How Changing Tires Brought About a Change of Heart

My husband has the quality that, in India, is called having ... | 1 comment ›› more ...

Portrait of an Admirable Lady: the common ant

When is it better to have a hundred insects in your home than a single insect on your porch? When the lone insect stands taller than you, wears a pest control cap, is more thick-skinned than any creature with an exoskeleton could be, and is cockier than ... | 1 comment ›› more ...

The Man in the Tree

How much does it cost to keep a man in a tree? You may think that I am speaking metaphorically, where a man is mankind, and tree stands for wood, which stands for lumber, which stands for housing, and this man and this tree have an ... | 1 comment ›› more ...

Can a Broken Heart Make Room to Give Thanks?

I had planned to write something lighthearted, just to take a break from the serious and hard-hitting journalism to which you have no doubt become accustomed on this page. I wanted to ring in the holiday season, even though the Christmas trees and lights seem to ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

Toddlers and Movies Don’t Always Mix

Yes, I know you have a giant flat panel digital TV with surround sound and enough satellite dishes to launch it into space. But if you watch a movie in the forest without spending $25 for a tub of popcorn and a couple of ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

Save our Economy: Surrender the Sidewalk Chalk!

My Homeowner’s Association, or at least its Board, has solved the mystery to the housing debacle. You and I, like many other simpletons, may have swallowed the story about easy credit and investors snatching up houses like Kmart blue-light specials as being the key factors in ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

Going Fluorescent

My husband has gone fluorescent. In light of the current energy crunch, you will undoubtedly be pleased, until you realize that I use “fluorescent” here as a synonym for “ballistic” or “postal.” (My apologies to our friendly letter carriers and the nice people at our Post ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

Justice in the end: Rump finally pulls the long straw

Have you noticed the trend towards making fairy tales politically correct? The alterations can be minor, such as this: Little Red Riding Hood now takes tea instead of wine to her grandmother. Or, they can be entirely plot-altering in nature: the Big Bad ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

What's Hidden in the Easter Basket?

Though I grew up in the US, I never understood that Easter had any religious significance whatsoever. It was just a holiday from school, after which the other students mysteriously returned with crisp new outfits, frilly dresses, and shining shoes. | 0 comments ›› more ...

The Perils of Potty-Training

With brilliant foresight, our youngest and eldest children were born nearly fifteen years apart. Many people congratulate us on timing things so that the babysitters are built-in. But this timing also necessitates teaching the one to drive while training the other how to use the toilet. ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

New Year’s and germ warfare: The science behind it all

Youngsters attract germs faster than politicians can attract lobbyists and campaign dollars. | 0 comments ›› more ...

Peace on Earth, and even in the home

Last summer, my boys were not speaking to each other, and that was great, because that’s exactly the way I had wanted it. At the time, it seemed the only way to ensure domestic tranquility. Whenever temperatures would flare, so would their tempers. I finally snapped on ... | 0 comments ›› more ...