Bill Lyons used to write sports columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Once in a while, he would digress, and write columns that he called “Random Thoughts and Second Thoughts”. They were columns about random things and events. I loved those columns. I loved that he wasn’t bound by the traditional format of a 1500 word […]
Gravity
Websters defines status as “the relative position or standing” of something or someone. We pay a lot of attention to status in our society. If you’ve ever flown on an airplane, you’ve had to wait while people with “higher status” board the plane. The same thing applies almost everywhere we travel. Hotels have separate check-in […]
Jester
My future in-laws had a dog named Heidi in the 1970s. From what I’ve heard, Heidi was a great dog. She was a beautiful German Shepherd. Smart, loyal, and well-behaved. She had diabetes, and required insulin injections every day. My in-laws took care of her faithfully, and she took care of them. Heidi had a […]
Can Openers
Every family has someone who is not as smart, not as accomplished, not as well educated… Someone who never reached their full potential, for whatever reason. The person in the family who makes other people roll their eyes. Unfortunately, in my family, that person is me. —– I promise that everything that follows is completely […]
Funerals
I go to funerals. I think it shows respect for the deceased, and for their family and friends. So if I know someone who dies, I try to go to their funeral, whenever I can. I try to find some meaning in the act of attending funerals. Years ago, I read a quote (I think […]
When I Was Your Age
When I Was Your Age My grandmother Nettie was born in 1906. She used to look at the sky sometimes, and was amazed at the number of airplanes flying overhead. When she was born, cars and planes were not commonplace. The Wright brothers first flight was in 1903, and Henry Ford’s Model T didn’t start […]
Role Models
I have four role models. These are people I have known and watched forever. One of my friends calls them “angels”. I won’t name them by name here, but they know who they are. A few years ago, there was a TV commercial about role models. In that commercial, a famous athlete came on […]
Advertising
I remember the first time I learned that a sports arena sold its naming rights to a company. The arena was the old L.A. Forum, and they changed their name to the “Sponsor” Forum. I was shocked. How could they do this?! Now, every arena and stadium sells naming rights. In fact, some companies sponsor […]
Civility
I have the opportunity to travel to a faraway place for work. I go there a lot. When I land there, I arrive in a city of 25 million people. It is a big city. I have been there 10 times so far. I have spent about 2-3 months of my life in this city. […]
The Cathedral of Rouen
I had a 12th grade English teacher, who loved Shakespeare. He tried to introduce us to all things Shakespeare. At the time, all that I could handle was the Cliff Notes version. So I didn’t absorb very much. But one thing that I do remember, is that he highlighted the role of Shakespeare’s Fool. (This […]
