I do not know about you, but I remember when I got my first job vividly. The day after I turned sixteen, I went downtown to apply for a job for Christmas. Mind you, my birthday is in September, but I did not want to miss the opportunity. I went to Sidey’s department store. I went to the ...

Editor’s note: This column was written at Thanksgiving 2006. Thanksgiving weekend, for me, is the first gift of the holiday season. Now that the arrival of a grandchild has changed the family Christmas venue to Boston, Thanksgiving is at our house. It’s a much easier deal. I find ...

I grew up in the 1950s, north of gritty Youngstown, Ohio, close enough to see the nighttime red sky from the open hearth steel making furnaces. Many of my classmates’ parents spoke broken English. The ‘50s were boom years. America was the sole industrial nation standing after World War ...

Next week we celebrate Thanksgiving. At this point I have no plans but it will all come together. How Thanksgiving has changed down through the years. We used to go to Grandma Swanson’s but when she no longer could do it, we went to my sister-in-law’s. I always worked right up through ...

Last week’s column was about a nice day. A really lucky day. Then life happened. Back in my middle years, I made a promise to myself. If I’m going to work throughout my life, then I’m going to make sure I play a little in my retirement. My original plans were for some tennis, ...

Votes have been cast. Votes have been counted. Seems the election was fairer this year. Less griping. Perhaps someone will figure out why. Abortion was on the ballot in 10 states. Currently abortion is banned after conception in 13 states, banned after six weeks in four more states, and ...