Editor’s comment: John Murphy, who married my sister, Felicia, in 1970 teased that his job in the Irish Immigration office at Dublin Castle was a lonely one “while the folks...
Editor’s comment: I’m addicted to mindless, slapstick humor and this is one of my favorite scenes of all time, from Mel Brooks satirical takeoff on Star Wars. “When will then...
Editor’s note: I chose this book while looking for fiction, a crime story in the bestseller section. What I found was so much more. It takes a few chapters to...
Editor’s comment: Among Alice and my favorite acts at a recent music festival we attended was Ben Harper, playing alone with a couple Fender Reverb amps, a mic and five...
To become a different kind of person is to experience the world in a different way. When your mind changes, the world changes. And when you respond differently to the...
Editor’s Note: I walked into a mom-and-pop bookshop in California recently. The owner asked about titles I liked, then handed me this book after some thought. It’s historical fiction drama...
Oliver Burkeman subtitled his book 4,000 Weeks “time management for mortals”. Time and mortality are tough subjects that Burkeman faces head-on and with creativity and humor uncommon to self-help books....
Editor’s note: Thanks to Mikey Utesch for this one, a song that has it all: rhythm, energy, nice voice and meaning. Favorite lyric: “You’d better believe I’m living for the...
Editor’s note: Once again, my daughter, Caitlin, leads my quest to find great music with meaning. Favorite lyric: I’m afraid of change I guess that’s why things stay the same
Starting things is what I’ve become good at. Stopping? Not so much. Each fall, I review what I learned from the current year. Then, using that information, I...
Editor’s comment: My friend, Joe Gibson, sent me looking for this delightfully crazy story about a frustrated writer/hit man embarking on his last “job”. Having never cared about science fiction,...
Editor’s note: Another wonderful cut from my daughter, Caitlin’s, annual Christmas mix. Light, breezy with lyrics I need to hear over and over and over again. Favorite lyric: Everybody...
Famous quotes are enjoyable and instructive. I’ve compiled hundreds of my favorites since I began writing these newsletters in July of 1988. Most are from legendary folks like Churchill and...
Editor’s note: Beautiful voice and instruments on this, one of my son’s many original songs that I still love listening to after all these years. Favorite lyric: “Preservation only...
Editor’s note: Alice and I are spending our free nights this holiday re-watching the funniest holiday-themed movies we’ve enjoyed over time. This scene of the Ghost of Christmas Present working...
Editor's Note: Thanks to upjoke.com, I shared this with Alice as another reason I won’t ever retire. After my retirement at the company I worked at for 50 years, I...