Controlling urban sprawl should be everyone’s mission

My greenlining correspondent, Gayle Melich, sends a copy of a recent Washington Post editorial that provides more fodder for the notion of restricting urban sprawl. The editorial points out that local and state officials in Maryland are feeling the sting… READ MORE

It’s those cats!

Image by Del Stone Jr.

Note: This was an essay I wrote that later became the basis of a short story, “Aunt Edna’s Cats,” which was published in the Barnes & Noble anthology “101 Crafty Cat Capers.” — As I stand in my kitchen, hands… READ MORE

It was a ‘Wild Kingdom’ kinda day at the golf course

Image courtesy of Flickr user Dennis Church by way of a Creative Commons license. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfc_pcola/

When I want to experience nature in the flesh NATURE’S flesh, that is, not mine – I don’t hike in the woods. I go to the golf course. Such was the case the other day when Scott, my golfing accomplice,… READ MORE

A quick visit took me back to 1979

The doorbell rang. He was still young, in his mid-20s now, and taller and heavier than I. She was about the same age, maybe a year or two younger, with wavy blond hair and a million-dollar smile. I hadn’t seen… READ MORE

I think I’ll color my hair. Then I’ll book passage on the Titanic

In this photo the author (left) greets a visitor to the Northwest Florida Daily News' booth at a local festival. As you can see, the author is overjoyed by the warm - make that cold - greeting the visitor had to offer, which probably resulted in even more gray hairs appearing in his head. Photo courtesy of the Northwest Florida Daily News

This morning I thought we would take an intimate look at eye crud, but a vastly more important issue has since arisen: Apparently I’ve reached that point in life when, in order to continue looking young, I must give Mother… READ MORE

Another home ownership benefit – you get to unclog the bathtub drain

Image courtesy of Quinn Dombrowski by way of a Creative Commons license. https://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/

As a homeowner, I have had my eyes opened to a range of marvelous new experiences, many of them requiring the absence of money. One such experience is a clogged drain. In the halcyon days of my youth, a clogged… READ MORE