On this day in 1874, the US Patent Office granted a patent to Samuel W. Francis for this “invention.” Maybe it was less of an “invention” and more of a combination of two things which, prior to Mr Francis’s bright idea, had not been put into one handy utensil.   One hundred forty-four years later, […]

Read more "What Would You Call This?"

While I’m no expert in Buddhism, I do know that most practicing Buddhists make a concerted effort to “stay in the present moment.” They endeavor to remain unattached to what has already occurred in the past and not affix expectations to what has yet to occur in the future. Buddhists focus on the here and […]

Read more "Don’t Forget, You’re Going To Die"

Every December 31st, I, along with many others, resolve to do things differently. For over two decades, I have annually come up with three-part resolution. Part one: “Give To.” The goal of this resolution is to be generous toward oneself, to “give to” oneself. It can be as easy a committing to a monthly massage […]

Read more "Search for Profundity in the New Year"

The best part of being a member of a group is the access to its privileges. As an American, I have a shared understanding of the ideals upon which our nation was built and the rights afforded to those of us who are, by birth or naturalization, part of this group. (The unbiased implementation of […]

Read more "Red Jays and the Unifying/Fragmenting Power of Language"

With the endless distractions thrown in our paths, we are oftentimes put in situations where we tell ourselves that we are “too busy.” Most of us assign that explanatory phrase to our relationships with others. So while we have a desire to get together with our old pals from a book club that was in […]

Read more "Strengthening the Ties between Us"

In March of 2005, my spouse and I went from a comfortable man-on-man defense to the somewhat frenetic zone method when we welcomed our third-born child. Two years later, when our youngest arrived, we were hopelessly outnumbered. I don’t use the descriptor “hopelessly” lightly. We really needed to abandon all hope in the notion that […]

Read more "Outnumbered, and Out Classed"

Recently, I had an opportunity to be on local TV as a member of a publicly elected board whose monthly meetings are now going to be televised. I have no fear of public speaking and went into the inaugural recording upbeat with the objective of making the meeting interesting, maybe even fun to watch. (Side […]

Read more "The Armchair (aka Ignorant) Critic"