Weathering It Dedicated to Mary Capozzi The other night we are struggling with the Final Jeopardy question when there is a loud, ugly buzz/beep that interrupts the show and the words move across the screen:   “There is...

Firetruck Bombing Do you ever feel like you have embarked on a journey, entered a path through the woods, traveled hundreds of miles only to find yourself right back at the path’s entrance?  That is how I feel about...

Imagine This I inherited a number of values from my Italian ancestors:  love of learning, a strong work ethic, devotion to family, and perpetual pursuit of al dente cooked pasta. I also received the gene dedicated to the...

Measure Twice, Cut Once Sometimes in life there are exact moments.  Reasons for why we like certain foods or why we behave a certain way in certain situations are often murky and complicated.  At age five we love tater tots, at...

Remote Control My father-in-law, like my own father, in fact, like most fathers of the Great Depression generation, was not fond of add-ons.  When asked why he would not include an ice cube maker in the purchase of his brand new...

We Are History There are days, weeks, years, shards of decades that I cannot recall with any great clarity.  But I remember with the clearest of vision a slightly chilly but sunny Friday one autumn when I stood on the corner of...

Ads Infinitum I remember the good old days when I used to fret about unloading the mailbox at the bottom of my driveway and sorting through the five thousand ads in shiny colored newspapers and manilla folders filled with...

The Most Wonderfullest Christmas Ever I have celebrated and enjoyed many Christmases over my three score and ten plus years.  Some of the very best involved watching my children dash down the stairs to see what Santa had placed...

Powerless Polley sensed the impending disaster first. “Listen to that wind!”  We were both sitting in our leather recliner watching an old Perry Mason episode.  I pressed pause on the tv remote.  Yes.  The wind just perked up...

Mumbling Unbecomes Electra Mumbling Unbecomes Electra One of the songs I liked back in 1964 was a musical venture titled In the Year 2525 (quick, name another top ten hit by Zanger and Evans!) basically because I was a teenager...

Drive-ins, the New Normal The other day I was having one of those rough times.  You know.  Corona virus preventing me from dining at our favorite restaurant—-even our non-favorite restaurant.  A President in “debate”...

Bravery One early spring night, my father told me to follow him down into the basement.  He opened up several drawers which held some cash and a few keys.  He took the keys out and told me what each one opened what drawer or...