Draft Time?
I did not realize until a couple of days ago that the NFL Draft starts tonight. Since they start talking about it and arguing over everything before the bowl games,…
Taking the Plunge
I didn’t make my decision until the last minute. In fact, I didn’t even mention it to anyone until I announced I was going. Last month, I auditioned for a…
Book Review: You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried
I really don’t have any musical talent. Thirteen years of Catholic education only provided me with the knowledge of how to sing hymns. Or how to pretend to sing hymns.…
Movie Roundup
For some reason, I haven't taken the time to review some of the movies I have seen this year. So let's knock them all out in one post. Valentine's Day…
The Case of the Indestructible Travel Mug
Things started out pretty well last Wednesday. Maria and I both got moving a little earlier than usual. Before I knew it, I was all ready to leave for work 10 minutes before usual.
I putzed around the house a little any way. My iPod wasn’t going to load itself. Regardless, I strolled out the door at about the usual time with no real reason to rush. This was the first nice day after all the rain, so I got all my stuff inside the car and headed for work.
Or so I thought. After a block or two – and this is after making on left-hand turn – I heard some kind of weird noise. I checked the cover for the sunroof first. Sometimes I don’t pull that completely shut, and it rattles. But that wasn’t the problem.
I looked over at the passenger seat. I had driven with co-workers to meetings the two previous days, so I wondered if the seat belt got tangled and was bouncing against something. Or maybe they left something in the seat that was rattling. No dice there either. Then I heard a small thud, a roll and one more strange sound.
Before I had a chance to even look in my driver’s side mirror, I knew what had happened. I looked back and prayed that no one would run over my travel mug as it bounced along the road side, spreading hot coffee along Baer Avenue.
Happy Birthday, R.E.M.
Something remarkable happened in a very unremarkable fashion 30 years ago tonight. A young woman named Kathleen O'Brien threw herself a birthday party. From all reports, she wanted it to…
A Good Trip
The stars recently fell in perfect alignment - my daughter's Girl Scout camping trip coincided with opening night for Hot Tub Time Machine. I knew from the moment I saw…
A New Kind of March Madness
I think everyone who went to college had a rich buddy who never listened to anyone. He had enough money to make his mistakes negligible. Wreck a car? Dad will…
A Fond Farewell
I have resisted writing this post because I didn't want to admit the news was true. A week ago, Zach Braff posted something on his Facebook page that I fully…
The Circle of Life
When we suffer a tragic loss, the best way to move on is to find meaningful something to fill the void. I can’t wait for that part if the grieving process.
With the nice weather a week or so ago, I decided we needed to cook out on the grill. After all, we could run around outside all day. What good is that without the smell of meat wafting through the air?
So I picked up some chicken from the store and got the fire started. These days, that takes a little work because the igniter in my gas grill – which is at least a decade old – doesn’t really work anymore.
I have to turn on the gas and slide one of those long, thin lighter things into the hole by where the propane is released. Naturally, I lean back as far as I can to make sure I don’t lose any valuable hair.
The fire started, and I threw the chicken on the grill. After a little while, I noticed something strange. The fire didn’t seem to spread naturally and was coming up above the grill rack and heating things up a little more than I wanted.
After a minute or two of investigation, I realized the little metal thingy (I think that is the technical term) which spread the flame evenly had come dislodged so that the flame came up one side completely unfettered.
We looked closer and noticed that not only had it shifted, but rust had seemed to take over part of it. For a moment, I got sad because I didn’t want anything bad to happen to the grill. Then I realized the wonderful silver lining.
I could go grill shopping.