My two daughters are now well into their teens, and along with all of the angst, drama, and emotions that living in a house full of women brings, I am also now routinely subjected to the ultimate test of fatherhood – the sleepover. Now don’t get me wrong, I love that my girls are having healthy relationships and living their high-school years to their fullest – and that having friends over to our house means my wife and I know…
In addition to our own busy preparations for the upcoming holiday season, there are so many local events that you can attend or participate in to help get you into the holiday spirit. Tree lighting events, fun runs, live nativities – the four-state area is flush with seasonal splendor. While there are way too many to mention here, listed below are a few of my annual favorites. Christmas at the Roundhouse (Hagerstown, MD) This annual exhibit features the “Trains of…
Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I too can get into the Christmas spirit. It begins with the annual decorating of the inside and outside of the house, which if you have kids, you quickly realize is one of the many highly anticipated events of the holiday season. Mine have been bugging me to trudge up into the attic and drag out the Christmas boxes ever since the turkey platter went cold on November 23rd. We were out of…
As you’re probably aware (unless you live in some sort of cave with no calendar), the Thanksgiving holiday is coming up this week (although it’s hard to tell between all of the Christmas carols on the radio and decorations on sale at the store). Traditionally one of the most crowded travel weekends of the year, AAA predicts that more than 54,000,000 people will be on the road during this year’s holiday – a 4.8% increase over 2017 and the highest…
Ahhhh, memories. I hearken back to a day when each holiday got its due. I fondly recall my days as a young school-aged lad, making cut-out jack-o-lanterns in October, drawing around my hand to make a turkey in November – and then – in December, we’d talk about the upcoming Christmas holiday. I know it sounds crazy, but yes – we’d talk about Christmas in December. These days, in our consumer driven world, it seems as if retailers want to…
If you’ve followed any of my posts, then you know I love fall. It’s my favorite season of the year – the shortening days, the cool evenings, frosty mornings – and the beautiful fall colors. Unfortunately, I’m sorely missing the last part of my autumn favorites list this year. The fall foliage color was supposed to peak locally the week of October 22nd, but if you’ll recall we were still having days in the 80-degree range in mid-October, and that…
Believe it or not, my “temporary” gig at the big-box home improvement store (the blue one) is still ongoing, and I’m coming up on my one-year anniversary in the back areas as an RTM (“Return to Manufacturer”) Clerk. I’m in charge of trying to obtain credit on anything and everything that you – the general public – bring back to the store for a refund (among many of my other responsibilities, such as dealing with all HAZMAT, sending appliances and…
This past weekend, I had the chance to take a road trip with my oldest daughter as we took a look at potential college choices for next fall. On this trip, we traveled north to Rochester, NY – visiting the University of Rochester on Friday. It was a day filled with walking around campus, getting a feel for the area, and it was also a chance for my eldest to actually attend a class and get a sense of what…
As many of you may know, in addition to the writing I do here on the blog, I also enjoy writing novels, short stories, and other freelance articles. Years ago I started writing a collection of scary short stories that I’m hoping to eventually publish in book form. My theme is water – all of the stories have water in them as sort of story element. The anthology (called “Dark Water Tales”) is still a work in progress, but since…
If there’s one thing I love about fall above all others (and believe me, it’s a long list), it’s the annual arrival of the beautiful fall colors provided by the changing of the leaves. Vibrant yellows, brilliant oranges, fiery reds, and every shade in between dot the local mountains and landscapes. For me, the autumn season just isn’t complete without a leisurely drive into the Appalachian Mountains that cross Maryland’s western edge. Traversing Route 70, past the town of Hancock,…