This is my favorite time of year: the months that end in "ber." My favorite month of all is December (because of Christmas), but I also love the autumn months that lead up to that. These days I'm in rapture because I made it through another summer, soon the hot...
#77 Bus on Belmont Avenue, March 14, 2015 Blogging on public transit. Just want to say that this is the scariest day of the year for me. I do not like leaving my home on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day because the drinking starts early and I mean EARLY. Some...
This summer and fall, many have been recognizing the 100th anniversary of the early events of World War I (which lasted 1914-1918), but here's one we should all note. Do you want a story about two warring armies who - for 24 hours - stopped firing on each other, out...
It's my Christmas tree with all-pink ornaments. This year I got a reindeer throw rug to go under it. I love December 17th because it's exactly one week before Christmas Eve, which is my favorite day of the year.
[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...
United baggage area at O'Hare on 20 Nov 2014 I spent last week visiting my father in the San Francisco Bay Area, and one thing really struck me: there was no Christmas music on any of the radio stations out there. In the Chicagoland area, we have our local "lite...
(I'm blogging on an iPad app, so forgive me for the font going weird at times.) I've been watching with disgust the build-up to the new Black Thursday, which used to be known as Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, although it has its own fraught history, was one American...
This Thursday, July 24th will be my 48th birthday. I'm excited about it because I like patterns and 48 is twice 24. I'm also partial to multiples of 12 and have been waiting for this birthday ever since I turned 36. (Anyone familiar with the Chinese Zodiac knows that...
It's Valentine's Day. I finalized my divorce last Friday. I had oral surgery on Tuesday and sometimes my mouth hurts. But I'm still in a good mood. Happy Day!
(This message is aimed mostly at Americans and people traveling in the U.S. during December.) To anyone who goes out to a restaurant, bar, hotel or any other place where hospitality employees are working so YOU can enjoy Christmas, TIP GENEROUSLY. Bartenders and cab...
I recently downloaded the Blogger application (remember that "app" is short for "application") and this is me trying it out. I'm blogging on my tablet from my hotel room in the Hyatt North Houston, where I'm staying for the holiday. Let's see how this goes.I tell you,...
Okay, the tree isn't pink, but every single ornament is. Pink is my favorite color and now that I live on my own again, I can do anything I want with my apartment. This photo shows enough of the room so that you can see that this tree isn't big. I wanted a tree that I...
Many people who celebrate Christmas see it as a time of great expense, thankless effort and having to get along with people they can't stand. It's a time of ill-fated expectations, endless holiday tasks and extra responsibilities. People who experience the holiday...
This is a revision of a piece I first posted in December 2011. Family gatherings are fun, pleasant and filled with love and respect, especially during the holidays. I offer the following suggestions merely as a public service for that small, practically non-existent,...
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...