There used to be a television show called, “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” Adult contestants were quizzed on information from elementary school textbooks. As you might suspect, the adults sometimes did not prove to be smarter than the average fifth grader. But guess what? ...
You can tell a big election is approaching because some people are becoming more squirrelly by the day. The last few weeks have featured a flurry of calls, emails and letters to the editor — most of which are about the upcoming presidential election. It’s the Donald Trump-J.D. Vance Republican ticket vs. the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz Democratic ticket, and people on both sides are not shy about telling us where they stand. And, of course, how they believe everyone else should vote on Nov. 5. That’s nothing new. Election season always brings out the political commercials, yard ...
The nice thing about having a 10-minute commute to work is that my ability to eat poorly is way down. Driving 45 minutes one way — as I did for about five years — gave me lots of time for audiobooks and podcasts, but when you spend that much time in a car, it almost becomes a home away from home. Think of it as a moving couch. No, you don’t stream your favorite shows (if you’re smart), but you can hit a drive-thru and graze on whatever you want and be in a food coma when you finally get to work or return home. Guilty as charged. I don’t even want to think about how ...
Maybe I should have become a politician instead of an ink-stained wretch. That is the thought that popped into my head when I first heard about the Larry Householder bribery case. But then I think about the downside of spending two decades in prison and I realize I’m not nearly as arrogant ...
A popular meme suggests that you should enjoy your 20s, 30s and 40s because once you hit your 50s, your body’s “check engine” light is sure to come on when you least expect it. I can confirm that. I managed to enter my sixth decade on this rock without ever spending a night in the hospital … at least not as a patient. But in January 2020, I found myself in the emergency room at Mercy Health-St. Joseph Warren Hospital with a raging case of double pneumonia. The saga began one Thursday at the word factory where I worked at the time. I began to feel lousy that morning and kept ...
I once sat across a desk from two newspaper editors who were interviewing me for a news reporting position. I was more than familiar with the newspaper. I’d grown up reading it and spent the first few years of my career as a sportswriter there. That was clearly the hook that got me the ...
