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Lyric Problems: Rachel Platten’s “I’ll Stand By You”

Rachel Platten is a popular female soloist who is best known for her anthem Fight Song but also for her almost equally popular I’ll Stand By You. I like I’ll Stand By You, but I have a serious problem with a specific lyric that ruins the song for me.  Platten sings: Oh, truth, I guess…

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Someone wrote a song about me! About me!

Spotify recently added podcasts to its offerings. Wondering if my podcast, Boy vs. Girl, had been added, I asked Alexa, our Amazon Echo, to play Boy vs. Girl. She told me that she couldn’t find it on Spotify. Then I asked her to play “Matthew Dicks,” hoping it might pick up my name as one of…

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A Trump supporter has found his bridge-too-far, and it’s pathetic

Former NFL head coach turned television analyst Rex Ryan was on ESPN’s pregame show on Sunday. Ryan was a vocal Trump supporter during the election, going so far as to introduce him at a rally in Buffalo, NY. On Sunday, in a conversation about Donald Trump’s comments about football players kneeling for the anthem, Ryan…

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Practice makes perfect

While Elysha and I were at the Patriots game on Sunday, our children spent the day with friends. Part of that day was also spent at a classmate’s birthday party.  As we drove the kids over to our friends’ home, I said, “Clara. Charlie. Make sure you say please and thank you today. And when…

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Would I ever take a knee in protest during the national anthem?

I was pulled over by a police officer last week. I was driving 53 MPH in a 40 MPH zone. Honestly, I had no idea that I was speeding. It was Elysha’s first day back to work, and I just wanted to get home and talk about her day. I guess I was a little…

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My favorite piece of paper

Elysha and I attended yesterday’s Patriots game at Gillette Stadium. It was her first game in years, and she picked a good one. With less than 2:30 on the clock and down 33-28, Tom Brady orchestrated an eight play, 75 yard touchdown drive that won the game for the Patriots. With less than 30 seconds…

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Republicans don’t read The Bible

Last month, the Republican Congress sought to repeal ObamaCare, slash Medicaid, and strip more than 35 million Americans of their vital healthcare. They came one vote away from achieving that goal.    This week they are at it again. A new, even more draconian bill is being considered in the Senate that would once again strip…

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Never call it a “side hustle.”

I have long been an advocate of dedicating a small percentage of your free time to developing your next possible career. Whether this is painting or poetry or poker, you should be pursuing an interest that has the potential (however unlikely) to become a future career.  This is not to say that there is anything…

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Lyric Problems: Van Halen’s “Jump”

“Lyric Problems” is a new, reoccurring segment on this blog in which I point out a serious problem in a set of well known lyrics. Today I’m talking about Van Halen’s “Jump,” a 1983 hit by Van Halen.   Following the first chorus of the song, David Lee Roth sings the following lines: Aaa-ohh Hey you!…

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For the first time in his life, my son cried because of a book.

I read The Giving Tree to Charlie, my five year old son, last night for the first time.  It was incredible.  He sat quietly beside me on the bed as the boy and the tree played together in the summer sun.  He remained quiet as the boy returned years later, first taking the tree’s apples to…

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