The gift showed up two weeks early — and transported me six decades into Christmases past. The package came from longtime buddy Tom. I tore through the wrapping paper. As soon as I saw them, I recognized those 3-inch-by-2.5-inch hunks of metal like old friends. It was a Christmas nearly ...

When I was 16, I had all the answers but no one would listen to me, especially not my parents. When I was 32, I had plenty of life experience to draw from to advice others, but no one would listen to me, especially not my kids. Now another 32 years have zipped past and I’m just sloshing ...

I am NOT tickled pink over this one. It makes me blue. According gift and ornament retailer Unifury, online searches for “Pink Christmas Tree” shot up 286 percent over the last six months. Thanks, Barbie. What a doll. Barbie and I were born the same year. We’re both in our mid-60s, ...

I clawed through the closet, holding up one tie, then another, then another against my oddly buttoned shirt, trying to remembered what patterns clashed with what. As I settled on an understated yet tasteful Scooby-Doo neckpiece to go with my suit, the truth dawned on me: I have lost the art of ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: Enjoy this Cole Classic is from 2018 while Burt relaxes on his vacation. “Live each day as if it was your last,” the sage said. So I called off work. If I knew these were my last 24 hours on Earth, there’s no way I’d squander eight or 10 of them chained to a ...

“Say, did I ever tell you how I got this scar right here on my thumb?” “Only about a hundred times,” the storyteller’s victim says. “I’m surprised you have any thumb left, what with all the different things that caused that itty-bitty scratch.” “Well, sir, it had been a ...