[I originally posted this on January 5, 2006 and it's my tradition to re-post it every December.] Here’s my summary of the History Channel's Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas which I find extremely relevant to the annual discussion of the true meaning of...
ArkansasMatters.com ran this article on November 19th: "Charlie Brown Christmas Show Causes Church and State Controversy." It reports that a Little Rock church was performing matinees of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for local schools. The schools sent permission slips...
Many people build their careers in the restaurant industry and they're in it for life. They pay their medical bills, rent, mortgage, children's college, etc. with the money they make from bussing tables, serving tables, tending bar, etc. The majority of their income...
I shouldn't like FX's second season of American Horror Story. I'm sensitive to negative portrayals of people with mental illness and can't stand when emotional and personality disorders are associated with violence and horror. But this is a hard show for me to...
Dear Americans, Please don’t shop on Thanksgiving Day. It only encourages big corporations to make their employees miserable on the one day every American should be able to relax. There's a nasty trend of stores beginning their Black Friday sales on the evening...
My 46th birthday was in July, but I'm feeling like it's time to start calling myself 47. Why not? It's only nine months away. In the meantime: my Christmas application tells me there are 76 days until Christmas! October through December is my favorite time of the year.
Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the Midwest who uses the words "woman" and "women" instead of "lady" and "ladies." Am I the only one who learned during the 1980s that "lady" is euphemistic and sexist? Historically, the terms "lady" and "gentleman"...
I envy non-Latino-looking Americans who learn Spanish and receive congratulations for it.
On July 24th I’ll be 46 years old. I’m excited about it because I still see my birthday similarly to how a small child sees her birthday: another year older and closer to being a grown up and people taking me seriously and stuff. I can’t wait til my 50th birthday when...
I've just about had it with wearing a bra. Years ago I posted that I was going to stop wearing them, but that only lasted a few months (back then my restaurant uniform included a full apron that allowed me to go bra-less without anyone noticing at all). In the past...
Get ready for International No Diet Day on Sunday the 6th! How about it? You might wonder if a day of eating everything in sight really better than watching what you eat. I think the day isn't about going off your diet, but about trusting yourself to eat in...
This Thursday on the United States' National Day of Prayer, nontheists will have a National Day of Reason and recently Washington D.C. saw the Rally of Reason. Coming out as an atheist is becoming one of the bravest moves an American can make, especially if she's a...
As my fixation on nutrition continues, I'm becoming more irritated by people talking about moderation. I might say that wheat gives me a stomach ache or that starches cause weight gain or that natural animal fats are actually good for us, and someone will respond with...
(A fictional story, although stuff like this happens all the time.) Bob the restaurant manager checked the weather one more time. It was 8:00 a.m. and while Chicago was tricky, he tried his best to predict the temperatures each day. "Warm and sunny. Great!" Bob said...