In all of my adult life, not once has any employer, relative or stranger asked, “Hey, what’s the 31st element on the periodic table?” They do want to know why I missed the meeting, lost my password or forgot to put on pants, but never has anyone cared about the periodic table or any of ...

That little fort in the apple tree took us kids on many adventures across the known — and unknown — galaxy. It wasn’t much of a fort, really. But then, it wasn’t much of an apple tree, either. With the help of Gordy, the big kid who lived across the road, we lugged a door that had ...

Cousin Dweezil sent me another one of her tidbits of what she considers wisdom: “I’ve found that if you tuck one part of your pants legs into your socks, people expect less of you.” OK, maybe that one is wise. But not all of the questionable quandaries, ponderances and quagmires that ...

The kid’s nose nearly dusted the brownie as he calculated to the millimeter where to place the plastic knife. His brother leaned in so closely to supervise that if he had been old enough to grow one, the brownie knife could have simultaneously trimmed his beard while dividing the ...

I awoke in a panic. I’d forgotten to feed the cat! For three weeks. Maybe four. Through the brain fog, I remembered opening a can of cat food. By now, it had to be an undulating mass of bugs that walked away on its own. I threw back the covers. The breeze made by the blankets must have ...

My mouth watered for a supper of spaghetti and meatballs. Then tragedy struck. The microwave oven conked out. I was horrified. Terrified. Even a bit stupefied. What was I supposed to do now? Cook? Who even remembers the recipe for boiling water on a stove? I’d had the microwave for ...