I remember when VCRs came out. It seemed that no one over the age of 27 knew how to stop the clock from flashing 12:00.
It was such a simple fix that I never understood why the adults couldn’t figure it out. Even after I showed them how to fix the clock, they still couldn’t grasp it.
The same was true for programming the thing to record Columbo, The Andy Griffith Show, or any of the other programs that grownups couldn’t live ...
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I have a hard time getting rid of magazines.
I know that I could remove my name and address and donate them to a library or a hospital, but I just know that one day I’ll want to dig one back out to reread something.
Even though I’ve never done that.
My piles of Mother Earth News, Countryside & Small Stock Journal, Smithsonian, Cooks Country, and Guns & Ammo, are growing ever larger.
But magazines are dwindling in number, and many of the best ...
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I think everyone should have a hobby.
I believe this simply because it’s so interesting what each of us finds fascinating.
For some, movies are a hobby. There’s a subset of movie lovers who are obsessed with Star Wars.
Pick 10 people on the street and ask them what they think of Star Wars, and you’ll likely get nine different answers.
A couple of them will be fanatics and have seen every movie at least three times each. One or two others will be ...
Continue Reading →Political shootings. People happy about political shootings. People outraged about political shootings.
Political violence. People happy about political violence. People outraged about political violence.
What has happened to us?
I was taught to avoid discussing religion and politics. But today, I’m going to address both.
As a country, we are reaching a point of fracture. I believe that our behavior and words will determine the direction our children will inherit.
Not so many years ago, someone portraying a decapitated president or threatening to burn down ...
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There was a simple toy I used to love. It featured a bald man with big eyes and a red nose, who was shielded behind a plastic case. There was a red-handled stick, or ‘wand’ as it was called on the package, that had a magnet on one end.
Inside the plastic case were metal shavings. If I placed the toy flat, I could use the magnetic wand to drag the shavings over the man’s face, giving him hair on his ...
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I stood patiently waiting to pay for my socket set. There was a couple in front of me who, with the help of an employee, were thumbing through a sale flyer. Whatever it was they wanted to buy, it seemed that it was in the flyer but not in the showroom.
“I know I have some in the back,” said the clerk.
The three then left the register area and headed that direction.
There was one other employee in the tool department. He ...
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If I ever find a bottle with a genie in it, I’m using all three wishes to have someone else mow my yard.
I know, you’re thinking that I should use one of my three wishes for a permanent genie lawn boy and the other two for a winning lottery ticket and TV news with no arguing. But, I’m fairly certain that even an eternal genie would tire of mowing my yard. It’s fairly large.
When I was a kid, I couldn’t ...
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Einstein’s theory of relativity includes something called “Time Dilation.”
I’m about as far from being a scientist as one can possibly be, but the way that I understand time dilation, two clocks show different times when they’re affected by gravity or velocity. A clock on earth would move faster than one in orbit. The faster you go, the slower time moves.
Supposedly, this theory has been proven through multiple tests, but my own test also bears out his results.
As evidence, I present ...
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I saw something this week that I hadn’t seen in almost 50 years. At first, I stared, puzzled, at the photo my aunt had posted online from her antique shop. I recognized the item, but just couldn’t place it. Then it clicked.
It was a barber chair booster seat.
The long, heavy metal base supports a frame that, in turn, supports a small round seat, which, in turn, once supported the bottoms of boys while they got their hair cut.
I used one ...
Continue Reading →The first time I saw the red Formica dinette table, I wanted it. It reminded me of the aqua colored one that resided in my childhood home. I tried to buy it from my neighbor. Twice.
But my neighbor wasn’t interested in selling it. Over the period of a few years, he and his wife would have garage sales. They always had nice items they were offering, but that red Formica dinette table and its matching four chairs weren’t something they ...
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