Can we all agree that the following things are universally irritating: People looking at their phone when they meet you for dinner or coffee. People talking loudly in a movie theater during the previews. People blasting rap music out of their car. For once I'd like to hear The Beatles. Anyone standing behind a counter …
Yes, I do want all your guns
The line in the story Sunday about the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart hit me hard: "Her 19-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son threw themselves to the ground, then ran out of the store through an emergency exit." This is what we've come to: So many mass shootings for so many years that an …
Separation of church and state, or why I hate patriotism in Mass
The 4th of July is a wonderful holiday, and you're not going to see me turning away a brat, baseball or fireworks today. Not to mention, I love me a good John Philip Sousa march as much as the next American. Indeed some of my happiest memories involve sitting in our neighbor's backyard in Denton, …
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Want to REALLY help your kids? Let them fail.
In mid-March a collective gasp erupted across the country as people were stunned – stunned! – to discover that rich people sometimes buy their way into elite universities. Mom and Dad wanted their offspring to have the best and they were going for it. As someone who works in higher education, I've seen more and …
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No exceptions abortion laws aren’t pro-life
Throughout my childhood, I was molested by my father. He suffered neglect and abuse in his own childhood, and his service in World War II added to his demons. All that led to drinking, and alcoholism fueled his abusive behavior. He never had sexual intercourse with me, which is the dictionary definition of incest, but …
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Bee keeping and me
Today, for the shortest of times, I was a bee keeper. Or rather, a bee keeper's apprentice. Maybe even lower than an apprentice. More like an aide. Or an intern. Or just the person who shows up hoping not to get stung. As part of my #year60goals, I wanted to harvest honey and was having …
Model for a day – or at least an hour
I have always thought models had it easy. Sure, they can't eat cheese or cupcakes or 1,000-calorie chicken pot pie, but in terms of their job? Come on. Standing around looking beautiful, especially when you were born in the deep end of the Naturally Gorgeous Gene Pool? That's not W.O.R.K. But, like so many things …
Staying alive on Tucson’s streets
Do you sometimes fear for your life when on foot or bike? You're not alone. My thoughts on the issue in my latest column for the Arizona Daily Star. https://lnkd.in/ejw2sSd
Year 60 challenge update
I'm certain everyone is just dying - DYING - to know where I stand on the 30-in-60 Year Challenge. No? Well, you're getting the update anyway. Let's start with this: That's yours truly trying to do the standard Go Cats Go cheer with the captain of the University of Arizona cheer team (left) and her …
Cash, homelessness, and Lent
A couple weeks ago, during the first full week of Lent, I saw a homeless man riding the Tucson streetcar. His belongings were crammed into six or seven grocery bags corralled over a stretch of about three feet. Clothing and empty plastic bottles were pushing out of the bags like butterflies trying to escape their …
