An ominous gurgling emanated from the toilet, which meant I had only minutes to act before water and Lord-only-knows-what-else cascaded over the bowl and onto the floor. I grabbed my smartphone and did the obvious: Call a plumber? No. Email…
The Starbucks was buzzing, which was to be expected considering it was just after 8:30 a.m. Still, the line moved swiftly, and within moments, the only customers ahead of me were a woman and her preschool-aged son. She ordered first.…
I am issuing a challenge to our nation’s stand-up comedians. Before you accept, I suggest you call, email, text, and tweet the best joke writers you know because you’re going to need them. Ready? Here’s your task: Make somebody laugh…
My room contained everything one would expect in a five-star property: terrycloth robes emblazoned with the hotel’s logo, slippers precisely placed at the foot of the bed and enough fluffy towels to dry all exposed body parts individually, if that’s…
I have dreaded this day ever since she got her driver’s permit. It’s one thing to let your daughter drive slowly around the neighborhood with her dad in the passenger seat, repeating, “Slow. Slow. SLOW!!!” It’s another to see her…
I strode through the hotel lobby in a black, sharply tailored Hugo Boss suit. It was Saturday night and I was headed to the ballroom to deliver a keynote address for more than 800 convention attendees. Suddenly I heard a…
THIS COLUMN ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN THE HUFFINGTON POST MAY 22, 2013 “Attention gentlemen, this initiation meeting of the Male Golfers are Pigs Society is now officially in session. Grab a beer from the keg and let’s begin. As you…
Each week, I begrudgingly sift through my spam email folder, verifying that nothing of importance inadvertently landed there. Occasionally, I get a surpris,e e.g. MR. SCHWEM, PLEASE CONTACT THE SCHOOL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. That one went undiscovered for three…
I sat my daughter down for one of those heart to heart Dad talks that invariably begin with five simple words: “Stop looking at your phone.” Mission accomplished I pressed onward. “Vacation begins in a month honey. Now that you’re…
It appears iconic Wrigley Field, home of a baseball team that hasn’t won a World Series since text messaging was performed via carrier pigeon and smoke signals, is finally going to look like a normal ballpark. Cubs owner Tom Ricketts…