I grew up in a family with two older brothers; one was 8 years older and the other was 13 years older. Given the age gap, we did not play together much. So, by default, I was left to fend for myself, and while there were plenty of neighbor kids around, when I was…

  I watched an interview recently that featured a 70-year old man sitting in a wheelchair. He was mild-mannered and well kept and when prompted, spoke openly about his life and experiences. He was born in the United States, but because his father was involved in the military, he found himself growing up in Okinawa,…

  The internet is quite a place, even though it isn’t really a place at all. Over the years, I’ve watched it morph from a little known tech speciality to a worldwide phenomenon. And while I originally viewed it as the answer to all life’s problems, I now question whether we’d be better off without…

  I’ve had a couple close calls in my life. One summer during my mid-teens, I was at a lake with friends when we decided to hike up a trail that promised a grand view of the region. When we got to the top, we sat on a rock outcropping to enjoy the vistas. Being…

When I was in 7th grade, a couple girls in my class decided that I was going be the focus of their attention. The two girls wrote me a note explaining how cute I was and that they both liked me. I was admittedly, taken aback. It was impressive to have one girl like you…

  I was digging through some attic containers a few months ago when I came across a small black box with a familiar imprint on the outside. I knew I recognized the design, but my memory couldn’t place it. I opened up the box and pulled out some packaging before my eyes latched onto the…

One of my college roommates called me up to tell me that he died recently. He’s a bit of a jokester, so I laughed off his initial statement. But then I sensed an air of forlorn seriousness in his voice.  It turns out he wasn’t kidding.  I’ve known “Phil” for 35 years, and if I…

  When I was a child, I was always contemplating what I might do if I had one (or several) wishes bestowed upon me. My desires for these wishes changed over time, but they all had a thread of consistency about achieving some level of renown in the disciplines I was interested in. For the…

  Evelyn Adams loved playing the lottery and dreaming about the day she might finally win big. Initially she spent $25 a week on tickets, but over the years her growing passion to play drove her spending to over $100 a week, hinting at the first signs of a burgeoning gambling problem.  Adams was in…

  As a child, my parents were against excessive television watching, so, consequently, I had to find something else to do when the outdoor option was unavailable. Because of this, I became enamored with board and card games. I started with Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, checkers, and a variety of card games. Once I…

  I had an inkling that something big was happening, so when the truck pulled up and the guys got out, I ran outside to investigate. It was Christmastime circa 1980 and my father had been working with one of his buddies to secure a used pinball machine to house in our basement playroom. And…

I got out of work the other night and had nothing to do, so I decided to walk nine holes. Luckily, it was the perfect scenario: spring was in full bloom, the temperature was stable, and the course appeared empty.  I walked up to the first tee and did a few stretches and then proceeded…

I’ve had countless friends in my life. Some have stuck around for decades, while others were gone in a matter of months. But what I’ve realized is that the length of time of any friendship is not indicative of the friendship’s worth. Take Danny, for example.  Danny and I met in kindergarten and were friends…

  In 1984, my high school basketball team had one of the best records in the state. My teammates and I had been playing together for years, so we were a well-oiled machine. We also had a diverse set of players that covered all the needed attributes for a championship team.  I was a tall,…

I remember that it was Christmastime in the mid-1970s. I was at the local mall with my mother in the now defunct retail chain, Montgomery Ward. I liked going into Montgomery Ward because they had a little bit of everything. But during the holiday season, they beefed up their toy section, which made it especially…