In May 2023, while in the early stages of a life change, I made the decision to live a minimalist existence, also defined as, “purge crap from my life.” Gone were most contents of a 4,400-square-foot house; kept was, well,…
Forget weight loss. My 2024 New Year’s resolution is to sound um…wait, uh…the word is on the tip of my tongue…sound… Smarter. Time is of the essence; right now some 13-year-old with an artificial intelligence voice cloning tool is probably…
Walking through my Chicago neighborhood one splendid autumn evening, I suddenly found myself in lockstep behind a couple who would elicit a smile from anyone who crossed their path. He was mid 30s; she was mid-toddler — 2 at the…
I recently celebrated another trip around the sun, a euphemism for “Happy Birthday” or, in my case, “Four years away from Medicare!” I’m not one of those individuals who feel a 61st birthday is cause for celebration. Sure, it’s nice…
I have never been a fan of restaurants owned by, or associated with, celebrities. I could be if, while dining, the celebrity whose name is on the door and the menu were sitting near me or, preferably, being told the…
I don’t envy today’s parents and the challenges they face. Suffice it to say none of the other parents in my daughters’ kindergarten carpools would have marched into their schools and demanded their severely underpaid teachers stop reading “The Little Engine That Could” because it’s too “woke.”
The luggage carrier perched atop the SUV in front of me on a Chicago interstate one recent July afternoon reminded me of two facts: 1. Never get behind a vehicle with a luggage carrier if you are trying to read…
Pat Sajak is going to snap on his final episode
I recently attended a neighborhood art fair — the kind that springs up on city streets during warm weather months and creates pleasant chaos as artists share the block, or in this case four blocks, with longtime retail merchants. I…
Leave it to Instagram to tell me I do not know how to organize. I’ve always considered myself a tidy person, living, since college, with nary an article of clothing tossed on floors, slung over furniture or hanging from ceiling…