Category: Journal
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I Almost Moved, But Didn’t
I don’t have the engagement here that I used to have and that was getting me down a little bit–enough that I went so far as to execute a new start on a new platform, one in which I might be able to stir up new interest in exchange for new a new commitment to…
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It’s A Wonderful Life In Indiana, PA
I have the good fortune of living in the town where iconic film star Jimmy Stewart, who played the lead role in the classic holiday movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” was born, raised, and to which he often returned. The town of Indiana, PA is the county seat of Indiana County, PA, which for decades…
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What Is Up With The French?
I’m a situationally humble person, when it comes to myself and my country (but not my kids, who are awesome, and if you’d like I can spend a few hours telling you why…) and as such one of the stereotypes I’ve fallen for over the years has been the idea of “the Ugly American abroad”–you…
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Home Sweet? Home
It’s been awhile: 23 days. 5974 Miles. 15 States. 10 National Parks. 2 Spectacular State Parks. 5 Motel Rooms. 7 Campgrounds. Temps 33 (Madison, Yellowstone National Park) to -99 degrees (Moab, Utah). 2 Jacuzzi nights. About a dozen great old friends. A few new ones. A lot of new adventures. Am I glad to be…
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Relay For A Cure
So, hey–I’ve been doing this for the past day or so: Relay For Life, one of those community events where you harass the hell out of your friends, and get a t-shirt in return of staying up all night and walking around a course filled with activities and contests and all other manner of distractions. …
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I dreamt I Failed Bill Clinton
So I had this dream. My wife and I were staying at a cheap hotel–one of those single story set ups with a swimming pool and a courtyard right by the roadside, on the highway leading out to Duck, North Carolina, which was odd because when we’ve gone to the Outer Banks we stayed way…
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I Ate This: My Kid Tweeted It
I’m ashamed of my meal, but proud of my daughter. She took artistic license–probably because she didn’t want to reference her dad on twitter–but this was my sandwich–at 3″ x 3″ inches of dry, chewy tastelessness of it. It was like this: we were in a hurry and didn’t want to take the time to…
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Back From “States”
Hey, I was gone again. You missed me. I missed you, too, just as I missed writing for you and reading your stuff for the past 3 days while I was out of town and busy watching my kids and their team-mates participate in the 2015 PIAA High School Swimming Championships. It’s kind of a…
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Winter Cedes To Onions
Everyone else has been getting snow days–we’re at what is hopefully the bitter end to an uncharacteristic late winter cold and snow snap. Temperatures have been up and down for weeks, hitting well below 0 degrees Farenheit zero (-18 C) on multiple occasions and, until the past weekend, ascending above freezing for just two days…
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Prom Gown Shopping For Men
When I realized that the day of shopping for prom gowns my wife had scheduled with my daughters was not a much-anticipated day of mother-daughter bonding, but a drudgery to which my wife was looking forward with all the eagerness of shoeless pilgrim standing before a road of broken glass, I grimaced and stepped into…
Old Road Apples 