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My 1992-1994 culture gap: Two years without television, movies, or music

If you haven’t heard, Twin Peaks is returning to television. For me, it will be my first chance to watch the show. Though I was alive and well when the show first aired, I didn’t watch it because it fell between the years of 1992-1994. My lost years. My cultural blind spot. I’ve had many…

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I was once a bank teller, waiting on Mark Wahlberg, writing sonnets, and battling my idiot manager.

Among the many jobs that I have had over the course of my life, I was once a teller at a bank for South Shore Bank in Randolph, Massachusetts, working in the drive-up window whenever possible. Mark Wahlberg actually banked with us back when he was known as Marky Mark and couldn’t keep his pants…

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The stuff of my wife’s childhood is alive and well in the hands of our children, and I’m so jealous.

I tease my wife’s parents for their inability to throw anything away. Their basement is filled with artifacts from decades long since gone.  And while it’s true that they are a little obsessive when it comes to saving things, I’m also envious of the results. My children love to go to their grandparents’ house and…

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A Christmas Story, brought to life through animatronics and a lot of love

On a recent trip to Indiana, I spent some time in Hammond, the hometown of Jean Shepherd, the writer and narrator of A Christmas Story. The person most responsible for planning my trip is a big fan of the movie. Perhaps the biggest fan ever. This woman likes the movie a lot.  She took me…

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Canned, jellied cranberry sauce will not go the way of the dodo (or the Twinkie) if I have anything to say about it.

For the lovers of canned, jellied cranberry sauce, here’s some terrifying news: It would appear that this Thanksgiving Day staple is on the decline. When I went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up several cans of the stuff, I found it relegated to a two foot section of bottom shelf space in the…

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18 reasons for me to be thankful on Thanksgiving 2014

1. My children, who are my greatest blessing in life. I find joy in everything that they do. Many people warned me about how difficult parenting would be. They were wrong. 2. My wife, the ideal mother, and the best wife. I married the pretty, smart girl, and I still can’t quite believe it. 3.…

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The MRI boutique: My next great business idea. Who wants to be my first investor?

New business idea: A shop where you can get an MRI scan at any time.   I’ve written before about the frequency in which people seem to go to the doctor for a small problem, only to discover a life threatening problem in the nick of time. One of the classic examples: A spectator is…

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