life
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My dad lived to be 88 years old. During the decades I knew him he would occasionally say something to me that I never really understood until I had kids. And that was simply this: “I’m an amateur at this too.” He was so right. We’re all amateurs no matter how many kids we have
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All generations have their good and bad points; mine just had better music Much has been said, and will undoubtedly continue to be said, about differences between generations. So far as I’ve been able to see, every generation thinks theirs is the best. They will admit that the one preceding theirs had it rougher and
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Besides scheduling time off and making sure the dogs are settled with friends, among a thousand other things, there was the matter of making sure the car was up to the trip. Road trips can always be magical, wondrous times to really get close to the family. Sometimes too close. What parent hasn’t heard, “Are we there yet?”
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How clean is your garage? That’s assuming you have a garage, of course. If you’re lucky – or smart – you don’t have one and in that case you can simply read this and make fun of your family and friends who do have one of the damn things. Here’s another question: how clean is
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Are you crazy? Yann Martel, in Life of Pi,says, “All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways.” If that’s the truth, then we’re all just a bit crazy, some of us obviously more than others. So, the next question is, how crazy are you? Well, let’s see.
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On a quiet Tuesday evening a few years ago I was sitting with my father in his room at San Diego Hospice. He hadn’t spoken in a day or so and I was watching his face and hearing him breathe and just stayed close. As I sat there I saw his hands. Hands I have
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What is lurking in the back of your kitchen cabinets? I’m willing to bet that you probably have a kitchen. And I’m willing to bet that in this kitchen you have cabinets. And I’m also willing to bet that in these cabinets, way in the back, there are things that haven’t seen the light of
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I’ve got a question: At what age did you quit laughing? Now if you’re like most people to whom I ask that question, you said something like, “What are you talking about? I still laugh!” But you know what? You probably don’t. Now please understand that I’m not talking about “adult laughter” (that kind where
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What is lurking in the back of your kitchen cabinets? I’m willing to bet that you probably have a kitchen. And I’m willing to bet that in this kitchen you have cabinets. And I’m also willing to bet that in these cabinets, way in the back, there are things that haven’t seen the light of
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Every once in a while we hear the old refrain of someone being tired of hearing nothing but bad news. And they’re right – lately there has been a lot of horrible economic news. Well, I am going to change the bad news cycle, at least for today, with this column. Today, in order to
Words + Dreams 