This post originally appeared as part of the Tribune Content Agency’s Humor Hotel feature. Since joining Facebook more than 10 years ago, I have amassed nearly 1,200 “friends.” I place that word in quotation marks, for I have grown skeptical…
This piece originally appeared as part of the Tribune Content Agency ‘Humor Hotel’ series Three years ago I moved back to the city of Chicago after spending 29 years in the suburbs. Newly divorced, I was eager to return to…
Last week I had the pleasure of helping organize a large-scale rummage sale, also known as a “yard sale” or “garage sale,” depending on your location and the amount of space set aside to unload items the proprietor no longer…
Now that summer is in full swing, a flood of memories, spanning 40 years, returns each time I pass a community pool. As a kid growing up in suburban Chicago, the community pool tripled as playground, athletic facility and babysitter.…
In my time on Earth, I have lost one parent, four grandparents, a few close friends and one child. OK, the last one occurred at Target and I found her after a few panicked runs through the aisles but it…
I slid my check across the counter to the Chicago bank teller. The amount was nothing special; thirty dollars for a 10-minute set at a comedy club the previous evening. “Deposit or cash back?” the teller asked. “Just cash it,”…
Imagine sitting silently on a stage while your friend, sibling, or co-worker, armed with a microphone and PowerPoint slides, reveals your life’s details to a roomful of strangers. Within five minutes, that audience could learn about your job status, annual…
I am starting to realize that if, heaven forbid, I need help in my neighborhood and emit a scream, nobody will hear me. Unless someone not wearing headphones happens to be nearby. Which seems unlikely based on observations. Gen Zers,…
Forgive me if this column reads like I nodded off while writing it. For I am only trying to prove a point. To be honest, I took a power nap mid-sentence. For me, napping, specifically POWER napping, has never been…
The Washington Post headline caught my eye moments after logging into my computer, with the intent of finishing my 2025 taxes: “The US was the only country in a worldwide survey to say most fellow citizens are bad people.” I…