A Close Shave

We had one of those special times a week or so ago. Bridget went to my mother-in-law’s for a few days of spoiling so Maria and I had lots of free time to ourselves.

We totally took advantage of this. We went out to eat a couple of times. We went to see a movie. Basically, we had a very brief practice run for when we have an empty nest.

So naturally, I tried to wring every ounce of fun out of the time. The way the arrangements worked out, I had to get to York by 1 p.m. on a Saturday in order to pick up Bridget. Maria worked that day so I had a few hours to myself.

As I looked in the mirror Saturday morning, I knew I had a couple of options. One, of course, was to stay at home and do nothing productive until I had to hop in the car. The other option stared right back at me from the mirror. I needed a haircut.

Well, I thought I did. I had not had one in a while, and things had started to get a little out of control. Saturday morning seemed like a good time to get a haircut, but sitting on the couch catching up on episodes of “Hawaii Five-O” I recorded almost two months ago also sounded appealing.

So I followed the most important lesson I have learned in a decade and a half of marriage: I asked her how my hair looked. She said I could wait a week, so the unruly mop on my head got a reprieve.

Bad Teacher, Good Movie

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Book Review: Where the Hell Am I?

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Getting Old Stinks

I had a decision to make, a decision which would have wide-ranging implications.

For a number of reasons, I had committed to paying close attention to the NBA Finals. I have slowly drifted toward pro hoops over the past few years. The quality of play combined with some really dramatic storylines in the playoffs had me hooked.

I made it through Game One with no problem. Well, that’s not completely true. The game didn’t start until 9 p.m. and went right down to the wire so I didn’t get to bed until around midnight. I generally get up for work sometime between 5 and 6 a.m.

Did I mention I had a couple of beers while watching that game?

Bridesmaids Scores Big

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Kindle Me!

During a Memorial Day weekend picnic, I had to break the bad news to a friend of ours. She works at a small bookstore.

I had to come clean about the new Kindle I had bought. We had brought it to the event because I had bought a few books for Bridget since she was fascinated by it. I wanted to tell our friend myself instead of having her see it by mistake.

I could tell by the look on her face that she did not like this development. After she heard the news, she set her jaw and looked squarely in my eyes.

“Brian, I want to punch you right now.”

Book Review: Fleeced

Now that I have a Kindle (more on that in next week's column), I feel like a whole new world has opened up to me. I can search all through…