After a long, cold winter of such strenuous projects as reading, working on my Duolingo Spanish (a third attempt), exhausting my Hulu and Netflix video library, and playing with LEGOs, I forced myself upon a set of bathroom scales the other day and also found out that I’ve apparently been eating and snacking like a prisoner on death row. The scale settled in on numbers that made me swear out loud when I read the final tally, but I then…
What is this? He’s gonna talk about taxes? Well, yes – but let me explain. While I hate tax season just as much as the next person, I understand that they are a “necessary evil”. Taxes pay for lots of services and infrastructure that we take for granted on a day-to-day basis, such as fire and police protection, roads, and education (to name just a few). Now, I’m not going to sit here and debate about what is “good” or…
Ahhhh, spring! You’re just around the corner. Warm days, flowers in bloom, chirping birds – I do love the change of seasons. It’s also time for the annual spring catalog from Oriental Trading Company, who will readily provide all of your Easter trinket and tchotchke needs (they even have a “happiness guarantee”). If you need to find something weird that crosses the boundaries between commercial celebrations and religion this holiday season, Oriental Trading is for you. Every year, these folks…
The ongoing pandemic has hurt many sectors of our economy, but without a doubt, one of the worst to feel its crippling economic effects is the travel and tourism industry. Beach towns were empty and pristine this past summer season. Hotel occupancy was at record lows. Industry giants like Disney lost billions each quarter due to the shuttering of its theme parks and other resort offerings (I can’t even begin to imagine what the local economy is like in Orlando). …
This year for Valentine’s Day, my wife and I had a small dinner party (calm down, COVID enthusiasts, there were only six of us, and we’ve all recently been tested). Three couples, a nice dinner in our home, and some after-dinner games and conversation – all very simple, yet we had a marvelous time. I was thinking today that this used to be a common thing (and I mean decades ago, not merely since the pandemic made everyone a prisoner…
Let me just start this week by saying that I like dogs. I like pets in general, as a matter of fact (and I’ve got a screaming, half-blind, deaf, mangy, 21-year old cat to prove it). “Man’s best friend” and all of that? I get it. Dogs are great companions and a fine addition to any family (so ease up on that potential hate-mail). Here’s the thing, though. I choose NOT to have one. Contrary to popular belief (and the…
So with my youngest daughter making her collegiate commitment to the University of Alabama this past week (sorry, Maryland Terrapins, but you snooze – you lose), I’ve found that I am now part of a parent guild and collegiate fan base that quite frankly shocks and scares me a little. Let’s just start with the following that the school cultivates. To say that the parents and fans of the university are fanatical (almost bordering on cult-like) is an understatement. Don’t…
I spent this past weekend on the road (literally) as my youngest and I were off on the last college tour before she makes her decision on where she’ll spend the next four years of her educational career. This time, we were off to the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa), a jaunty, twelve-hour trip (door to door) from my house in MD to campus. We rose early on Friday and hit the road before the sun came up, my youngest excited…
Like many of you, I have had my share of boring days and evenings during the pandemic. Nowhere to really go, lots of household projects that I really don’t want to get started, and it seems like I’ve pretty much exhausted all of the choices that peak my interest on Netflix, Hulu, AND Disney+ (hard to believe, I know). So, I find myself bringing up YouTube on my laptop and going down multiple weird alleyways and corridors of videos. One…
Well hello, 2021! It’s a new year and time for my annual attempt at a “restart” on some of my many annual resolutions. I say “restart”, because – as always – it’s the same list I start on every January 1st (and unfortunately – eventually fail at). I should really call these the new year’s endurance trials, because like any test of will, it’s usually a struggle to see how long many of these will last. Oh, I’m hell out…