On a recent trip my wife and I happened upon a kiddie playground replete with swings, horizontal monkey bars, slides of various sizes, a whirl, etc. The playground was vacant but as we walked we spied a series of warning signs alerting people to the dangers that...

Do you remember your first time?  I sure remember mine.  The year was 1955 when my Uncle Joe asked my parents if I could join him to visit my paternal grandparents in Pasadena California. For a 10 year-old fifth-grader the notion of boarding a commercial airliner for...

I truly believe the 1950s were the best possible time to be growing up in America.  When I say that to friends or family they’re quick to point out that I attended high school, graduated from college and later served in the Marine Corps during the decade of the 60s....

It’s been said that millions of Americans suffer from a malady referred to as panophobia.  For those unfamiliar with the term, panophobia means the “fear of everything.”  It’s that uneasy feeling of insecurity that usually manifests itself on Sunday evenings and...

English isn’t the easiest language to master, and here’s a humorous look at the reason why. How does someone just learning the language understand that the bandage was “wound” around the “wound,” that the farm was used to “produce” “produce,” the dump was so full that...

When I was younger the study of words seemed an academic endeavor, if not downright boring.  But an experience I had in Vietnam that changed all that. Early during my tour in country I began feeling discomfort with one of my wisdom teeth.  As it turned out, it was...

My wife Bobbi and I have been truly blessed to travel to Africa so frequently.  The African bush is magical.  It’s both spiritual and raw, all while it’s authenticity washes over you in ways that must be experienced to be understood. Recently I was re-reading Lawrence...

A general characteristic of the Model T now generally forgotten is that it was the first motorcar of consequence to put the driver’s seat on the left.  Prior to this, nearly all car manufacturers (of which there were perhaps a thousand) placed the driver on right...

When re-heating leftovers in the microwave space out a circle in the middle, it will heat up much more evenly. Use a squeeze-ketchup bottle top (preferably a clean one) with your Shop-Vac to clean your keyboard, phone, microphone or other nook on an electronic device....