I put on my coat to run a couple of errands and my wife was positioned comfortably on our living room sofa watching the latest Hallmark Christmas movie. In the minute it took to tell my wife goodbye and kiss her on the cheek, I got the lay of the land: Young advertising executive Melanie... Continue Reading →
Things that can’t be bought
The commercial flashed by on my television screen last year and was gone in 60 seconds. I’m not sure when it first caught my notice, sometime in November or December, possibly during a football game or late one evening watching a movie. I was sitting in our living room, half-heartedly paying attention to the TV,... Continue Reading →
Looking for our seat in the front row
When I was a young kid, my parents got my brothers and I up early one Saturday morning to make the three-hour drive to Pittsburgh to see my favorite baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. I could barely hold in my excitement. The game would be my first Major League Baseball game. The drive went past... Continue Reading →
Traveling on a whim
We could travel to Europe. We could stroll past the luxurious galleries and plazas surrounding the Louvre and the Tuileries garden for a classic romantic walk or take our picture together looking up at the Eiffel Tower. We could catch a table at Carretera Miramar, a picturesque, little café overlooking the city of Barcelonia, and... Continue Reading →
Saying you’re sorry
I think one of the best lessons I ever gave my kids: telling them when I’m wrong. For example, a few years ago, I picked my son up from his high school cross country practice and was driving him home. The sun had started to set and a cold wind blew making it feel later... Continue Reading →
Trick or treat and a costume dilemma
I looked like a real-life pirate. I just needed a wooden peg leg and I would’ve looked like the real thing. Without the leg, I still looked pretty darn good. I had a black eye patch and a beard that covered much of my face, but that wasn’t all. I wore an old wig that... Continue Reading →
Twenty five years of wedded bliss or bust
I heard a loud crash. I thought at first that I had heard thunder clapping outside to go with the drenching rain, but I quickly figured out that a young alter server had accidentally kicked over a row of folded chairs. My fiancé and I were getting married. We had hoped for a bright, crisp... Continue Reading →
My four-legged friend
My throat is dry and coarse. My stomach feels like I’ve been sitting on a boat for the past two hours, it wobbles and rolls with the sway of a make-believe ocean. I feel sick. It’s been coming on now for a few days and it’s starting to catch up with me. I’m trying to... Continue Reading →
Hail Mary!
I rolled down my window and let the afternoon sun and wind whip through the car. My day had started miserable and now out of the blue it had turned for the better. As soon as I left my house in the morning, I spilled coffee on my shirt and I groaned as my phone... Continue Reading →

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