Different is Better Than Better

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My sister-in-law Kathie and her husband live a couple of hours away from us in Western Massachusetts. So, my wife and I occasionally get together with them for a hike someplace inbetween. Such was the case last weekend when we met at Purgatory Chasm State Reservation, a place that, while certainly not paradise, is not hellish either. (Oh, I guess that makes sense then.) In addition to the woods and trails that you would expect to find, it is also filled with interestingly named, natural rock formations, such as “Devil’s Corn Crib,” […] Click to read more…

Rekindle Your Newsletter

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12 COMMENTS

The truth is, it took me a long time to buy a Kindle. It’s not that I don’t like gadgetry, it’s just that I really like books. I like the way they feel. I like the way they look. I like sitting at my desk and seeing them happily loitering on my bookshelves across the way. But when I finally tried a Kindle, I was pretty much sold. First, and because it is Wi-Fi connected, I have immediate access to thousands of books. Plus, I can tap on a word […] Click to read more…

Voices Carry

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20 COMMENTS

We just got back from a terrific, two-week family vacation in beautiful Colorado. We covered a lot of ground, making a big loop from Denver to Durango to Ouray to Golden to Boulder and back again to Denver. Along the way, two things stood out to me: Thing #1. The state of Colorado does not care whether you live or die. Want to ride a motorcycle without a helmet? Go right ahead. Feel like swimming in a raging river? Hop on in. Have the urge to drive along a two-lane mountain […] Click to read more…

Katz Got Your Tongue

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20 COMMENTS

Well, it happened again yesterday. I was standing in line at Starbucks awaiting my turn to order (tall, black, dark roast) when I heard a young woman say my name. Except that’s not what happened. What she said was, “I need to get back home to feed my cats.” What I heard was, “I need to get back home to feed Mike Katz.” Which of course, makes no sense, since I had just eaten lunch and I don’t even know where that woman lives. This phenomenon, known in the literature […] Click to read more…

Is Your Overlap Lacking?

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32 COMMENTS

I was a little worried there for a while, but everything worked out in the end. I had stopped into a local gas station yesterday to fill up. I was in the town of Milford, one of the few remaining places in Massachusetts where it is still illegal to pump your own gas (don’t ask, I don’t know either). And so while the man was taking care of things, I grabbed my wallet from the center console. Except …. my wallet wasn’t there. Uh oh. Now what? There are no […] Click to read more…