In life, inevitably, you will accumulate a group of people who traverse major milestones with you. You may not necessarily pick these people as much as haphazard circumstances bring you together. This certainly has been the case for me. After college, I moved back to my hometown; my college sweetheart followed soon after. We found…

The only light was coming from the street lamp, giving my car an almost ethereal glow. Snow was falling from the sky, as it had been for the past few hours while I worked my final shift at Liquid Art. It was one of those nights where so much snow was falling, the plow trucks…

 During college, a friend and I got into a bit of a predicament after a long night of partying. We were highly compromised and foolishly thought it might be fun to break into the school’s gymnasium to shoot baskets. At the time, I was in charge of the men’s intramural basketball program and therefore had…

 I love the United States. I feel lucky to live in this country and be afforded the liberties and opportunities made available to me here. We’re not perfect, by any measure, but I think we’ve done far more good in the world than bad. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m a…

There are several families who live in my neighborhood. Most are either retirees or younger couples with adolescent children. I know all of them somewhat but none of them deeply, meaning, I’ve had wonderful conversations and interactions with many of them over the years, but very few are coming over for drinks.  One neighbor who…

I’ve mentioned many times how much I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks. I listen to them in the car while commuting or traveling. I listen to them while I run and play golf. I listen to them when I’m puttering around the house doing chores. I even listen to them when I go to…

  I had landed in Paris after an overnight flight, found my hotel room in the city center, and was now ready to begin my adventure. I had been planning this trip for years, and now the events were finally unfolding.  Looking back, it may have been a bit of a midlife crisis. I was…

For the first 10 years of my marriage, my mother-in-law gave me pajama pants for Christmas. She was a self-avowed horrible gift-giver and upon gracing me with the sleepwear, would announce, “Yeah, it’s another pair of pajamas. Just switch them out and keep quiet.” The pajama pants were generally good quality, usually flannel, with some…

In 1950, a young George Martin, having been educated at the acclaimed Guildhall School of Music and Drama, joined the British record label EMI as a producer. Five years later he became the head of Parlophone Records where he specialized in classical and comedy recordings. Martin, however, was always on the lookout for ways to…

In the summer of 1816, Mary Shelley, along with her future husband Percy Shelley and a few friends, spent time at the beautiful Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva in Switzerland. This was known as the “year without summer” due to the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora (which disrupted global weather patterns), so they experienced less…

By Dom Cioffi Once the presents were opened, the wrapping paper was discarded, the food was served, the dishes were cleaned, the relatives had exited, and the decorations were taken down, my wife and I sat in our living room and discussed the holiday. We both agreed that it was an exceptional year, but also…

By Dom Cioffi Once the presents were opened, the wrapping paper was discarded, the food was served, the dishes were cleaned, the relatives had exited, and the decorations were taken down, my wife and I sat in our living room and discussed the holiday. We both agreed that it was an exceptional year, but also…

  Well, it’s that time of year again. Another 12 months have passed, and we are now faced with that year-end tradition of reflecting on what’s transpired. Are you a better person on Dec. 31 than you were on Jan. 1 of this past year? Did you improve your health? Did you break a bad…

By Dom Cioffi  Frank Loesser was thrown out of high school and college — both times for the same reason: he failed almost every subject. Oddly, the one class he excelled in was English, which would prove prophetic as his career trajectory unfolded. Given this track record of failing, Loesser had to be resourceful, especially…

  For reasons likely buried deep in my DNA, I have always had an acute sense of smell. While my other senses have been ravaged by time, my olfactory awareness has maintained a high-level status. My mother also had a great sniffer, which posed considerable problems for me and my two brothers as she was…