I never imagined I’d be waking up in a hotel room in Tokyo on the morning of my son Max’s wedding reception. But here I am in the heart of the city checking my suit hanging in my garment bag, hoping it made the long journey unscathed (and unwrinkled). While getting dressed I had flashbacks […]

After months of anticipation, my wife and I were sitting on a plane flying to Japan on our way to visit our son. We were excited to attend his wedding reception in Tokyo. I won’t bore anyone with the details of a 14-hour flight. It was fairly smooth and non-eventful despite all the horror stories […]

At the end of March when I flipped my calendar page to April, a sudden sense of urgency rushed through me. In a few short weeks my wife and I would embark on the trip of a lifetime. We were going to Japan. To Tokyo. To my youngest son’s wedding reception. The date on the […]

One of the perks of working from home is I don’t have to share the choice of radio stations with any co-workers. Working for a daily newspaper requires attention to detail. I can’t have the television on. It’s too distracting. The radio serves the purpose of providing entertainment and information, but passively in the background. […]

Spring officially began last week and I barely noticed. Its arrival flew under the radar stealthier than a Chinese weather balloon. There was no March lamb or March lion announcement. The anemic winter weather of the 2023 season faded out in a gray haze and morphed into spring as the fog dissipated. And now it’s […]

Last Thursday’s late winter snowstorm wreaked havoc with everyone’s schedule. And as usual in my household, Mother Nature and the cosmic universe love to throw monkey wrenches into my plans. I was under the weather with a head cold (not Covid), so my wife was on snow shoveling duty that day.  Our grandchildren were with […]

­My Alexa interactive voice assistant device is equipped with a special feature that alerts me to breaking news stories. A yellow ring flashes notifying me if I have an incoming notification. Alexa’s robotic voice will announce the headline. Nine times out of ten it’s nothing of consequence. If the breaking news involves mass shootings or […]

I’m concerned about my job. There’s an A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) computer program that will write stories for you. Simply open the app, type in a subject, add some key details and in minutes the computer will generate a written article tailored to your specifications. You can even choose the name of an existing writer and […]

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines writer’s block as “a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece”. I am lucky enough never to have suffered from this particular affliction. When most people stare at a blank sheet of white paper, they see nothing. I, on the other hand, see unlimited potential. I’ve never […]

Now that the year has ended, there’s no going back. But that’s okay. I don’t think I’d want to anyway. Farewell 2022, I hardly knew ye. And what I did know, I could have lived without. I’m fine watching last year fade away in my rear-view mirror. Oh that’s right. I no longer have a […]