Our planned labor day getaway destination is currently on fire. My hometown of New Orleans is sweltering with no electricity as a result of Hurricane Ida. And the state of Texas has voted to join the Republic of Gilead. The times have the feel of being on the Titanic as the band strikes up […]

 Dear Diary, Reid wants to be cremated and his ashes flushed down the toilet. I really do wish this was some dream I had after eating pizza late. At first, I thought he was just being “Adolescent Reid,” you know, the Reid that never wants to get his haircut, eat vegetables or change his clothes. […]

From a distance The world looks blue and green…    The frustrating thing is how beautiful it all still looks. You sit out here on a beachfront cottage porch with the blue green tide rolling in on golden sand, sea birds winging, dolphins playing past on the near horizon and the golden sun sending a […]

      You would think a beach getaway would be the occasion when Carol’s active energy would more closely match my own low wattage level of output. At home, you could attach some wires to Carol as she goes about a typical day, and generate enough power to run a dishwasher or washer/dryer combo – machines […]

Photo Credit: Carol Madigan    I asked Carol to take pictures of the prepacked piles of supplies she had staged throughout the house for our upcoming three-day getaway to Crystal Cove State Park. She refused, so I can’t show you how well prepared we were both for our getaway and maybe just one pile short […]

While there are some tips regarding travel that can actually help you out, here are some travel tips you DO NOT need to know.

      Someone I’ve known since childhood thought it was hilarious to share with my mother some of the stunts I’d pulled back when I was a teenager. She did not want to hear any of it. She hated him for sharing the stories, telling me once to stop bringing him around because, “I’ve got enough […]

   This past June marked fifty years since I first took off to see the world. I had 200 bucks and a copy of Arthur Fommer’s Europe on 5 Dollars a Day. That meant I had about 40 days of working capital. Somehow, I managed to stretch it into almost three years of vagabonding through […]

If you are looking for a relationship, having a good sense of humor increases your chances of getting a girlfriend/boyfriend significantly.

   One of my Friday night enjoyments is to stay up after Carol has gone to bed, crank up the volume on my headphones, pour a glass, turn off the lights in the living room and blast off with my classic rock Amazon playlist. And no, I am not drinking alone in the dark. The […]