Last Christmas Eve, I was talking with our nephew Casey. He mentioned a visit to our home as a young boy, and then asked “Do you remember making cheese fondue at the cabin? That was so cool!” The memories of that weekend, and our ‘70s era burnt orange fondue pot came flooding back.
Continue reading “Cheese Fondue”
Last July we received one of those phone calls that shifts your world. Our niece, Bre, let us know she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Thirty-eight years old, this started her on a new and unexpected journey that still continues.
Continue reading “Bre”
It was 7:00AM and I was on my way to feed the horses when I heard gunshots in the distance. Hunting? Maybe. It was barely light out and too early for target practice. Then, another — CRACK! —, closer this time. What the hell was going on?
Continue reading “Disquieting Beauty”
I still see the chunk of tractor-trailer tire flipping end-over-end in slow motion towards us. Growing bigger and bigger, it slammed into the front of our car and bounced off the hood, before disappearing in a flash. The actual elapsed time was perhaps one second from start to finish, but it was enough, and the damage was done.
Continue reading “Chunk of Tire”
Cath and I recently saw “A Christmas Carole” at Ford’s Theatre, our 12th year in a row. I always find it renewing and every year, a different character or part of the play touches me. Not just Scrooge, or Tiny Tim, or the Ghosts, but sometimes a minor character like Old Fezziwig stays with me and provides inspiration.
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Army-Navy. Yep, it’s this week – the renewal of the rivalry that started in 1890. This year, Army is 11-1 and Navy is 8-3, but records rarely seem to matter. I know I never take the game for granted and always feel a churn in my stomach in the days and hours leading up to game time.
Continue reading “Singing Second”
After three days in Lisbon, we were driving north to Nazaré. Big waves were coming, and by luck, we were going to be there to see them. On the way, we detoured for lunch at the restaurant O Forno in the town of Almeirim. O Forno is famous for their Sopa da Pedra (Stone Soup).
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How much is quality work worth? How much would it be worth, if the person doing the work came back two years AFTER completing the job to make sure all was still good? That was our recent experience with Chad of Precision Painting and Improvements. Simply Amazing.
Continue reading “Gotta Stand Behind my Work”
It was a sunny morning at the end of October. I was sitting on the couch drinking coffee and looking out the window. It was pretty, but I noticed that in the breeze, leaves were falling like snow. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, the strangest sense of sadness gripped me. It was a visceral feeling.
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Fifty years ago, in August of 1974, my then girlfriend (and now wife), Cathy moved to DC. Although 18 and holding a job with the FBI, she couldn’t qualify for a $500 loan on her own. Her father had to co-sign with her. Discrimination for loans, based on sex or marital status, wasn’t made illegal until two months later, on October 28th, 1974, with the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
Continue reading “Not Going Back”
Live Life Exuberantly 