A dear friend who’s never had to deal with food allergies laughed at me when I evicted all eggs and egg products from our house after Big Guy’s bout with anaphylaxis five and a half …
Is community trust a luxury in America, the Gallup Poll asks as its lead-in to a survey showing that 82 percent of those who make $90,000 or more a year believe a neighbor would return …
It was my mistake, I suppose. I let the guys watch “The Polar Express” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” in the same day.
Big Guy being Big Guy, he immediately picked up on certain …
Once upon a time, in a land long ago and far away, news was news and ads were ads and never the twain did meet.
Oh, sure, the advertisers would try and occasionally succeed. I can’t …
There are two things I like about the new voluntary reading program at Big Guy’s school, which involves his teacher sending home two books that the kids read until they can complete the text without …
If I had a pet chicken I will eat pizza with it.
I will eat hot dogs with it.
I will have a cocoa with it.
I will play with it.
I will take it to The Box.
What would …
With a callous eye toward the bottom line, insurance companies unhesitantly ax coverage for medications asthmatic children need. Don’t deny it. It’s happened to us.
If executives won’t shell out $300 to prevent an emergency room …
So what was that I was saying yesterday about being in a transition stage, where techniques that used to work no longer do the trick?
This morning – when Big Guy poked, goofed off, ignored me …
When it comes to shopping I’m not quite in the mainstream, but the other side doesn’t have a majority either.
According to a Rasmussen Report poll released over the weekend, 39 percent of Americans consider holiday …
Boots announced his arrival home with a wail and a belly-flop on the floor.
“What’s wrong with him?” Dad asked.
“It’s not Christmas,” I said.
“Huh?”
“They were decorating at school today, and he doesn’t get that he doesn’t …
I thought nothing could ever top the warning the eyeglass cleaner at work used to carry: Do not use on contact lenses.
That was before last weekend, when I bought a box of lip balm that …
Damn you, Juan Pablo Montoya.
No, I’m not talking about that little hoo-ha at the end of the last race that led NASCAR officials to tell you to park it for two laps. That was as …
It’s the type of meaningless legislation that usually draws scant attention beyond the members of the team being honored or the local luminary being recognized.
Except this time, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II’s resolution backing the designation …
We thought he’d be gone by now based on the word at the end of July: Deployment in August.
That plan quickly fell apart due to a boatload of paperwork and tasks Dad still needed to …
I’ll admit it: I’m a spoiled brat who never had to travel more than an hour for Thanksgiving as a kid. Until this year, the guys never had to ride more than five minutes.
So imagine …
Bacteria are normal. Bacteria are good. Bacteria can even help the immune system.
So say researchers at the University of California, San Diego. According to an article in The Guardian, the very same staphylococci that causes …
I don’t have fond memories of bowling.
For that matter, I don’t have fond memories of any sport other than as a spectator. I’m the stereotypical “last kid picked in PE class” – except it’s not …
Here’s a great example of how we’ve improved products over the years to the point of making them heaping piles of junk.
The crib I slept in as babe decades ago now lives in my parents’ …
It wasn’t quite as big a deal for Boots as it was when Big Guy got his first non-cousin party invitation a year and a half ago – but, then, Boots already has been to …
Are you walking around humming a happy tune, blue birds over one shoulder and a rainbow over the other?
You better find something to worry about and fast. It turns out that, while walking around in …
I love independence – one of the happiest days of my life was when Big Guy woke up early, climbed on a stool, hoisted the Cheerios from atop the fridge and made himself and his …
You’re a harried fast-food worker sticky with sweat and grease but trying to maintain the obligatory smile and chirpy tone because even a minimum-wage job is a coup in this economy.
“Welcome to McDonald’s, may I …
Yes, I’m paying $9 a bag for organic hamster food – double the normal cost, and $9 was the sale price. Yes, I’m ordering it online because I can’t find it locally. And, yes, I’m …
I suppose it’s human nature for defenses to go up in the face of criticism.
But still, it’s perplexing when those being criticized – or even mildly questioned – still are lashing out almost two months …
The desert’s not everyone’s mug of iced coffee, but I happen to like it. That’s why I’m on my third family in the past year – they keep leaving, but I always manage to find …
What would it be worth to you to stop swine flu from spreading? Would $290 a week be too much of an investment?
That’s how much it would cost to let a minimum-wage worker stay home …
I sensed that there wasn’t something quite right about the man on our first date, when I delicately dipped an egg roll into the clear-your-sinuses-hot mustard as he slathered the sauce the full length, spreading …
It took me a while, but I finally figured out where I’d previously seen the scam the drug companies are trying to pull off on health care reform.
It was about this time last year, at …
