Happy Day of the Dead! It's November and I love November because it's the last month before my absolute favorite month: December. Over the next week Halloween candy will flood into workplaces all over the United States. This is the cycle: grown ups buy candy, give it...
Has anyone noticed this phrase that’s become popular? The phrase “Yeah, no” is interesting to me because it seems to have replaced “no” in a lot of sentences. Instead of, “No, I’m not going to be able to make it,” we say, “Yeah. No, I’m not going to be able to make...
My sister wrote the following letter to Senator Diane Feinstein of California, but is sending copies to her congressional representatives, too. She gave me permission to send a similar letter to my Illinois reps, copying entire passages from hers, and she encouraged...
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...
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...
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...
[Does this photo look like cruelty to you? It does to me.] As a new dog owner, I'm irritated by people treating their dogs like humans. American pet owners like to call our animals our "best friends" or the person we can always "talk to." But while you can talk to an...
When we first got our dog from the shelter last fall, we took him to the veterinarian. Among other things, I asked if a lean, short-haired dog like Ozzie would need protection from the weather. Should we get him a coat or some shoes? She said no. Dogs don't need...
I'm grateful for being an American. I never felt this way until I left the country for the first time in my life and finally used a passport at the age of 44. I went to Peru and Bolivia. There I saw what my life could have been if my grandparents hadn't hauled...
Two weeks ago, in response to my January 19th post, one reader commented: Tell me more about ‘English Only bull#$%.’ What does that refer to? Does Mexico publish its voter materials in other languages for the benefit of non-Mexican-speakers? English Only is a movement...