I try to follow Shakespeare’s advice when writing this blog. But darn, that’s a hard order for me to follow. Adjectives and adverbs can look so delectable. They can dress up a boring sentence to make it appear to be a bigger deal than what it is. I get sucked in by …
My daughter, Kate, left this morning to go back home to Denver. It’s such a joy to have her visit. We’ve been a loving team for over 50 years. I think there’s something magical about the relationship between a dad and a daughter. Kate and I have always been close. In the …
Stanley Proctor was a favorite of the nuns and Father Michael at Saint Cecilia Grade School. He looked so pious. He was the first to learn the Latin necessary to be an altar boy. Often, Stanley stayed in at recess to help clean the chalkboards or just follow Sister Mary …
In their late 70s, Vern and Irene lived in a little house in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. I’d visit them often as I roamed the East, selling Interactive Journals. The weather became a huge point of concern. My parents would hunker down in what they called the Florida Room, …
I’d like to know how you handle this old clothes thing. Until I retired, I never gave it much thought. I was on automatic. I’d buy clothes on sale as I needed them, often going through stacks of shirts and pants and underwear piled high on Costco tables. My unofficial rule …
Can you imagine? Irene, my mom, had this crazy expectation that her four children should have jobs shortly after we learned to walk. I was in sixth grade. One early morning, Irene dropped me off at a golf driving range in Ames, Iowa. It was still dark. A redheaded old guy …
The Hiram Scott College Research Department has done it again. While other “distinguished” universities publish silly research findings about sword swallowing, woodpecker headaches, ovulation cycles of lap dancers, and answering the vital question “Do humans swim …
I love college basketball, particularly the Wisconsin Badgers. This time of the year, I enjoy sitting and watching all the conference championship games. I don’t mind snacking on pizza, chicken wings, popcorn and such. Until I look down and see my stomach gradually …
A quote from The Economist supported a strong belief of mine: “What comes after is not always progress.” Maybe I’m just getting cranky in my later years, but here are but a few examples of my love for the good old days. I enjoyed hand-cranking my car windows more than …
Please let me know if you experience any of these signs of aging. Don’t let me be the lonely old goat in the meadow. I make up reasons why I entered my closet. I notice a shiny nickel on the blacktop in the parking lot and choose not to bend all the way down to …
