Imagine you’re in a high-end retail clothing store browsing the latest fashions. Dismayed at the prices, you are about to leave when a store manager approaches you with an offer. A $5,000 check. Written on the spot. You can’t believe…
This column originally appeared as part of the Tribune Content Agency Humor Hotel series April 15, 2025 Somewhere there exists a team of dedicated employees who go to work every day in a nondescript office building and spend long hours…
This column originally appeared as part of the Tribune Content Agency Humor Hotel feature April 1, 2005. It was one of those days Chicagoans like to call “Fake Spring.” At 5:30 p.m. temperatures hovered in the high 60s. Scores of…
This column orginally appeared as part of the Tribune Content Agency Humor Hotel package March 17, 2025. When it comes to breakfast, I am the opposite of a solomangarephobic. Bounce the word “solomangarephobia” off your therapist or that friend or…
One of the chemical compounds found in cannabis and hemp plants, CBD, as it is commonly called, is fast becoming the bitcoin of 2017 and the Donald Trump election of 2016: Everybody is discussing it, many are jumping on its back, but nobody knows whether or not it will have a positive impact on society.
I recently visited the Gateway Arch, the St. Louis monument that represents westward exploration and is consistently referred to as an “engineering marvel.” But, after watching a 30-minute video detailing the Arch’s construction, I am convinced this U-shaped structure, rising…
Loyal readers, if any of you hear of an entry-level job in pile driving, I have a request. DM me. ASAP. At 62, I have little interest in pounding large foundational supports for bridges and other construction projects into frozen…
The recent California wildfires have restarted the “why would anybody live there?” conversation. These doomsday chats always seem to surface whenever the Golden State endures an epic disaster be it fires, mudslides, earthquakes or the LA Chargers’ playoff performance. Ditto…
Now that the “Best of 2024” lists have faded from conventional and social media, make way for the “What to expect in 2025!” articles that have begun dotting the media landscape. These prognostications can range from “How high will the…
Time for my annual end-of-year reflections and, when warranted, confessions. Regarding the latter, I have a big one this year; one that has haunted me since I committed a crime. Up until now, in my 62 years of life, I…