When I was a young kid, my mother would occasionally pack up my brothers and I into the family car and cart us off for the hour to two hour drive to visit my grandparents or one of our aunts or uncles, who were Amish. My mother grew up Amish in rural Central Pennsylvania (think... Continue Reading →
Four things that make me happy
I grew up reading the news. My local newspaper was slight in size, but I started reading the paper from front to back at a relatively young age. I loved baseball and football, so I obviously made my way to the Sports Page, but I read the rest of the paper too. The topic didn’t... Continue Reading →
Who do you admire?
Every year since 1948, Gallup, the polling company, has asked Americans to name the man and woman that they admire the most. Surprisingly, I didn't show up anywhere on the most recent list! I'm nowhere to be found. Instead, former President Barack Obama and current President Donald Trump tied last year as the most admired... Continue Reading →
Take me home country roads
I can sense it coming. The feeling starts out like a distant ache. I’ll push it back to the back of my mind in the hopes that it will go away. My attempt to keep my focus to “the here and now” will work for a while, but the feeling will soon come back. This... Continue Reading →
A dog’s love: Welcome home
I’ve never won a Golden Globe Award given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, an Emmy, an Academy Award or even a Pulitzer Prize for that matter. There's no Grammy Awards hanging on my fireplace mantle and I’ve never thrown three touchdown passes in an NFL game or won the NFL's Most Valuable Player award.... Continue Reading →
Expecto Patronum
Indigenous cultures occasionally focus on spirit animals who help guide and direct them during times of trouble. It’s not just the native cultures, but modern day fiction too. In J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World of Magic, Harry Potter’s Patronus charm takes the shape of a stag, just like his father. Wizards use the spell as protection in... Continue Reading →
Snoopy and Teddy: The best of friends
In a long running gag from the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy tells Charlie Brown that she’ll hold a football for him to kick. Charlie Brown refuses to kick it at first, not trusting Lucy, not wanting to get burned again. The two go back and forth until she convinces him to trust her. Charlie Brown... Continue Reading →
A doggie homecoming
When I come home from work, our dog, a lhasa apso – bichon frise mix, greets me at our front door. She’ll prance and jump in front of me and try everything in her power to get my attention. Her attention is focused squarely on me. My arms are full and I usually have a... Continue Reading →
Talk, talk, talk
My wife is a talker. She loves people. She greets everyone she meets with a friendly smile and a hearty hello. Yes, she’s one of those people. She gets pumped up by mingling and helping others. I love people too. Well, let me restate that, I love the thought of people, but I prefer to... Continue Reading →

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