I bought new plants for my fish aquarium. I also picked up gravel, rocks and a couple decorations. I hope my fish like it. When I get fish. And when I get an aquarium. I added a box of fish food to my aquatic hope chest. Because I hope to hear the pitter-patter of little feet… er, ...

My friend Laura asked what kind of cookies I would like her to bring to the gathering. I know there’s not supposed to be such a thing as a stupid question, but this came close. As a wise philosopher once intoned, “We have an open-door policy. Bring chocolate, and we’ll open the ...

Every August when I was a kid, the stores in our town rolled their wares out onto the sidewalks and declared a sale for the Dog Days of Summer. Now that people are littering their lawns and porches with pumpkins, spiderwebs and skeletons, what do we call October — the (Black) Cat Days of ...

I’ve just completed another orbit around the sun and I’m getting well practiced at it. I’ve passed “go” more than 5 ½ dozen times so far. I did not get to collect $200, but on one of my previous trips I earned a Medicare card. It’s not quite the same as a get-out-of-jail-free ...

Why is it that no matter where I stood in the kitchen, that I was without fail right in front of the drawer Terry needed to open? Is that what marriage is about? I’ve been wondering about that and other great conundrums of life. Why? Because all that is required to be in a philosophical ...

When it was time to go, Uncle Ron waved and said, “See you in the funny papers.” Or if I told Uncle Tom, “See you later,” he’d reply, “Not if I see you first.” But if he did see me first, he’d call out, “Here comes trouble.” If we dropped in at a neighbor’s farm, ...