I love National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the movie starring Chevy Chase as the father. He earned the nickname “Sparky” after incorrectly wiring the house’s 25,000 twinkle lights. I’m reminded of another use of the term Sparky. Roald Dahl, in his…
A while back friends and I sat at a restaurant enjoying breakfast and discussing the Powerball which had risen to over $750,000,000. “Oh, how I’d love to win,” one friend said, clasping her hands. “I’ve never bought a ticket,” I…
My husband and I toured Washington D.C. in the spring of 2016 along with a group of forty other people. Our tour guide explained that our index card name tags taped on the wall near our coach seats would rotate.…
How would you like to get paid for taste-testing bourbon, chocolate, or various beers? Would training to be a wine steward and earning the title sommelier appeal to you? Or maybe you’d rather don your cool shades and earn a…
I admit it. I’m fickle. I can get caught up in exercise fads, buy equipment, and then, after the newness leaves, the new toys sit. I recently tried to get rid of a stationary bike. “Pedal,” as I’d affectionately named…
I never dreamed I’d have a feathered friend to rival Happy Feet, a Runner Duck who was the only one who hatched from our incubator a few years ago and imprinted on my husband and me. She pecked her…
E.B. White, in his classic Charlotte’s Web, had the famous spider write adjectives in her web describing the beloved pig. The words Some Pig, Terrific, Radiant and Humble saved Wilbur’s life. I wish E. B. White was still alive so…
Our rescued Canada goose, Gertie, and our pet mallard, Doc, continued to entertain my husband and me. Gertie the goose stretched her neck, getting her head as close to me as possible, and told me stories. I loved hearing the…
I was anxious to return to our cabin and check on Gertie and the duck since my husband and I had left them on their own. I especially missed Gertie, the orphaned gosling we’d raised. Get a grip, I told…
The janitor, spray can in hand, looked around my fourth grade classroom. “Did a snake escape and die in some corner?” “No, I don’t think so.” I breathed through my mouth to avoid the smell. A girl had recently brought…