I wish some of the friendly skirmishes I have with Sherry could play out like a football game. She often accuses me of things I said or did that are totally off the mark. She thinks I went out of bounds in my behavior when my ”accurate” recollection tells a different …
When I was a little boy in Ames, Iowa, and out somewhere with my mom, Irene (the “supreme commander”), and my dad, Vern (the “indentured servant”), a beautiful scene would suddenly appear. It could be a hummingbird on a red rose or a rainbow appearing after …
It’s about to twinkle out. My birthday showed up, and now I’m only 365 days away from 80. What special thing did I do to celebrate? Nothing. My day fell into line with most of the previous days this year. I walked with my four dogs. Twice. I did the dishes. Twice I had …
When a close friend treats me in a lousy fashion (in my opinion), I try to figure out what I did to tick them off. I can go through all kinds of suppositions. It’s not a pretty scene inside my sensitive brain. There’s a lot of silly putty being stirred around. The answer is …
Perhaps a few of you are lucky enough to have no bad days. That’s not me. Often, I know where they originate: a sleepless night, severe back pain, losing my car keys and wallet at the same time, feeling guilty because I goofed up again, not getting what I want. I …
I am sad. We can do better. The tragic event this weekend in Pennsylvania touched me. The “me vs. them” mindset may show its ugly head most dramatically at all levels of government, but my job is to examine what I can do to turn the tide. The issue of a divided nation is a …
In my long life, I’ve changed dozens of flat tires, although it’s been a few years since the last one. A few weeks ago, on a hot county road, I spotted a young lady looking perplexed as she stood by her fancy red car, which sported a flat tire. I’m the kind of guy who …
WARNING: This blog uses a wee bit of poetic license. Mark Twain is a good friend of mine. We go way back. Mark gets fed up with his brother Orion talking political garbage, and I need to hide out from Sherry’s list of daily chores. We sneak up the Jumbo Grade Trail from …
The BIG question: Why do I love unconditionally all 19 of my current and former dogs, who constantly display major personality flaws and behavior lapses, while I hold close friends and family members accountable for minor relational hiccups? About the dogs: I got Sarge …
I’ve been thinking about the people who, early in my life, gave me the straight “bad” scoop about me. To begin with, the individual who comes in dead last was Irene Duffy, my dear mother. She told me, and all her friends, I was the greatest thing since …
