In certain instances, job discrimination is considered acceptable. For example, a Catholic Priest would have a tough road to hoe to get hired as a Rabbi, no matter how extensive his career background. There’s really no reason NOT to hire him, but it’s just not going to happen, is it? We accept ... Views: 1100
Why do flags flap on a windy day?
Believe it or not, this is just one of many questions science cannot surely resolve. There are others: What is gravity? Why do we dream? How many species inhabit our planet? Why is it that the freeway lane I choose is always the slowest? (Okay, in all ... Views: 770
Did you know there is an International Association of Print House Craftsmen (which has several women members)? In the day of $99 ink jets and 24-hour print shops, these folks still “bleed ink.” What they construct with printing presses and paper is art – pure and simple.
If you didn’t know ... Views: 1057
If I were king of the world…
Should I be anointed Grand Poobah of all things earthly, I would make significant changes. As a benevolent leader, I wouldn’t be “mean;” but be confident I’d wield my power to appropriately mete out consequences to society’s ne'er-do-wells.
My first task would ... Views: 851
I was “row monitor” in second grade; sitting in the last seat making sure the students in my row behaved. On this day, all was quiet; no one messed with the law when Scott was around. My enforcement duties complete, I was able to turn my attention to the current “quiet time,” period that daily ... Views: 1750
When my children were young, I registered their growth on the hallway doorjamb with pencil marks and knife notches. Next to each was inscribed a date and name. Since those statistics are most likely meaningless to the latter owners, I assume sandpaper and lacquer have removed that chronicle; yet ... Views: 786
"Yay! I am finally moving forward on my goals for the year!”
“Good for you! So, what are these great plans you have?”
“Well, I always make resolutions and then I give up. So, I did some research and I found out that experts say if you’re really serious, you have to write them down. So I ... Views: 1002
Dear Santa…
There are some things I’d like for the New Year. I know that’s not within your usual bailiwick, and you’re probably pooped from a long sleigh ride, but if you don’t mind…
First, please give me good health. My body carries me faithfully from before my birth until my last days. ... Views: 1367
A “meme” is a basically a “thought virus.” In the same fashion that influenza infects one person, replicates itself and then spreads to another, eventually infecting large numbers of a population; memes follow the same process through the consciousness of our culture, affecting (or “infecting” ... Views: 828
Fixing Smokey
My wife, Mary Ann, is one of the most nurturing individuals you will ever have the pleasure to meet. She is also a passionate advocate for animals. More specifically, one might refer to her as “one of those cat ladies.” I personally would not do that as the result would be that ... Views: 1662
Yesterday was horrible.
I was going to ride my bike to my appointments. The bright sunny clear morning sky cooperated as I headed north on E Street. Upon reaching the intersection of Highway 101, I waited for a green light.
Once it changed, a car heading in the opposite direction proceeded ... Views: 1154
Stupidity in the quest of “Skinny”
In the sixties, the main diet methodology was a purple collection of mimeographed pages covered with a lengthy list of foods and their calorie counts. Dieters were instructed to eat only 1,000 calories. Not knowing how to manage our eating (or we would not ... Views: 864
If there were neither barriers nor obstacles from birth until death, what could one person truly do in his or her time on Earth?
Over one person’s lifespan, he could build understanding between countries, generating bonds among millions. Should he choose the healing arts, one soul could cure ... Views: 1130
I’m not dead.
At least when I wrote that; I wasn’t. Being the intelligent reader of this column, you put two and two together and surmised that in a flash. Hopefully, as you read this, I am still in the not-dead state of being — and shall remain so for decades yet to come.
Having proven ... Views: 970
You just never know
Early morning routine: Jack, my dog, and I are taking our walk. His leash is in my hand, my headphones are clamped over my ears; I am absorbed in the back-and-forth of my favorite podcast. Jack and I; just doin’ our thing.
The neighborhood is residential; no major ... Views: 1076
I have a very unassuming, quick-thinking question. Don’t ponder the answer; just blurt it out. Ready? (Um, that’s not the question.)
Here we go: “Who are you?”
At first blush, it’s such an innocuous query and our replies come by rote. We provide our name. But, in reality, that’s not ... Views: 1020
Between the covers of the business book currently on my nightstand, the author devotes few pages to discussing cash flow or spreadsheets, while much ink is dedicated to changing one’s thoughts about money. It is her premise that our income basically determined more by how we think than by the ... Views: 1085
A good time that doesn’t involve eating
I hadn’t seen him in years even though we live in the same town. You know how it is, I’m busy, so is he. Time got away from us. It’s not like we had a disagreement, or we didn’t want to see each other; it’s just that, well, life kicked in…
I answered ... Views: 1350
He was celebrating four years of sobriety. When I asked how he knew it was time to initially seek help, he said, “I finally realized I had no control over alcohol. I thought about it all the time. I couldn’t wait to drink. I was obsessed with it.” As I listened, I thought, “Substitute the ‘food’ ... Views: 1244
Complain, complain, complain…
My, but we’ve become a grouchy lot, haven’t we? Maybe it’s climate change, or the economy; who knows? It could be the alignment of the stars for all I know, but we’ve got our cranky pants hitched on and we’re wearing ‘em a little too snug around our sensitive ... Views: 1057
I’ve had a revelation.
Since the “great recession” of 2008 (which appears to still be in process) came trampling through our economic landscape, I have been — like so many others — waiting and hoping for the rebuilding. When will things get back to how they were? Can we soon return to easier ... Views: 1716
Being a news junkie, I’m glued to the cable networks. Wedged between the peccadilloes of badly behaving starlets and inappropriately tweeted photos, the anchor brings in two political panelists to discuss the upcoming election (Already? Really? Oy!) To feign “balance” he has a GOP strategist and ... Views: 1228
Most of life is done by rote.
For most of us, alarm clocks buzz the same time every morning. The average grocery store stocks over 38,000 items; yet the standard shopper goes to the same store every week, usually on the same day, and chooses from the same few dozen items every outing. We ... Views: 1060
I am a perfect-o-holic.
Sure, I know it’s folly; yet I can picture that magical happy place where all goes according to plan and everything works out as I imagined. I have a plan.
Today, I become the pinnacle of modern workplace efficiency. Without exception, every single solitary item on ... Views: 1167
If deprivation was a successful weight loss strategy, obesity would be obliterated.
At first blush, sacrificing one’s favorites appears like it would blast away those extra pounds, and it does — but only temporarily. Long-term, it’s unnatural and ineffective.
Oh, sure, we can sacrifice ... Views: 865
In the end, we are remembered via the relationships we leave behind.
I stand five-eight, no one’s depiction of “towering giant.” Someone of my stature is supposed to tip the scales at no more than 165 pounds. When I was 39 years old, I weighed 250. More frightening was that at such an early ... Views: 1112