Defending Big Brother 12

This summer treat from CBS is truly one of my guilty pleasures. I have not been a die-hard from the beginning, but have been a big fan for the past four seasons. I don’t obsess over the live feeds, but I do check web sites which give updates that the people who only watch TV […]

Navigation Champion

Since we are getting closer to celebrating our 15th anniversary, it’s pretty obvious my wife and I are pretty compatible. We do have a lot of the same interests, but just enough different ones to give each of us an opportunity to have some alone time. But when we went on our recent trip to […]

Book Review: Lottery

People laugh at me when I tell them I know I will win the lottery someday. I really do think that. It might not happen, but I believe it will. When I finished reading the novel “Lottery” by Patricia Wood recently, I knew I had to keep on believing. The engaging book follows the trials […]

Pack It In

Maria and I went on a trip recently. Nothing fancy, just a weekend in Washington, D.C., to see some tennis and have a celebration for our 15th anniversary a couple of months early. As is our usual custom, we flew by the seat of our pants for most of our plans. That meant enjoying lunch […]

Home Alone Again

Nothing makes me happier than coming home at the end of a hard day and seeing my wife and daughter. We really have a lot of fun together. But when I get a chance to have the house all to myself for three days, I’m not going to turn that down. Maria and Bridget went […]

Visiting Washington, D.C.

My wife and I have had a tradition of traveling for our wedding anniversary. We have had some really great trips, but fell off the wagon the past few years. Since our 15th anniversary is this October, I wanted to resume the fun. Luckily, we have had a very flexible definition of when an anniversary […]

Book Review: The Song Is You

You can pretty much always get me with a book about music. The way emotions and memories collide through song fascinates me. Almost every novel I have written or attempted to write has had some connection to specific songs. I accidentally found “The Song Is You” by Arthur Phillips while trying to kill time at […]

Remembering Mayor Maggie

I had enough to worry about on my wedding day. I had a family full of people who could embarrass me at the drop of a hat. My best man had an incriminating picture hidden in his tuxedo jacket that he kept threatening to show my wife. I didn’t need the celebrant losing track of […]

Book Review: The Enthusiast

When I develop an interest in something, I generally go overboard. I don’t just listen to R.E.M.’s albums, I know detailed information about the bootlegs I own. I have only been to Vegas three times, but have read enough and listened to more seasoned travelers enough to feel like I have taken 10 times as […]

My Kind of Team

When Maria and I saw “Date Night” in the theater a few months ago, one trailer in particular stood out. Sure, I immediately wanted to see the movie being advertised, but I could not believe when my wife leaned over and said she could not wait to see the big-screen version of “The A Team.” […]