Baby, it’s brrrr outside!

January 24, 2026

As I write this, wearing my mittens and three pairs of socks, the weather has warmed up to 14 degrees, with a feels-like factor of 4. Yes, you read that right: WARMED UP to 14. As an unnecessary reminder, water freezes at 32 degrees. So, if it was twice as warm outside, we still could turn off our freezers and set the frozen lasagna and ice trays on the back porch. The only good thing is that you won’t notice if your spouse is angry. When it’s this cold, every stare is icy, every shoulder is cold and everything frosts everyone. In fact, you might want to pick a fight with her. A ...

Getting my kicks (and a nap) with birthday 66

January 17, 2026

It wasn’t much of a snow — not for someone who grew up in the North Coast snow belt. Oh, sure, a swirling wind had drivers guessing whether they were still on the road — mundane stuff for northeast Ohio kids. I know that 16-year-old Burton would have been behind the wheel, adrenaline ...

Dear Morning Person, please go back to bed!

January 10, 2026

My Uncle Tom was one of those annoying people who popped out of bed in the morning like a breakfast pastry from the toaster. Only instead of fruit filling, he was filled with energy and jokes, with an icing of a sunny smile and merriment in his eyes. I avoided Uncle Tom in the morning. To be fair, I avoid pretty much everyone in the morning, but I especially hide under the covers from Pop-Tart people. I want to slap them with soggy pancakes. It was the great philosopher Punit Ghadge who said, “Keep the dream alive: Hit the snooze button.” If it wasn’t for the fact that I have ...

Prepping for winter, one Oreo at a time

January 3, 2026

This is the time of year when people get concerned about how much they’ve been feasting the last month — Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Tuesday, etc. We’ve been packing it in and packing it on. Do not panic! There is no need to sign up for a gym membership. You weren’t going to go anyway. Nor is there any need to do something insane, like go on a diet. It’ll just make everyone around you miserable, because they’ll have to put up with your grouchiness. Let me remind you, it’s January. Winter. And adding a few pounds of protection simply is nature’s way of ...

New Year’s questions that gray my hair

December 27, 2025

Mark Twain once said of fellow author Rudyard Kipling, “Between us, we cover all knowledge; he knows all that can be known, and I know the rest.” There’s great wisdom in that. Like Twain, I, too, am pretty handy with things that can’t be known. Why do I focus on what can’t be ...

Thoughtful shopping without leaving your recliner

December 20, 2025

It’s the last weekend before Christmas, which has me thinking — I’m thinking that it’s almost time to round up a bunch of thoughtful gifts to give. The best part is I don’t even have to put on pants. I can recline here in my easy chair, tap a few keys, scroll through a few screens, ...