War, to paraphrase the words of my friend Al Kridlo on the night he learned his son Dale had been killed in battle in Afghanistan, has a way of changing everything. It certainly did for the Ackermans of White Haven.… Continue Reading
A few years ago I was driving to the college on Interstate 81 one winter morning the day after a big snowstorm. I pulled into the left lane to pass a tractor-trailer and just as I neared the back of… Continue Reading
We are not making Thanksgiving dinner at home this year, so it looks like come Thursday afternoon I should have all ten fingers intact. Lopping off a finger is something I worry about when we are responsible for the cooking.… Continue Reading
Save for the two Frank Sinatra covers – “Come Fly with Me” and “One for My Baby (And One for the Road)” – from her recent album “Let’s be Frank,” and her finale, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” I did not… Continue Reading
I love the truth. Call it the journalist in me. Call it the journalist in me at a time in America when the truth has taken an awful beating. So, even when filling out a form, I cannot tell a… Continue Reading
I read a long time ago that most people when they look into a mirror tend to see only the things they don’t like about themselves. A crooked tooth, a bent nose, too large ears, a double chin. The problem… Continue Reading
Today, Nov. 17, is Elton John Day. But nobody knows it. Not even him. Still, I’ve been celebrating it for close to 50 years. Because of it, in fact, I held off posting my usual Friday blog until today. “11-17-70”… Continue Reading
It’s said, during the height of World War II, Winston Churchill proposed a budget to Parliament that included a sizable amount of money devoted to the arts, about which he was immediately challenged. “Mr. Churchill,” he was questioned, “do we… Continue Reading
Have you tried pumpkin toothpaste yet? Neither have I. That’s because it doesn’t exist. I made it up. But would you be surprised if pumpkin toothpaste did exist? I wouldn’t. It may be the only thing left not flavored with… Continue Reading
“You’re old enough to kill, but not for voting,” Barry McGuire sang to my generation in 1965. The song “Eve of Destruction” came out during a time when male high school grads who did not get themselves into college or… Continue Reading