Fiction/Humor – Page 45 – The Old Lone Ranger

Coming Out of Hibernation

By Rich Marin | June 15, 2020 by Rich Marin

Coming Out of Hibernation Over the past few months, Kim and I have gotten into the practice of regularly measuring our temperature, pulse and oxygenation levels in search of any signs of the Coronavirus. This started by watching video clips of Chinese state agents pointing temperature guns at the foreheads of transiting passengers to determine risk of infection. This predated the thought that asymptomatic transmission was a major concern and seemed like a sensible, though…

Fiction/Humor Politics

Oliver Twist

By Rich Marin | June 2, 2020 by Rich Marin

Oliver Twist Today I was cleaning up my iPad trying to get rid of all those annoying little red bubbles indicating messages or notifications. You know the ones I’m talking about, we all have them on our phones and tablets and we most often try to keep them eliminated by looking at what we are being asked to look at. Whenever I get Kim’s phone in my hand (she uses her phone as a primary…

Fiction/Humor

Getting Hosed

By Rich Marin | May 20, 2020May 19, 2020 by Rich Marin

Getting Hosed Our property on our little hilltop is a 2.5 acre trapezoid with several hundred feet of frontage on Quail View Drive (Kim swears she sees a covey of quail quite often on the driveway, but you can’t prove that by me). The property goes more-or-less straight back from the road on both sides, a bit further on the south side than the north, thereby creating the trapezoidal shape. In the front, the hill…

Fiction/Humor Love Memoir Retirement

This Little Piggy Stayed Home

By Rich Marin | May 19, 2020 by Rich Marin

This Little Piggy Stayed Home Today, like most days, I called up Jeff to see what was going on in his life. I am in the habit of calling Jeff every day for several reasons. First of all, he’s one of the few men of my age that I know around here, second, he is generally my go-to guy for stuff around the house because he knows the house and he is generally a font…

Fiction/Humor Memoir

Festivus

By Rich Marin | May 13, 2020 by Rich Marin

Festivus In 1997 the outrageously successful sitcom, Seinfeld, aired it’s 166th episode, the tenth episode of its ninth and final season. I think it is fair to suggest that that timing indicates that Seinfeld was at its peak audience viewership by that time. As with all Seinfeld episodes, there were multiple subplots which came together in the end of the episode with some humorous and mostly intertwined resolution. The episode was called “The Strike” because…

Fiction/Humor

The Institution of Lunch

By Rich Marin | May 11, 2020 by Rich Marin

The Institution of Lunch It’s midday on Sunday and its an overcast day out here in northern San Diego County. I just got a text (actually a What’sAp text) from my friend and colleague in Palermo. He sent me pictures of his first family outing in the car for nine weeks of the nationally imposed lockdown. The picture was of the Carabinieri stopping the car to ask questions and search it. He said most shops…

Fiction/Humor Memoir

A Hitch in the Ointment

By Rich Marin | May 8, 2020May 7, 2020 by Rich Marin

A Hitch in the Ointment Mixed metaphors are a wonderful thing. People who use them are usually not the sharpest cookie in the jar. Take Donald Trump….please (apologies to Henny Youngman). He’s never metaphor that he didn’t like and he uses them so much that it’s hard to tell which he feels are intentionally doubled up and which he doesn’t even realize are metaphorical. And it’s not like he has a problem distinguishing between metaphors…

Fiction/Humor Memoir

The Big Ass Effect

By Rich Marin | May 7, 2020 by Rich Marin

The Big Ass Effect Before you get too excited, let me explain that yesterday I hosted a Zoomathon for my American Flyers Motorcycle Club, who formally celebrates its Silver (25th!) Anniversary this month. There were eighteen participating callers with a total of thirty-four attendees plus two (Nik and Charlene) who I inadvertently left out in the Zoom waiting room, failing to admit them after I had admitted three tranches of other entrants waiting. Oops. I…

Business Advice Fiction/Humor Memoir

Needless Mark-Up

By Rich Marin | May 1, 2020 by Rich Marin

Needless Mark-up I hear that Neiman Marcus is likely to declare bankruptcy soon as the latest signal that the retail business sector is the next in what promises to be an ongoing array of zombie business segments in the new normal. This morning I heard a retail analyst talking about it. He was actually quite balanced about it all. Clearly Neiman Marcus is an iconic brand that has been around for 113 years. It originated…

Fiction/Humor

Haircuttery

By Rich Marin | April 28, 2020 by Rich Marin

Haircuttery I think of my quarantine as having started after returning prematurely from New York and having swung and missed on my trip to London (a trip, I might add, which would have been a complete waste of time and effort because that expert witness case settled favorably). I flew back to San Diego on Wednesday, March 10th with a prickly feeling on the back of my neck like I had just escaped the Coronavirus.…

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Category: Fiction/Humor

Coming Out of Hibernation

Oliver Twist

Getting Hosed

This Little Piggy Stayed Home

Festivus

The Institution of Lunch

A Hitch in the Ointment

The Big Ass Effect

Needless Mark-Up

Haircuttery