Beware of Online Promises!

Are you planning a family vacation this year? If you are, beware of online promises when searching for that perfect getaway!

The Devil You Know - The Devil You Don’t Know

The columnist shares a reflective moment.

“In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can …

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A Morning Without Coffee Is Like Sleep

The columnist confesses to a blatant caffeine addiction and a propensity for being a bit snippy in the early morning hours.

If it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever.” ~ David Letterman  I’m not a morning person; never have been; probably never will be. The only good thing about the morning is coffee; lots and lots of coffee. Other than that - mornings stink!  My animosity toward the morning hours isn’t grounded in an explicit aversion for getting out of bed. I’m up fairly early every day, even on the weekends I’m up between 5:45 and 6:00. If I happen to sleep until 6:30 on Saturday or Sunday, I consider that sleeping-in.  No, I don’t mind getting out of bed. But I do mind being incoherent for two to three hours after I get up, even after slugging down 32 ounces ofcoffee.  I don’t get it! Why do I have so much trouble …

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On The Edge And Hanging On For Dear Life!

The columnist seems to be in a bit of a jam this week. Let’s see what it’s all about.

"One of the dangers of Facebook--really, the entire Internet--is that it enables people to post quotes and falsely attribute them to the wrong people." -- Abraham Lincoln  I don’t remember where I found this quote or misquote, as the case may be, but I do remember I laughed out loud when I read it. I’m laughing right now. Oh, and just so you’ll know; this bogus quote has absolutely nothing to do with what I’m writing about today – at least I don’t think it does.  Confused? Me too, but let’s not let a little confusion on my part, or yours, put the brakes on the creative process, which I’m hoping will kick in at any moment.  So now I have a dilemma, though in my estimation dilemmas are highly overrated. They’re no big deal. Everyone has one …

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Battling Through The Snowy Morning Commute

The columnist had to fight through the recent snow storm to get to his office. Let's see if he made it!

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. ~ Carl Reiner It’s 7 a.m. on Friday as I write this and there seems to be some sort of strange white powdery stuff on the ground this morning. I’m not quite sure what it is, although it does look vaguely familiar. Sure is pretty though!  I got up at 5:45 this morning, went downstairs, grabbed my coffee, flipped on the TV and tuned in to The Dennis and Callahan Show on NESN. For those who aren’t familiar with this show, it’s a NESN simulcast of the D & C sports talk show on WEEI radio. Good, mindless banter that fits in well with my depleted mental faculties in the early morning hours.  I am not now, nor have I ever been, nor will I ever be a morning person! To me…

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Another Page Torn Unceremoniously From The Book

The passing of an old friend creates some consternation for our columnist.

Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title. ~ Virginia Woolf  We are the sum total of all that we’ve experienced to date; the things we’ve done; the things we’ve failed to do; the people with whom we’ve interacted; the places we’ve been; everything in our lives is a cohesive building block in the marvelous creation that is us.  Granted, some of us are more marvelous than others, and then there are always those whothink they’re more marvelous than others but truly are not, but all in all we’re all spectacular creations, each one of us in his or her unique way.  As someone once said, albeit in very poor English - God don’t make no junk!  Now, I understand that there …

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Bob Havey

9:52 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Tom Merrifield - July 16, 1952 - January 9, 2012 Too young - too soon. Thinking of you today Tommy.   more ›

What’s All This Fuss About Endangered Feces?

The columnist has mixed up a New Year’s cocktail of frivolity, sarcasm and skepticism blended carefully with just a hint of old time wisdom. Cheers!

“Laughing at ourselves is possible when we are able to see humanity as it is - a little lower than the angels and at times only slightly higher than the apes” ~ Tom Mullen  I borrowed the above title from a Saturday Night Live ‘Weekend Update’ segment; more specifically from ‘Update’ correspondent Emily Litella [Gilda Radner] Emily opens this particular skit with the following rant.   “What's all this fuss I keep hearing about endangered feces? Now, that's outrageous!! Why are feces endangered? How can you possibly run out of such a thing? Why, just look around you, you can see it all over the place! Besides, who wants to save that anyway? My goodness, where would we keep it?! It's dangerous, especially in the summer!! Then it could really…

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Is it Dead Yet?

The columnist gives us his take on what he sees as the insidious deterioration of our language skills – and a few other things.

Every American child should grow up knowing a second language, preferably English.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960  I have one endearing trait that I’m extremely proud of. I have an innate ability to write about things that other people think, but are afraid to say for fear of retribution. I hold to the philosophy of, Retribution be damned! Full speed ahead!  But as proud as I am to be an up-front kind of guy; this attribute has caused me my share of problems in the past. When I lived in Arizona back in the mid to late seventies, my brother-in-law and I were frequent visitors at the Wander Inn, a fine-dining establishment just outside of Phoenix. OK, it was more of a sleazy bar than a fine-dining spot; a redneck bar to …

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Doing Eighty-Five In A Fifty-Five Mile An Hour Zone

The columnist allows us to take a peek at his typical daily routine. Good grief!

I dragged my tired butt out of bed at 5:45 this morning and believe me, when I say dragged; I mean that quite literally. I am not now nor have I ever been a morning person. I always get up fairly early, by 6:00 or 6:15, even on the weekends, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. I just can’t sleep in any later than that, even if I go to bed late. It’s quite a dilemma.  My wife knows better than to talk to me until I’m fully awake. But of course that doesn’t mean she actually adheres to that practice. I’m not sure if it’s just that she enjoys annoying me or that she likes living on the edge; perhaps it’s a bit of both.  So, I got up this morning, threw on a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt and stumbled down the stairs. Those of you …

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Channeling Andy Rooney

Could it be that the columnist has finally gone over the edge? Does he really claim to be communicating with the recently deceased 60 Minutes commentator, Andy Rooney? Let’s take a look!

"People have often told me I said the things they are thinking themselves. I probably haven't said anything here that you didn't already know, or have already thought. That's what a writer does. There aren't too many original thoughts in the world. A writer's job is to tell the truth." ~ Andy Rooney  On Oct. 2, Andy Rooney delivered his final commentary for 60 Minutes in his own, inimitable style; with the panache he had developed over a career that spanned some 70 years.  One month later, at the ripe old age of 91; he died in a New York hospital from complications that developed after minor surgery. A brilliant writer, journalist and commentator; Rooney was known for saying exactly what was on his mind, no holds barred, and developed a …

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