On a recent beautiful day, I was driving to the grocery store with my windows down and the radio blasting. An old favorite song came on and I began singing along and doing the head bop. I looked over at a vehicle stopped beside me at a light and the young driver looked at me

Predictions about what the future holds never interested me much. As a child though, I did love watching “The Jetsons” cartoons. I especially liked the part where Jane Jetson would press a couple of buttons and a delicious hot meal would pop out of the wall. As an adult, I love watching cooking shows and

This year, Mother’s Day in my family will not be just about me, but also my daughter-in-law, Jane, my son Sean’s wife. They welcomed their son into the world just before Christmas last year and he will soon be five months old. Undoubtedly, Jane has already discovered that little boys are amazing. Right now, they

Now that spring is upon us, I can’t wait for my lilacs to bloom. I have a big, beautiful lilac bush in my front yard. For about three weeks, we keep a full vase of lilacs in every room, filling the entire house with their lovely scent. It is amazing to me how some scents,

With winter almost behind us, I find myself thinking about taking a vacation somewhere. Although I have flown by airplane to great destinations many times, I am a “freaked out” flyer. My favorite columnist, the late Mike Royko of the Chicago Sun Times and Chicago Tribune fame, was not fond of flying, either. He famously

It’s February, when Valentine’s Day gives us an opportunity to show our loved ones how much they mean to us. In 2023, Americans showed their love to the tune of nearly $26 billion in greeting cards, candy, flowers, fine dining, jewelry, clothing and more. But contrary to popular opinion, Valentine’s Day is not really a

My wish is for everyone to have a happy, healthy and peaceful 2024. If you’re one to make resolutions, I wish you success with keeping them. Last year, I made some “personal improvement” resolutions – but I’m adding a new one, which is to stop boasting to kids about all the perilous activities I engaged

For most parents, one of life’s saddest moments is when their child discovers the truth about Santa Claus. I will never forget an incident that occurred several years ago at a company Christmas party. It was a very festive event for employees and their children. A visit from Santa Claus was the highlight of the

Every November, casual conversations with friends include inquiries about their plans for Thanksgiving. The answers go one of two ways: they are looking forward to it, or they dread the upcoming day. To many people, Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate with family with an abundance of great food including turkey and all the trimmings

October is and always has been my favorite month of the year. Not only do we finally get a reprieve from the heat and humidity, we are surrounded by a vast array of colors when the leaves turn to beautiful reds, golds and oranges. When my youngest son was four years old, we were riding

The title of a musical from the early 1960s called “Stop the World, I Want to Get Off,” referred to a time in life when everything seemed chaotic and going too fast. While I don’t really want to get off the world, I am genuinely concerned over the speed with which things are getting out

For the past 54 years, not an August has gone by without my thoughts drifting to the Woodstock Music Festival, and the hippie movement in general. I wanted to go to Woodstock on that August weekend in 1969 and to this day, I am still bristling that I couldn’t. Woodstock, as most everyone knows, was