Archive for February 2022

Have you ever noticed that people who say “God only gives you what you can handle” aren’t watching their children starve to death in Somalia? Nor are they imprisoned in Chinese labor camps. Nor have they been kidnapped by human traffickers. “God only gives you what you can handle” are words spoken only by people…

Eleven years ago, I began a search that culminated in disaster last week. Elysha graduated from Smith College back in 1997. She adored her college experience, speaks of it often, and looks forward to reunions and visits to her alma mater. Having attended college five years after high school while  managing a McDonald’s restaurant full…

It’s my birthday today, and it’s sure to be wonderful. A morning spent with Elysha and the kids before I head off to school to spend the day with two dozen children who I almost always adore. Then home for ice cream cake and presents. I’m even picking up my new car today. It took…

Thoughts from season 2 of Ted Lasso, as requested by many. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched: ____________________________________ I’m disappointed to see the show turning to more traditional sitcom scenarios in season 2. It’s as if everything that made the show different and special in season 1 was no longer good enough to carry the…

Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” is playing. I’m sitting in front of my computer, listening and writing. Clara enters the room and says, “Dad, is this Elvis Presley?” “Elvis?” I shout. “You think this is Elvis Presley? You think the man singing right now – the one playing the guitar and singing – is Elvis Presley?”…

I wrote this about a year ago and have since added to the list based upon reader feedback and recent events. _________________________________________ I was born after Kennedy’s assassination, so I’m not in the company of people who remember where they were when the announcement of his death was made. That said, people born after the…

It’s getting stranger by the day.   I taught the uncle of one of my current fifth grade students back when he was in fifth grade.   I also taught the mother of one of my colleague’s fifth grade students back when she was in third grade.   And now one of my former students…

It was a tough Saturday for Charlie. He raced in his first Pinewood Derby, a contest by which Cub Scouts transform a block of wood into a racing car and competing against other Cub Scouts in a race down a 32 foot long track. I competed in many a Pinewood Derby when I was a…

Back in 1997, I was managing a McDonald’s restaurant in Hartford while attending Trinity College and the University of Saint Joseph. The manager who hired me, a man named Fred, sadly passed away unexpectedly, and a week later, our new general manager, Jalloul Montacer, arrived. I wasn’t so sure about Jalloul at first. He was…

On Saturday, in a speech to the Federalist Society, former Vice President Mike Pence stated that “President Trump is wrong, I had no right to overturn the election.” This statement has gotten a lot of attention, primarily because the vast majority of Republican politicians agree with Pence but refuse to say as much because remaining…