Every Feb. 2, Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog, is pulled from a tree stump in Punxsutawney, PA. If he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, spring is just ahead. In a 2010 interview, I asked Phil about a request made by the People for the Ethical Treatment of […]
Get this: Wealth, fame and success don’t make us happy, but strong relationships do. That’s according to a 77-year-long Harvard Study of Adult Development that I read about in The Independent. The study began in 1938 with 724 men from two distinct groups. The first group included 268 sophomores from Harvard. The second group included […]
Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders thinks he can wave a magic government wand, impose lots of new taxes and government programs and make the world grand. Reality has another notion. Take the minimum wage. Bernie says he’ll raise it to $15 an hour, more than doubling it. If I worked at a fast-food restaurant for […]
Ah, the autumn is upon us. College campuses are buzzing with activity — as college kids and their parents rack up massive debt to cover the cost of high tuition. The origin of such debt is interesting to trace. In 1987, reports Slate, President Reagan’s secretary of Education, Bill Bennett, published a New York Times […]
When I came to, I was on my back on the floor of my accountant’s office. “What happened?” I said. “When I told you how much you owe, you went down like ton of bricks,” said my accountant. “I owe the IRS again? But I set aside money every quarter!” “How many times do I […]
The old grocery store in my neighborhood is closing next month. Boy, does that make me sad. The family-owned store has been a staple in our community for more than 50 years. Its simple, spartan interior is a snapshot into the past, the way grocery stores were in the ’60s and ’70s — like the […]
I admit it: I love the snow and the cold. I love to be outside, gazing up at the stars on cold, crisp evenings. I love how the snow blankets my hillsides. And most of all, I love how snow disrupts daily life — particularly in Washington, D.C. I lived in Washington for nearly eight […]
“All right, tubby, if you aren’t going to stop sitting in front of the TV, eating fatty and sugary treats, maybe the government should force you to change your ways.” “Force me to change my ways? But I know what foods do and don’t make me tubby. I choose to live this way.” “Yeah, and […]
Get this: The federal government is trying to explain things to citizens in plain English. In 2010, you see, President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act into law. It requires that all federal agencies use “clear government communication that the public can understand and use.” In 2011, Obama took the plain-language initiative a step further. […]
“Boy, here’s something we could use more of today: unity among the American people. Americans are so divided.” “Maybe so, but we’ve been divided worse before.” “We were?” “Watch the History Channel series ‘Sons of Liberty.’ It dramatizes the heated arguments that took place among Colonial leaders, who had a lot to lose by declaring […]
Women have long been annoyed that they do more housework than men, as demonstrated by many studies, but now they are really steamed. Last December, The New York Times reported on a regrettable trend. The number of men between the ages of 25 and 54 who are unemployed is at all-time high: 16 of every […]
I received an unexpected postcard in the mail the other day from an old friend. It made my day. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten a handwritten letter from a friend — it has to be 10 or 15 years. What’s worse, I can’t remember the last time I wrote one. The reasons […]
Ah, winter has arrived in all its glory, which means one thing: more sledding bans! According to The Associated Press, Dubuque, Iowa, has banned sledding at 48 of its 50 municipal parks. The reason: costly lawsuits. In one case, a 5-year-old girl in Omaha, Neb., hit a tree while sledding and became paralyzed. In another […]
The snow started coming down hard a few hours after we’d arrived. It was Christmas Eve 1976. We were 20 miles from home, visiting my mother’s sister at her home in the country. Earlier that evening, my mother, father, grandmother and sisters had piled into the station wagon to begin our trek. I was 14 […]
It’s amazing that the show was nearly not broadcast. I speak of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” — a show that, for reasons I don’t understand, holds more power over me with every passing year. The show has a very simple premise: Too much commercialization can take the meaning out of Christmas. As it goes, Charlie […]
Up in Smoke I admit it: I feel sorry for cigarette and cigar smokers these days. But changing fashions and the results of the recent election may offer them hope. Cigarette smoking used to be fashionable. Actors like Steve McQueen and Sean Connery made it look manly and cool in their many movies. Women who […]
Not until it got dark! That was the trick-or-treating rule my mother set down every year. She didn’t want me to embarrass her by interrupting families still having dinner. I hated the rule. Tommy Gillen and I had big plans to hit as many houses as possible before we had to come home. It was […]
Proms sure have gotten expensive these days. According to the San Jose Mercury News, high school kids spend nearly $4 billion annually for dresses, accessories, flowers, beauty products, limos and other prom-related items. The average couple spends upward of $1,000 for the one-time event. That got me thinking about my own prom in 1980. I […]
Ring. Ring. “Hello, this is Tom.” “We know who you are, Tom. In the digital age, you will be shocked by what we know about you.” “Who is this? The National Security Agency? I thought President Obama issued orders to rein you in!” “That’s a good one, Tom. Obama told the NSA to stop storing […]
It’s a compelling event — something we all better hope we see more of, if America is to thrive. I speak of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competitions, which will be taking place at various cities across Canada and the U.S. through the first week in April. Teams of […]
It’s a story about how freedom is all. I speak of the Little Sisters of the Poor, an international congregation of Roman Catholic nuns who have devoted their lives to caring for the elderly poor. I am lucky to know more about this remarkable organization than many. In 2007, I wrote a column about Gorman […]
There’s a reason why only 8 percent of New Year’s resolutions are kept: Too many of us make resolutions that lack resolve. “Resolve” is a powerful world. According to one dictionary, it means “to solve a problem, or to find a satisfactory way of dealing with a disagreement.” Bill Gates elaborated on the concept in […]
“The wife and I came up with so many Halloween costume ideas this year to satirize Washington politicians, but we aren’t sure which to choose.” “You speak of a relatively recent trend in which adults pick or create Halloween costumes that mock or satirize current events and popular culture. Robert Thompson, a pop-culture expert and […]
“Man, this government shutdown is making America look foolish.” “I agree with you. I am certainly no fan of the shutdown. But the division in Washington is a reflection of the division in our representative republic.” “I think it’s a reflection of a total lack of leadership among our politicians in Washington.” “You speak the […]
