When I started the third book in the Song of Fire and Ice series, my head was swimming in names. There were names of families/houses, names of lands and rivers, titles like lords, ladies, knights, septons and septas. (A glossary of terms would have been most helpful.) Names of castles and pa…

My New Year’s non-resolution to read the “un-read” had been going pretty well, but I was in a slight lull. I made the mistake of mentioning this to the Nephew late last autumn.

Have you ever spent time contemplating why you do the things you do?

From the age of adulthood, we’ve been advised by those far wiser than ourselves to eschew discussions centering on religion and/or politics.

One of my unresolved resolutions for 2023 is (was) to stop being so much of a news junkie. While I’ve been working on it, I must say that some days are worse than others, seeing that what constitutes news is somewhat questionable.

There I was, minding my own business, glancing at headlines in an online version of a regional newspaper when I was jolted by the news that Pennsylvania is one of the “most sinful” states in the nation.

Over the weekend, members of the PA Dutch Facebook group posted photos of the cold-weather dishes they’d made. There was lots of (slippery) pot pie, meat pie (with crust, baked in the oven), various chicken soups, chili, beef stew and the like. I was

One of the rules of membership in the PA Dutch Facebook group is “Don’t yuck someone’s yum.” This means that if a member posts something about a favorite dish readers should refrain from making negative comments about it. Seems fair enough.

It would appear that the honeymoon between me and the PA Dutch Facebook group I joined a while back is over.

Here we are, about to close out the third week of January and I am gripped by fear. 

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is – dare I say it? – one of our most “famous” states. Its history cannot be ignored when it comes to the founding of our country.

Now, where were we? Ah, yes, back at Linda’s apartment in downtown Ship, although no one called our little ‘Burg “Ship” in those days.

(The following tale is about one of my all-time favorite Christmas memories. It is based on events that occurred when the main characters were young and, perhaps, a bit foolish. The incidents recounted may or may not be entirely accurate owing to failing memory, interpretation, and the need …

If, collectively, we Americans should plead “guilty” to one charge, I’m convinced that charge would be overkill.

On Nov. 8 this year, Election Day, the good Lord elected to retrieve my Great-Aunt Esta from this Earth and take her to her heavenly home.

A couple of things (or maybe a few) have caused my brain to overheat lately.

And now another Halloween is in the books. Like most holidays, Halloween brings back lots of memories and reminds us of how it’s changed over the years. As someone who trick-or-treated before official trick-or-treat nights were established, I’m grateful that the practice of roaming the neigh…

It had been a long time since I’ve given even a hint of a hoot about Major League Baseball, but I heard a TV sports announcer mention the Phillies and postseason in the same segment, and I was curious. Seemed the Fightin’ Phils were headed into a battle

(A continuation of the Oct. 12 column regarding the possibility of food shortages and how to prepare for them)

Although I’ve been trying to avoid advice regarding the coming apocalypse, Armageddon, Great Depression, end-of-the-world scenarios, sometimes I just can’t help myself and I succumb to the temptation to read them. My usual reaction once I’ve finished the “expert” or “well-researched” article…

Some discussions could go on forever because there’s simply no resolution. But a couple of things that were left out of last week’s “overused words” rant deserve a place in print.

The topic for this week’s column started out to be “wishes” as in “don’t you wish …” but then I stumbled across some notes on my very favorite topic: words. That’s a rather broad topic for sure, so we’ll narrow it down. This is about words that are used entirely too often. Overuse has tarnis…

It was William Shakespeare who wrote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” It’s part of a soliloquy by Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” Act 2, Scene 2 when she’s going on about how Romeo is a person, not a name.

The treasure hunt for “Old things in your basement that are worth a fortune” continues.

Have you ever chalked something up as a failure or a major disappointment, and vowed that you’d never do it again, yet you do it again anyway?

It was, after all, a Monday, which in itself should have been enough to dissuade me from what would turn out to be my ill-planned idea.

Change is a fact of life. Like death and taxes, it’s inevitable, like it or not.

This week’s column is just a few comments about interesting headlines in the news during the past couple of weeks.