Grammar is a such strange thing. It looks so easy. You think you've figured it out, you think you know the rules, and then something comes up out-of-how-no-where and you need to follow a completely different rule. Who can follow all that? I know I can’t. I've worked as a newspaper reporter. I've written speeches... Continue Reading →
Getting to the other side
The Microsoft Teams messages and emails started coming in early in the morning. First one and then another. I wasn't even sitting down yet at my desk and my in-box was overflowing. Everyone had questions and, unfortunately, there weren't a lot of answers. When we finally got the news, it wasn't good. My employer, a... Continue Reading →
The farmer: A message of hope
(Reposting a previous blog with some slight editing.) I wrote this piece more than thirty years ago when I worked as a reporter at a small newspaper and was sent out to cover a house fire that had come across the police scanner. The sad thing is that the piece never appeared anywhere — at... Continue Reading →
Some friendly advice: Signs everywhere
You never know where you’ll get some good advice. My wife and I went to an ice cream shop on a recent Sunday afternoon and saw a silly saying on a dish towel. My dish of "Death by Chocolate" was to die for, but I’m thinking I found my new permanent call to action. "Money... Continue Reading →
Full of hot air
Oh, I start out with the best of intentions. I’ll come up with a blog idea and I’ll start writing. At the start, I’ll pay close attention to length. I'll lecture myself on keeping my blog short. I’ll remind myself to choose my words carefully, to be concise, and to use active verbs. I'll play... Continue Reading →
In the eye of the hurricane
I don't know for certain, but I suspect Alexander Hamilton would understand. I write today in my blog, Rounding up the Gremlins, on The Heart of the Matter about how I fall back on writing when I'm faced with troubling times. Outside of my wife and family, my writing is my constant companion. Yes, I... Continue Reading →
Fiction: Miles to go before I sleep
(I like to play with fiction every once in a while. It's a nice break from my personal essays. Let me know what you think of Bella and her efforts to protect her human family.) Bella jumped up on the couch and let out a wince. The pain in her legs was a constant now,... Continue Reading →
Oh, what a beautiful day!
When we still worked together, a coworker and friend of mine from London liked to call me every July 3 to wish me a "Happy Treason Day." He liked to follow-up by calling me an "ungrateful colonial" and promised to stop sending my team Cadbury chocolate, English tea, and Guinness Beer. Of course, I got... Continue Reading →
My name is Bond, James Bond!
Everyone wants to be the hero. Everyone wants to be James Bond, saving the world from impending doom. I get that, but I’ve always wanted something else. I've never been greedy. I don't need to be the hero, I just want his or her toys. The hero ― at least the ones in books and... Continue Reading →

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