(Listen to this post, here.) For the past two months, I have been trying to learn how to play the guitar. It’s always struck me as a fun activity and, since I am pretty good at typing, it seems like a logical next step. But the odds are not in my favor – this is the third time in about seven years that I have tried to make a go of it. The first two (failed) attempts involved live, in-person teachers. In both instances, I lasted about six months. This time, […] Click to read more…
(Listen to this post, here.) I don’t know much about Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York. I left the state 40 years ago when I graduated from high school, and other than occasional visits to see my mom and big brother Al (there’s your shout out, now stop whining), New York isn’t really on my radar. That all changed a couple of weeks ago, when I stumbled upon one of Governor Cuomo’s daily COVID-19 press conferences. Once each day, late morning, he appears before the cameras and a small, appropriately-distanced group […] Click to read more…
(Listen to this post, here.) My son Evan can juggle five balls (simultaneously). My daughter Emily finished a half marathon with an average speed of 8:04 per mile. My son Jonathan is lead singer in a band that won “Battle of the Bands” two years in a row at his college. Do you care? I didn’t think so. You’ve got your own life. And while reading about the skills and accomplishments of other people’s children might occasionally be interesting, it’s not something you’re likely to go in search of. As […] Click to read more…
(Listen to this post, here.) The dirt pile next door is now a 3,000 square foot house. Of course, it didn’t happen by magic. Or overnight. We live in a new development: 60 homes that have been under construction for about four years. When we moved here 18 months ago, there was an empty lot on one side of us and a 30-story (I may be exaggerating) mound of dirt on the other. Slowly, over the months, the mound got smaller and smaller, until one day it was gone and […] Click to read more…
(Listen to this post, here.) You know me, I don’t like to brag. But there are some things you just can’t keep to yourself. It all started last Friday, when my wife, Linda, called to let me know there was water coming into our basement. The weather had been very cold for several days and then, suddenly, it switched to very warm. Plus, it was raining hard. With the ground still frozen solid, the water was pooling around the house. Some of it started leaking into the basement through a foundation […] Click to read more…
