Folklore tells us that witches and witchcraft permeated life in the western world since ancient Rome.  Why then is there such a paucity of witches in modern society?  Considering that today is Halloween I decided to investigate the matter and offer a possible...

Has anyone noticed that there are fewer American flags flying in the valley these days?  Has patriotism suddenly disappeared?  I think not, my guess is that while hundreds of flags were prominently displayed in the aftermath of September 11th, many of them are no...

Ah, springtime!  April showers, May flowers…and the Stanley Cup Playoffs!  What a wonderful time of the year. It’s been said that college basketball’s March Madness is the greatest tournament in American sports; but must I respectfully disagree.  For pure energy,...

Have you ever wondered about the origin of various English expressions and customs?  I’ve verified the veracity of many of the following and you can choose to accept them or not; however, if nothing else I think you’ll find them interesting. In the 14th and 15th...

Living in the mountains at this time of the year is not particularly conducive to thoughts about baseball—after all, the warm, lazy, hazy days of summer are still a “mud-season” away.  But Easter has come and gone, the Final Four has thrilled us again, and even though...