As I write this, wearing my mittens and three pairs of socks, the weather has warmed up to 14 degrees, with a feels-like factor of 4. Yes, you read that right: WARMED UP to 14. As an unnecessary reminder, water freezes at 32 degrees. So, if it was twice as warm outside, we still could turn ...

It wasn’t much of a snow — not for someone who grew up in the North Coast snow belt. Oh, sure, a swirling wind had drivers guessing whether they were still on the road — mundane stuff for northeast Ohio kids. I know that 16-year-old Burton would have been behind the wheel, adrenaline ...

My Uncle Tom was one of those annoying people who popped out of bed in the morning like a breakfast pastry from the toaster. Only instead of fruit filling, he was filled with energy and jokes, with an icing of a sunny smile and merriment in his eyes. I avoided Uncle Tom in the morning. To be ...

This is the time of year when people get concerned about how much they’ve been feasting the last month — Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Tuesday, etc. We’ve been packing it in and packing it on. Do not panic! There is no need to sign up for a gym membership. You weren’t going ...

Mark Twain once said of fellow author Rudyard Kipling, “Between us, we cover all knowledge; he knows all that can be known, and I know the rest.” There’s great wisdom in that. Like Twain, I, too, am pretty handy with things that can’t be known. Why do I focus on what can’t be known? ...

It’s the last weekend before Christmas, which has me thinking — I’m thinking that it’s almost time to round up a bunch of thoughtful gifts to give. The best part is I don’t even have to put on pants. I can recline here in my easy chair, tap a few keys, scroll through a few ...