(This Jottings was first published on January 17, 2007) I don’t mean to brag (Yes, I do!), but I was the champion speller of the eighth grade in Bancroft. The year, 1938. Yes, I’ll admit the competition wasn’t great, since there were only 12 in that grade, including me. What irks me to this day […]
This Jottings was first published on July 21, 1982. Mike Downey, a Chicago imported sports columnist for The Detroit Free Press, recently devoted his space to things he hates. All I could think of when I read it was doing a column on things I like: Here goes: White shoes and white belts, but only […]
This Jottings was first published on July 21, 1982. Mike Downey, a Chicago imported sports columnist for The Detroit Free Press, recently devoted his space to things he hates. All I could think of when I read it was doing a column on things I like: Here goes: White shoes and white belts, but only […]
At this writing the arguing continues in Washington on how much to cut our taxes. The President wants to cut $750B, the Senate $350B. One of those taxes is the so-called estate tax, which is also referred to as the inheritance tax and to we cynics as the death tax. This tax is gradually being […]
In this case ‘light’ means non-heavy – as in: If you are going to try cross country skiing, start with a small country. * * * The First Christmas If the first Christmas, the three wise men had been women, they would have asked directions, arrived on time, cleaned the stable, helped deliver the baby, […]
This is the first year I’ve realized, or been told, there are so many perfect gifts. Like: The Arctic Twister. Users can put ice cream or sherbert into this thing, add M&Ms, etc. and out comes a gooey mess in a dish or cone. All grandparents would be thrilled to receive this “perfect” gift. Another […]
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because: 1. I know I won’t remember them; and 2) Even if I did remember them, I know I wouldn’t keep them. But if I did make a New Year’s resolution it would be: I resolve to procrastinate more, starting tomorrow. “The 2003 Old Farmer’s Almanac” lists 64 holidays […]
At Christmas (I hope the ACLU doesn’t come after me for using that word in my column) gift-giving time I learned which daughters loved me and which daughter doesn’t. Daughter-in-law Linda gave me a fine robe. Daughter Luan gave me a fine DVD player. Daughter Susan (I call her Suz-z-z cause she slept her way […]
When the work-a-day people find they have overspent their income, they look for ways to cut back their spending. Michigan should do the same. Lobbyists and other politically active people look for ways to increase state income, rather than reduce spending. Reports out of Lansing say our state budget has a shortfall of $2 billion. […]
Sometime in the 1980s stand-up comic Jeff Foxworthy, a ‘Southerner,’ came up with a skit he called, “You might be a Redneck if.” One of them was, “You might be a Redneck if your mother kept a spit cup on her ironing board.” With apologies to Mr. Foxworthy, we’ve accumulated some “You might have suffered […]