Family and Friends

Give me a little credit

Cheryl and I are working an angle. Don’t we sound slick? I’ve always wanted to work an angle. Ever since certain inadequacies surfaced in high school math, I’ve had an acute case of protractor envy. (Ego note: kidding aside, I was quite good at high school math.) Actually, this angle we’re working is not nearly as cool as I make it out. (Although there’s no disputing…
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Family and Friends

Being functionally blind is WAY underrated

I can’t speak from personal experience, but having seeing problems looks like a major bummer man. Glasses can be a real pain, even when they are professionally fitted. No matter how well adjusted they are, there’s no getting around the fact that you’ve got some precariously balanced scaffolding hanging on your face. The gentle tug at your ears, the pinch at your temples, the…
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Family and Friends

We got your back man!

In honor of the 109th Congress, we’ve been counting down the top ten threats to the institution of marriage in the free world. Next on the list is an insidious threat that resides in a dark place in all of our homes: laundry. Nothing gets my goat more than someone who puts his or her dirty laundry in the hamper inside out. As if putting away laundry isn’t bad enough, now I’ve got…
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Family and Friends

All is fair…

See if you can appreciate my dilemma. I was getting into the car after an uneventful family outing. I was saddling up in a fashion that left my posterior an attractive target, and my wife gave it a good swat. “What was that for? Did I do something?” I asked. “You didn’t do anything John.” “Is that supposed to be an affirmation or a repudiation?” I…
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Family and Friends

Life after death

Someone once told me that funerals are for the living not for the dead, and that pretty much sums up yesterday… a day that the living did their best to keep on living. Pity me not dear reader, for my loss was a pittance compared to my wife’s family. My role in this was to play back up… a role that I’m not particularly well suited, so you can imagine I was a big help. As the…
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Family and Friends

That’s life

A member of Cheryl’s side of the family came through surgery better than expected last night (or so I hear, three degrees of separation from the source), and for this we are thankful. A coworker of mine was unexpectedly discovered dead in their apartment earlier this week (apparently of natural causes), and for this we are saddened. Two younger members of my family woke this morning with…
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Beth

Beth versus the psychiatrist

“Can I call you Miss Rachael?” “No, but you can call me Dr. Rachael if you want.” “Wait, are you a real doctor?” “Yes Beth, I’m a real doctor.” “Did you go to college?” “Yes Beth, I went to college.” “Did you go to college AND medical school?” “Yes Beth, I went to medical school.” “O.K., you…
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Family and Friends

The little boy that could

This weekend my son reminded me of an ant. It wasn’t because he was a pest or that he was particularly insect like, but because he was often seen carrying around objects of significant size. One moment he was carrying around a dining room chair, the next a folding table, or one of those large Rubbermaid storage containers. There didn’t seem to be any particular reason for all this…
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Beth

The dust settles on another school year

Let me say that most of the folks we’ve dealt with at my daughter’s school have been wonderful. They’ve been kind, patient, understanding, and caring. All the same, next year my daughter will be going to a different school. Why is she going to a different school? It’s a long story, one I don’t have the energy or inclination to tell right now… but here’s…
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