By Dom Cioffi Back in 1887, two young men named Robert Long and Victor Bell decided to form a business partnership. They initially set out to sell hay but quickly realized that the amount of wood needed for the transport wagons and storage barns made the venture untenable — especially since wood was in such high demand.…

By Dom Cioffi I did something this past week that I’ve been thinking about doing for years: I climbed inside a sensory deprivation tank for a one-hour meditation session. For the uninformed, a sensory deprivation tank (also known as a float tank or isolation tank) is an enclosed pod or tank-like device that restricts all…

By Dom Cioffi I told my wife not to buy me anything last Christmas because I knew exactly what I wanted as a gift. I then sent her a link to the precise product I was interested in with instructions on the size and color to order. On Christmas morning, I unwrapped a large box…

By Dom Cioffi  I have celebrated Father’s Day in the same fashion for 16 years: My wife gets me a card and a thoughtful gift and places it next to the coffee maker, so when I wake up on Sunday morning, it’s there for me to open. I have done the equivalent for her on…

By Dom Cioffi  I have a specific route I take when I drive to work in the mornings. I take this route because it is the fastest and most efficient way to get from my house to my office. I take the exact same route when I return home. I try to avoid driving this…

By Dom Cioffi I’m not positive, but I think the first time I saw a person wearing a medical mask in public (but not in a hospital situation) was in an airport. This had to have been years ago – maybe 20 or more if my memory is correct. I’m also confident that any traveler…

By Dom Cioffi I’ve finally reached the point where I can no longer justify paying for cable television. It just doesn’t make sense with my current viewing habits. I know some people will find that decision harsh given how much television the average American watches, while others will be tempted to say, “What took you…

By Dom Cioffi I generally weigh myself on the scale in my bathroom once a week. And almost every time I step on it, the numbers register around the same spot. There’s some natural fluctuation up and down through the year, but only by a pound or two. I guess I’m lucky because it’s been…

By Dom Cioffi I recently received an email from my son’s art teacher that explained how far behind he was in her class. She listed four outstanding assignments that my son has never handed in and was critical of his perceived lack of interest. She then requested that I speak with him so that he…

By Dom Cioffi My company held an event at its corporate headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, this past week. We flew in select customers from all over the country to join us in our first in-person get-together in over a year. That strange sense of pandemic uneasiness loomed as folks arrived, but with all the…

By Dom Cioffi There was a paradigm shift at my house this past weekend that forced me to realize how quickly my son is becoming an adult. It all started on Friday afternoon when I picked him up after school. Normally, I pepper him with questions about his day and then have to pull answers…

By Dom Cioffi I spent quite a bit of time in the water during my recent vacation to St. Martin. The Caribbean is obviously known for its pristine turquoise ocean and white sandy beaches, so I was more than happy to spend the majority of my week communing with the natural elements. Within hours of…

By Dom Cioffi At least once every couple of weeks, my son and I head to the music store for an activity we refer to as, “tasting the cakes.” That’s when you walk into a musical instrument store and try out everything in sight. I’ve been “tasting cakes” since I was a teenager — roughly…

A week ago, I explained how I was sitting on the deck of a beautiful boutique hotel overlooking the pristine waters of the Caribbean while writing my column. This week, unfortunately, I’m back to my living room chair. It’s hard returning home after any vacation, but this one was especially difficult. The weather, people, food,…

I am presently sitting on the deck of a small boutique hotel in the Caribbean overlooking a tropical bay littered with yachts, catamarans, and sailboats of various sizes. Many of the vessels I see are moored together in groups of two and three with the passengers enjoying evening cocktails and revelry; the music is ubiquitous…