To mask, or not to mask … Why is that even a question? I’m old enough to remember the national flap when seat belts were made mandatory. Even as a kid, I thought it was ridiculous to see adults rail about having a “constitutional right” to carry their baby on their lap while in a car. Or – gasp – not wear a seat belt so as not to wrinkle their clothes. The politicization of masks is a national disgrace….
Who remembers Dan Quayle? (This isn’t a political commentary – promise!) In case you don’t remember him, he was the nation’s 44th Vice President, under President George H.W. Bush. And he was born in Indiana. My first job out of college was in radio news in a little community called Tell City, Indiana. Named for William Tell, there were lots of apples and arrows about town, especially in the logos for local businesses and schools. The first few months I…
Well, that went fast. Retired. For one full year. It still feels like I’m playing hooky every day. And it still feels great. No second guessing. No regrets. The year itself, though, hasn’t been easy. Mom’s death continues to be mighty tough. Extra visits with Dad have helped a lot, well until the pandemic took over. Thank goodness for phones, texting, and Facetime. John and Aubrie’s wedding is an ongoing ray of sunshine in our lives. The glow of love…
Gary doesn’t like snakes. Not one bit. Living on a farm, though, there are plenty of opportunities for reptilian encounters. Here are just a few: Pssst! Up here! The other morning, Gary headed out to our garage to hop on his John Deere lawnmower, as the grass in our yard is in rapid-growth mode. First, he backed my vehicle out of the way. Walking back in to get the mower, a scruffy old bird’s nest on the ground right in…
My sister-in-law Linda posted some beautiful flower photos this morning on Facebook. She and my brother Harry live in Maine and spend a lot of their time happily communing with nature. I, on the other hand, can recognize pansies and geraniums, but I fear that’s about it. Oh, and roses. Carnations and day lilies, too, But that’s it. So it’s a good thing Linda identified the flowers in her post as peonies. Now I may not recognize peonies, but at…
Dear Dad – My brothers and I decided to capture a list of some of the quirky, memorable, and downright goofy Dad-isms you treated us to over the years. Dad, you may not have often regaled us with what are now called Dad Jokes (and for that we are grateful!), but you nevertheless kept us entertained. This collection of Dad-isms fell naturally into the following five themes: Music to our ears Hippie Music! As rock and roll music took over…
For me, the right thing to do this past week was … to think. The world is in an uproar and we all have a place in the turmoil. Social media is a cesspool of snarling racists, preachy Karens, and nasty name-callers. How can our country still be so ugly? When we moved from Connecticut to Indiana, I was 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. It was the fall of 1973. A few weeks after we moved…
Week 1: Andy & Don by Daniel de Vise At the end of April, I decided to look for some lighthearted books to read in May. So much death and horror in the news, it was time to spend some time in … Mayberry. Nope. Mayberry is only on TV. As May turned out to be even worse than April (with the police murder of George Floyd, followed by rioting throughout the country reminiscent of the 1960s), it was clear the sweet…
Today, the world lost one of its most influential loudmouths. At age 84, Larry Kramer wasn’t expected to live forever. But his larger-than-life persona certainly made it seem that way. And what is my connection with the renowned playwright and AIDS activist? My younger brother was his personal trainer for several years. My brother Bill got to know Larry through their mutual friend Rodger McFarlane. If you’ve seen the HBO version of Larry’s A Normal Heart, you probably loved the…
Look! It’s a fingernail moon! Little Thomas was barely more than a toddler when he pointed to the night sky and proclaimed the waxing (or maybe it was waning) moon looked like a fingernail. We were driving at the time (pre-cell-phone days), and I couldn’t wait to get home to call Mom. Her first grandchild had a poet’s heart. Mom absolutely loved the moon. She was fascinated by the changing sizes, shapes, and colors of the moon. Harvest moon, crescent…