Odds and Ends
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Recently, while at an affair, a friend of my wife’s approached me and heaped praise upon me, stating that I was a devoted husband and father. She expressed herself sincerely and in earnest, implying that my wife of thirty-two years and twenty-nine-year-old son were more fortunate than most. I took the compliment well enough—after all,…
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Many years ago (twenty-seven to be precise), I took my two-year-old son to the Children’s Festival, held annually at the Annenberg Center within the University of Pennsylvania campus. Upon arriving, I purchased two tickets to the Iron Gate Theater to see Ozzie Davis Jr., a blues guitarist. We seated ourselves on a bench in one…
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Like many, I am appreciative of a tidy home and well cared-for automobile. My home is tidy but lived-in, and my car is not immaculate but uncluttered. (I’m from Philly. To offset the clutter on the road, one must drive a reasonably neat car.) What we use for transportation, and our dwellings, are important possessions…
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This time felt different. This one touched a place in me rarely felt. In my lifetime, I’ve experienced many public figures shot at, some killed, but this seemed to cross a line not crossed since the 60s, my childhood. Since forever, the left has owned college campuses and those right of center were seen and…
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First, let’s go “old school.” Julius Erving (Dr. J). In the 1975/76 season, the ABA was going bankrupt. The following season, four of its teams were absorbed into the NBA. The NBA’s dirty little secret was that it, too, was experiencing financial hardships that threatened its existence. Four ABA teams merging into the NBA gave…
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Who doesn’t love a new gadget? Gadgets, toys, gizmos; Americans dig novelty. I must confess that I, too, am titillated when, occasionally, some newness finds its way into my life. And like most new toys nowadays, mine comes in the form of an app. What is this new and exciting piece of novelty that I…
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Okay, so America experienced yet another shooting. But wait! Aren’t Americans enlightened to shootings every day in urban hotbeds like Philadelphia and Chicago? Indeed. And thus begs the poignant question: Why do we only react when it’s suspected that a shooting is ideologically motivated? Moreover, why do we only unite behind an anti-gun sentiment when…
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Recently, on a commute home, when cruising through my neighborhood, I came upon a typical summer scene. Indeed, nothing says summer quite like young girls selling sidewalk lemonade. Sidewalk lemonade is the one item for which I don’t mind overpaying “the market price.” I mean, does anyone ever really asked for their change? Of course…
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What to sell, what to sell… mmm, let me think. Should I sell what people want or what they need? Moreover, do we, whether a Boomer or Zoomer, understand the distinction? I want a season pass to Citizens Bank Park. I need someone to heartlessly rid my home of all its junk so my wife…
Michael's Corner 