I turned on the light and something moved

Image courtesy of Roger Brown at Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/@roger-brown-3435524/

I got up this morning about 3:30 to use the bathroom. When I turned on the light I saw something move. There, on the bathroom floor, stood a cockroach – not one of the cute TV commercial cartoon roaches that… READ MORE

My flying days are permanently grounded

Two TWA 707s sit on the tarmac at the Torejon flightline in Madrid, Spain in 1963. One of these planes would take me and my family back to the United States. Image by Del Stone Sr.

My flying days are behind me. I remember the exact moment I discovered my fear of flying – it was on a trip to visit my sister and her husband in Dearborn, Mich. I was 14 and traveling alone for… READ MORE

My thoughts on a high school reunion

Image courtesy of Pics4free by way of a Creative Commons license.

I’ve never been to a high school reunion and I likely never will. No, I wasn’t picked on – no more than anybody else. There are fates worse than being picked on. I was ignored. I wasn’t good looking. I… READ MORE

This column is a lie. I no longer drive a stick shift

Image courtesy of Flickr user Alvin Trusty by way of a Creative Commons license. https://www.flickr.com/photos/trustypics/

Do you know how to drive a stick shift? I received an unnerving introduction to stick shifts when I was 14. My dad and I had been out hunting that day. When we got back to the truck, he climbed… READ MORE

My one and only San Diego Comicon

The author at the '94 San Diego Comicon. Image courtesy of Lurene Haines

In the summer of 1994 I participated in the San Diego Comicon as a guest. It was to be my first and last visit. My credentials hardly qualified me as a “guest.” I went there largely on the coattails of… READ MORE

I need a reboot and an upgrade to boost my walking cred

Sometimes walking presents real hazards, like this branch that fell across the fitness path after a storm. Which of course happened at night when I wasn't out there. Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.

Most mornings I try to go for a walk. It gives me the illusion of exercise, and it gets my folds to jiggling. Jiggling folds are happier folds. But after carefully studying my fellow walkers I’ve decided I’m doing something… READ MORE

Worried about Facebook stealing your info? Worry not

Image courtesy of Raw Pixel by way of a Creative Commons license.

OK FB haters, I’m going to do something I vowed not to do because, frankly, I was hoping the people who haven’t figured it out would never figure it out as they tend to be the loudest complainers. Let’s say… READ MORE

Technology is a wonderful thing – when it works

Mom's pesky TV remote looks like the control panel of an ICBM silo. Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.

Yesterday Mom experienced her first crisis with the new TV. It took me only two hours and three phone calls to get it fixed. Seems one of the batteries in the remote started leaking, creating that white, powdery film we… READ MORE