A friend—we met in college—recently retired and moved back to his hometown. Excited about his relocation, he invited me to visit, to see his origins. Jerry and I hadn’t been close as adults. We communicated sporadically and visited each other when convenient, but, for me, it never was a priority. He was, in my mind, …
“Zit. Call me Zit. My friends call me Zit.” “No. I won’t. That’s disgusting,” the high school teacher replied. “It says here your name is Zebadiah Taylor.” She pointed at the attendance sheet in her hand. “My initials spell Zit. Everyone calls me that. Even my parents.” “Well, I’m not.” Tonya Stern shook her head. …
That looks like an airline reservation confirmation code, doesn’t it? But it isn’t. It is, however, one of my favorite vanity plates. It was on an expensive car, the make I’ve forgotten, the kind that wealthy country club folk drive. People with names like Thurston Howell III. It took several minutes of deciphering, but I …
Patrick O’Rourke’s smile was as white as an Irish Easter lily, his eyes radiant blue like the Irish Sea glistening in the sun. He was, as his name implied, Irish through-and-through. His pale skin was as pure as a freshly laundered Irish linen bedsheet. But the Catholic twenty-six-year-old’s black hair wasn’t particularly Gaelic and, typical …
We’ve all heard it. We all say it. But, I think, few of us consider its constant misuse and overuse, and, more importantly, what it says about us when we use it. The “it” here is the phrase “I love…” There are readers who say, “I love a good mystery.” Some classical music lovers may …
“The first tropical storm of the season is forming west of Guatemala,” the online weather site reported. “OK,” I thought, and clicked on YouTube and watched a video of schnauzers juggling bowling balls. Then I watched a seven-month-old boy recite the Gettysburg Address in Latin. I didn’t give the announcement a second thought. I should …
Imagine, for a moment, hiking in stiletto heels. Or tap dancing in flip-flops. Or playing ice hockey in ballet slippers. Common sense says the inappropriate footwear would be counter-productive and could invite accidents. Now, imagine exiting a building in hiking boots, descending the first set of steps and, to avoid a second set, you take …
When Olivia Newton-John reached #1 with “(Let’s Get) Physical” in 1981, we all knew she wasn’t urging us to become more active, even though the record’s video was set in a gym. We all understood the lyric’s real meaning, Olivia’s true message. She was telling an unspecified someone she had desires, was horny, and wanted …
Doctors in the United States are known for, among other more positive qualities, their illegible handwriting. Their scribbles on prescriptions and instructions have been a standard joke in television sitcoms and stand-up comedy routines for decades. While frequently exaggerated, examples of doctors’ notorious penmanship causing problems do occur and true tales exit hospitals and clinics …
I’ll never forget it. It was our senior year. My high school had a tradition. We held an annual male beauty pageant—it was a satire of real beauty pageants
