear what I hear?

Do you hear what I hear?

There’s the real universe. Then there’s a parallel universe. It’s called advertising. You know, where everyone is beautiful and smiling and laughing – because they’re tech savvy. All salespeople and salesclerks are über friendly and helpful and SO rabidly pleased to...
A not so ordinary ordinary?

A not so ordinary ordinary?

Whether it’s a universal phenomenon or not, I’m not sure, but I’ve heard much discussion and many more off-hand comments about how wonderful it is to think about the next vacation, the next escape from routine, the next opportunity to discover something new, to...
Is this on the level?

Is this on the level?

True confession: I’m ‘that’ person. You know, the one who, once he’s seen a picture hanging askew on the wall, compulsively gets up to straighten it (or, who, given circumstances where repairing the travesty would be inappropriate/unappreciated, must endure the agony...
That is so yesterday!

That is so yesterday!

Pluto is no longer a planet. Sugar is no longer a health food. Phone booths and payphones no longer exist (except for a smattering of the UK’s red antiquaries). Computers are no longer the fingers on both hands. And as we are no longer see as sufficiently intelligent...
What kids say!

What kids say!

For a Tuesday smile, following are some interactions of children with their grandparents: My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was. I said, 80. My grandson was quiet for a moment then he asked: “Did you start at 1?”...
Wanna hang out sometime?

Wanna hang out sometime?

Calvin had Hobbes. Bonnie had Clyde. Dorothy had Toto, the Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man. Frodo had Sam. Peanut Butter still has Jelly. Tightknit relationships, all. Like moths (and all flying insects) to a flame, or our front door light, we naturally gravitate...