Month: December 2015

I’ve subscribed to the Kansas City Star for going on 20 years. Rare is the morning when I don’t spend an hour reading the newspaper. But the paper has been going downhill for quite some time. With a new format that puts more air in the text and pages, it…

The manager of the tea shop lied. She told the owner that I busted into the place, threatened employees, and made customers feel uncomfortable. I don’t remember any such thing. I was in the shop just twice and both times treated employees with respect, even shaking hands with a couple…

A friend of mine asked the other day how he could make jokes when reality has become the joke. He referenced the recent turn in American politics in which absurdity and nonsense has gained traction—to the point where millions of people actually believe the outlandish statements of the political candidates, who…

Sleep eluded me for over thirty years. A good night’s rest was a memorable experience and one to be celebrated. It happened only about once every two or three weeks. Most of the time, I would fall asleep right away but then awakened two or so hours later to toss…

The last day of school means five weeks of blissful rest from student concerns Those poor kids. They took their final exam in my class today. Most of them were just glad to get it over with. “Done,” one kid said, “now I can sleep some.” It wasn’t that my…