Laments About Muddled With Family

In Praise of a Short-Order Cook

A Sentimental Blog about Short-Order Cooks and My Father

short order cook

When I was 12, I had a terrible ear infection. We had just moved across the country to a new town. I didn’t know anybody, couldn’t go to school, was in pain, had balance problems, and was just miserable. But I found weekly salvation in the kindness of a short-order cook and my father. Read more

Torn Jeans, Tattoos and Other Taboos

Pity Poor Me

Torn Jeans, Tattoos and Taboos

Growing up, I chafed under three parental fashion edicts — no tattoos, no pierced ears, and no torn jeans with frayed edges or holes. Oh, the life of a suffering teenager! Read more

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Home Decorating Magazine Addict

A Designing Woman — In My Dreams

Home Decorating Magazine Addict

Each month I haunt the mailbox, eagerly awaiting the latest edition of my favorite home decorating magazine. I thrill flipping through the pages. Yet, even then, my desire isn’t satisfied. Sadly, I’m a home decorating magazine addict, craving more and more. Read more

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It was a Bad, No Good, Rotten, Stinky Week

And It Was My Own Fault

It was a rotten week

Oh, what a week! It was, in fact, a no good, rotten, stinky week. I was supposed to be in NYC for the first time since the pandemic. I was supposed to see two Broadway shows. Supposed to see an exhibit of theater memorabilia. Supposed to see one of my best friends. And most important of all, I was supposed to attend my niece’s graduation.

I was supposed to do all that and I couldn’t. The worst part: the reason I couldn’t travel was my own fault. Read more

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“Real” Men Don’t Do Baths. Really?

Rub-a-dub-dub-dub. No Men in a Tub!

Real Men Don't Do Tubs

Why do women love to take baths and men view them as something akin to waterboarding? This I do not understand. Yet, statistically speaking, it’s so. Most men don’t do baths, viewing them as “girly” and a waste of time.

Now, before you flood my inbox (and my bathroom) with protests to the contrary, Read more

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Why Do Some Marriages Last? Why Do Some Fail?

A Query Sparked by 4th of July Fireworks

Why do some marriages last? Why do some fail?

The Fourth of July is a sentimental favorite holiday for my family. My parents met on a blind date at Coney Island that evening. There were fireworks then and for five decades after! They were as different as day and night. As I think about them, I often wonder why do some marriages last and why others fail? Read more

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Online Cremation Services? No Thanks

I'm Doing a Slow Burn Over the Very Idea

direct-to-consumer cremation services

Online dating. Online shopping. “What’s next in the world of online convenience?” you ask. Well, thanks to companies with names like Tulip and Solace, you can send Mom and Dad to that Great Urn in the Sky without budging from your couch and — hold onto your mouse — get their mortal remains sent to you via USPS! Read more

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I Ain’t Old. Just Ask Methuselah

I'm Still Muddling through Middle Age

I Ain't Old. Just Ask Methuselah

You’re as old as you feel. Well, today I feel as old as Methuselah. And “for the record,” Methuselah was 969.

Now, I mention “old” man Methuselah not to kvetch about my aching back, bones, and feet but to make a point about aging, more specifically, definitions of age. How old is “old?” And when does middle-age end? Read more

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Trouble in Marital Paradise

Handsome Hubby's Got Yet A(nother) New Honey

Trouble in Marital Paradise

There’s trouble in marital paradise. Handsome Hubby, the man with a roving eye, has got yet another new honey. He’s spending all his free time with her, and I worry his work is suffering too.

All HH’s friends think she’s hot too. They’re also spending time with her, using and abusing her. It’s disgusting. Read more

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Some Men Show Love with Hardware, not Hard Slaps

A Non-Will Smith Blog

Household hardware

While much of the nation is still obsessed with The Slap, Handsome Hubby is indulging in one of his obsessions — household hardware. The man is a drawer pull, knob, switch plate, and electrical outlet cover fanatic. Yes, this blog is about a man who shows his love with hardware, not hard slaps. Read more

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