I grew up in a small town, a hamlet to be exact, named Hawthorne.  Our street was a quiet, dead-end where you recognized every car that drove by.  When you stood in our front yard, you looked across the street to a huge baseball field, whose outfield carried you up the long grassy hill to the elementary school standing tall …

As we have been on the road a couple times this summer, the minivan has been relatively quiet.  Road trips are our opportunity to phone it in on parenting duty and let the kids veg out and watch their tablets.  On this last road trip, I started to think that maybe the tablets should take a break, the books should …

The other night  as my wife and I were sitting at the dinner table with our three hyenas, we had had enough.  It’s the middle of the summer, we’re eating later than normal, and the kids are just acting like wild animals.  So with a deep clearing of my throat,  we paused the “game of dinner” to yet again go …

I hate sipping through coffee lids. Anyone else with me?  I’ll give lids credit, they’ve come a long way.  It’s a rarity that I run into that little pull tab that refuses to tear back properly as I balance the cup between my legs sitting in the front seat.   To keep my rant as short as possible, the main …

My major in college was economics.   There were a number of reasons I found economics interesting, but it also didn’t hurt that it required FAR less credits to graduate than say a Business Administration degree. It also didn’t hurt that it was the first class I got an A in or that there were only really two economics professors …

June of this year marked the 9-year anniversary of my family buying and moving into this home.  The closing went smoothly and the move went off without a hitch.  Other than my brother and myself spending two hours trying to reassemble my daughter’s crib, with no instructions, it was a pretty charmed day.  That was until I had to get …

My wife hates parking.  The only thing she might hate more is my love of parking and how obnoxious I am about letting her know every time I get the most premium of spots. I can’t help myself! I have to let the universe know I appreciate the assist in what was another high pressure, log jammed school parking lot. …

I remember like it was yesterday when Shaquille O’Neal entered the NBA in 1992. I was in the middle of an all out sports card craze and couldn’t get my hands on his rookie card fast enough. There was this one card from the brand Upper Deck that you had to be lucky enough to get the card in the …

Driving home last night I had the following little dialogue with my son: Nate: Dad, I lost my Bills Hat. Me: Which one? Nate: The one I just got for Christmas. Me: Do you remember when you may have lost it? Nate: Well…I was looking for it and it didn’t appear.  The conversation went on with me explaining that he needed to save up some money …

It has been a while since I’ve thrown down the gauntlet, and if you are feeling brave here is your May challenge: Find a nearby swamp and walk blindfolded into the muckiest part for 25 paces…just joking. Almost nothing creeps me out more than snakes, so let’s get realistic.  Your May challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to visit …