Regular Life

(Note: I finished up my Project Yellow contribution on Sunday afternoon)
Alcohol. It’s been a popular drink pretty much since man first laid lips on it. Shortly after, with a devil dancing on his shoulder he handed the drink to a woman, and said, “No, it won’t affect your judgment.” Then, he perfected [...]

I’ve always heard that there are two things you should never talk about with friends and family: politics and religion. It’s interesting to me, because I grew up and still live in the United States of America, where separation of church (religion) and state (politics) are founding principles.
Okay, fine, so the government is not [...]

I am not bad luck at weddings, no matter what my wife might tell you.
In the 15 years my wife and I have been married, we have attended and/or participated in 13 family weddings. Somewhat sadly, three of those family members stood at the altar more than once. Stay with me. I [...]

(Note: Everyone reading “Bernie” may read Part Twelve to see what happens next.)
Doesn’t everybody have at least one connection?
Maybe it’s that guy from high school who became a mechanic and now owns a garage. You always trusted that guy, or maybe you didn’t. Either way, you have one more place you should [...]

Historically I’ve taken it easy on the United States’ northern cousin, because I didn’t know much about it. I’ve seen numerous comedies making fun of Canada, from the way they talk to their traditions. After I got to know a couple people from “the Great White North,” I realized that those comedies had [...]

Do you think people who wait tables for a living can be all that smart?
That was the exact sentence, minus the question mark, that someone typed into a Google search. I know because it lead them to my post called “I Don’t Wait Tables Anymore“, which appears to be the only hit on the [...]

(Note: No new installment of Bernie today, but for all you who aren’t caught up, Part Seven got a “most engaging chapter yet” comment. If you aren’t reading it, then give it a try, and if you are, then eke out a few minutes to keep going.)
Do you always wash your hands before exiting [...]

Road, field, and sky through windshield at 4 p.m. CT Tuesday.
Note: That IS NOT a hillside back there behind the tree line.  That’s black sky.
(click any image to enlarge)
It didn’t seem to matter that the western hemisphere’s tallest cross sits just a few miles from here.
Frozen hell blew into town late Tuesday afternoon and [...]

What if someone you knew stacked huge hay bale walls and built a castle inside, unbeknownst to everyone but you? Would you tell? Would you use the word “unbeknownst” when telling about it?
How about this… could you keep it a secret for more than four years?
Well, unless Robert Fidler, 59, of England had [...]

I have been fairly easy to entertain all my life.
These days, however, it isn’t so simple. Books still do a pretty good job of earning my thumbs-up, but movies aren’t faring as well. Television, while it has the potential to take the viewer far deeper than a movie can, isn’t doing as well [...]