How to Ruin a Ruin

Gas was cheap when I was a child, and like many Americans my parents would pack up the kids for Sunday road trips. Sometimes we’d drive our Packard up the Old Bayshore Highway to San Francisco. On one such trip, I discovered something spectacular. Read about it (here).

 

Hung in Fussen

 

While traveling through Germany in the seventies, Mrs. C. and I took a train from Bitburg to Füssen in southern Bavaria to visit Ludwig II’s iconic Neuschwanstein, the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle, but our attention was unexpectedly diverted. Read about it (here).

 

Danish Traffic Jams...and Jellies

 

Denmark is fastidiously clean, beautiful, and extremely well organized, unless you’re on a bus in Copenhagen on a Sunday. Mrs. C. and I were headed to see the world famous statue of The Little Mermaid when a severe traffic jam taught me a lesson about the Danes. Read about it (here).

 

Would You Eat This Stuff?

Ever since I was a little kid, I've been fascinated with the Ancient Romans, and the secret fish sauce that drove them nuts. Read about it (here).

Bifurcate

Bifurcate is one of my favorite words, even though it sounds like something you might do after eating bad sushi. When I was a college student, I struggled with writing the essays and English papers professors often assigned, until I learned the secret of this magic word. Read about it (here).

 

Subject Matter

 

I couldn’t see the owner of the voice saying “Hi” to me in our pool locker room because a curtain of clothes hangers blocked my view. I parted the hangers but still couldn’t identify the person. I said, “Who is it? Without my glasses everything looks like a Monet painting.” Read about it (here).

Viral Couch

 

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be a psychiatrist, here’s your chance. Grab a notepad and prepare to diagnose. I lie before you on an imaginary couch, in need of a psychiatric evaluation. I’m being haunted by a recurring dream. Read about it (here).

The Leopard Changes Its Spots: Conclusion

 

By the spring of my junior year of high school, it was time to do something about the abuse heaped on me by Coach Jenkins. The time for revenge had arrived, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Read about it (here).

The Leopard Changes Its Spots

Phys. Ed. was my least favorite class in high school thanks to Coach Jenkins, who seemed determined to make my life miserable. I might have hated Jenkins if circumstances hadn't permitted me to even the score. Read about it (here).

 

Confession Time...Again

I watch a lot of television, and  I’m always suspicious when people tell me they don’t watch any TV at all. Read about it (here). 

 

Taft's Tub

Some stories are stuck in the public’s consciousness and can’t be dislodged by logic or evidence to the contrary, like the story about President Taft's bathtub. Read the truth (here).

 

Doing the Right Thing

 

When I mentioned it to Mrs. Chatterbox she looked alarmed, like I’d lost my mind. When I stopped speaking she said, “You did the right thing.”

      

When I mentioned it to our son CJ, he cocked his head like I was stupid for even considering such a thing. Finally, relief flooded his face and he said. “You did the right thing.”

      

But I still feel badly about it. Read about it (here.)

Small World

About fifteen years ago, Mrs. Chatterbox and I flew to Tahiti where we boarded a ship for a cruise through French Polynesia.  We weren't impressed with Tahiti, but many of the surrounding islands were unpopulated and beautiful, giving us the “Gauguin” experience we were looking for. Read about it (here).

Yes, I Have a Drinking Problem

 I will readily admit that I have a compulsive personality, but the time has come for me to admit I’m struggling with an addiction. Read about it (here).