The Optimist

A magazine arrived the other day with Kevin Costner on the cover. “Cool,” I thought. Until I realized it was AARP Magazine.First of all, if it were up to me we wouldn’t get AARP Magazine. I have never signed up… Continue Reading →

It would seem appropriate to write a 9/11 memory today, the 19th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. But my 9/11 memory is actually my brother’s 9/11 memory.My brother Bill along his wife at the time and… Continue Reading →

I have college students who can’t name The Beatles.Some don’t even know who The Beatles are.I don’t put them down.I tell them all the time that in my classroom they are on my turf. If I want to, I can… Continue Reading →

I sometimes recall something I wrote in my early days as a columnist and cringe. Did I really say those things?I fear someone will uncover something embarrassing from ’84 or ’85 and throw it in my face. That’s just one… Continue Reading →

Be a laborer,great or small,do it well,or not at all Every Labor Day I either write something about that little ditty or at least think about it.My friend and former colleague Sarellen (yes, they made up names 75 years ago,… Continue Reading →

I’m looking at the shoe on my left foot and it’s making me feel so happy.It’s a running shoe, although I won’t be running, or even walking, for some time.Which is a hint as to why one shoe can make… Continue Reading →

Since rupturing my Achilles tendon playing tennis about two weeks ago, I’ve spent a lot of time on my front porch with my leg elevated. I’m not complaining. It gave me a chance to really appreciate the hundreds of flowers… Continue Reading →

If you get the reference in this headline, then you know about Charlotte.And if you know about Charlotte, you might be able to guess what I’m am writing about today.Charlotte, for those who have not met her, is a spider.… Continue Reading →

Every day I await my “Morning Malcolm.”That’s a photo of my new grandson in Los Angeles. Hollywood, actually.He is three months old today.In a pre-Covid world, I would have been there holding him on Father’s Day weekend. That was the… Continue Reading →

I typically write a blog first thing Friday morning. But first thing this morning I was lying flat on my back, listening to classic rock on head phones, and trying my damnedest to hold my foot perfectly still as I… Continue Reading →