Items of local interest to the four-state area (Western Md, Southern PA, Northern VA, and Eastern WV).
I’m a simple man, just trying to make my way in this life. I’m not looking for trouble and I’m all about letting people go their own way. If you want to make questionable life decisions – as long as they don’t impact me, I say go for it. You want to ride a motorcycle without a helmet? Be my guest. Want to own forty-five firearms? As long as you’re not shooting them off in town at 3:00 AM after…
June is fast approaching, and that means that thousands of local high school seniors (including my youngest daughter) will soon be completing their studies and walking the stage to receive their hard-earned diplomas. It’s been quite a journey for these young men and women, but has it been a memorable one – or one that they’d just as soon forget? It’s been a very unique time for the class of 2021 (and for that matter, the class of 2020 as…
As we are moving into the warmer months of spring and summer, I am beginning to see American flags once again adorn porches, yards, and businesses. It’s a great way to show one’s patriotism and love of country, but as much as I enjoy seeing a street full of flags on holidays like Memorial Day or Independence Day, many people still don’t seem to realize that there are some rules and guidelines that should be followed when deciding to display…
If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, you’ll remember that last year I spent some of my COVID isolation planting a garden, utilizing a plot in my town’s local community garden. It was a great way to get some exercise, see if I would enjoy digging in the dirt, and also allowed me to undertake a hobby that provided some relevant feedback on success or failure. I have to say that although I’m not a newly converted and rabid…
I recently had the good fortune (please read that with intense sarcasm) of having to interact with the Department of Motor Vehicles, an organization who’s very name screams “painful experience” and “test of will”. I was there to obtain historic tags for my 1999 Toyota Camry (nicknamed “Stan”) who – yes – is still on the road after all of these years, but is only driven occasionally by my youngest daughter (this disclaimer is provided to assure the DMV that…
So after what will probably go down in history as one of the worst years on record (so far), 2020 is well behind us and the 2nd half of 2021 is starting to look better, thanks in large part to the availability and distribution of the three, large-scale COVID vaccines. As we look forward to brighter days, it’s important to look back on what we’ve experienced, analyze it, and see if we’ve learned anything from it. I won’t say we…
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…
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…