Columns

It is a seismic jolt when kids fly the coop. I know from experience that it’s sad. And may I say it is sadder when girls leave home than boys, because by age 18, boys have so much testosterone coursing through their bodies that it is simply time for them to go.

I chose the word nauseous over cautious because my stomach is churning at the very possibility Trump could get a second term. But I don’t believe that will happen. The progressive forces in America are overtaking the regressive.

In a world where everything seems to be public, it is hard at times to escape from everyone being “in our personal life.”

The conversations in our house recently have sounded more like the discussions inside an accounting department.

One of the concerning health headlines toward the end of 2023 was the loneliness epidemic that is affecting millions of Americans, causing premature death in many cases. And it’s not just the U.S. that is grappling with so many adults and young people feeling alone and isolated. The World Health Organization declared loneliness a “pressing health threat” last November, and it was one of the top five health issues listed in a global roundup report by the World Economic Forum.

I will never get into the National Baseball Hall of Fame unless I buy a ticket. That’s because my batting average in Little League was lower than my weight and my winning percentage as the manager of my daughters’ softball team was just as bad.

I’m standing in front of the stove looking at the timer. Half of the 12 minutes are gone, so I turn on the oven light and peer through the glass door to check on the progress of the mounds on the baking sheet that are undergoing a chemical transformation from dough to chocolate chip cookies. They’re lookin’ good Hugo! They will be better still when I pull the pan and the taste and feel of caramelized butter with melted chocolate takes hold of my taste buds. Anticipation!

When nature is at its worst, Americans are at their very best. Take the recent wildfires raging in Texas’s Panhandle. There are countless stories of people risking life and limb to help their friends, neighbors and even complete strangers.

Rumors of financial shenanigans have doggedly followed Joe and Hunter Biden for nearly as long as there has been dirt, but they are not the only members of the Biden clan to be tainted in such a fashion.

The doorbell rings, I open the door and nobody is there. As scripted, I exclaim in surprise that the doorbell rang but nobody is here.