Month: December 2020

I often quote Mark Twain in my classes, but before I do, I tell the students I must speak very slowly and very deliberately when I say, “Mark Twain quote.” If I don’t, if I rattle it off without concentrating… Continue Reading →

I’ve often said every kid should have a single aunt.Ours was Aunt Dorothy, my mother’s sister.Aunt Dorothy brought into our world all the things our mom could not afford.In the ‘50s, our family had four kids and a dad who… Continue Reading →

My sister and her husband won’t be going to the movies Christmas night. Another tradition shelved by Covid-19.Sheila is a few years older than I, and her husband Paul a few years older than she, so their dating world, in… Continue Reading →

It’s hard to say who loved me more, my friend Martin’s mother or my friend Martin’s grandmother.Mart and I became friends in 7th grade, close to 60 years ago. I spent a lot of time at his house, an upstairs… Continue Reading →

My wife, Mary Kay, turned me on (don’t get excited, that’s ’60s Speak for enlightening me) to Helen and Ed’s Christmas Tree Farm in Wapwallopen in December of 1999.We had met a year earlier and had our first date on… Continue Reading →

Tom Friedman’s book “Thank You for Being Late” will blow your mind. It’s about the power of computers and what’s yet to come.Here’s a little tidbit: if a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle advanced as much as computing power has since then,… Continue Reading →

I had just stepped out of the Pittston Post Office one day last week when an old woman turned to me and said, “I can smell the birds peeing.”I could not think of an appropriate response, so I just smiled.And… Continue Reading →

On my way to Redner’s on the Pittston By-pass Thursday morning, I could not help but think, “If seagulls had credit cards, K-Mart would still be in business.”If you’ve been in that area, you know what I’m talking about.Every day… Continue Reading →

My cool factor has gone up significantly since September.I have my wife to thank.And my torn Achilles tendon.I ruptured it playing tennis in late August. Ripped it clean off my heel. Right foot, too, which meant no driving. And that… Continue Reading →