Memoir
All Roads Lead to Heathrow
Even if I hadn’t lived in Rome for three years, I probably would have still heard that all roads lead to Rome. That fascinating phrase has both literal and metaphorical meanings. Literally, it refers to the extensive Roman road network that connected the vast empire to its capital. The Romans were master engineers who built over 250,000 miles of roads, with major routes like the Via Appia genuinely converging on Rome. This infrastructure was crucial…
Memoir
Sleeping on Planes
Back in the day, when I traveled almost every week, usually flying off to some place in Latin America or Europe, I remember the feeling on a Sunday night as I headed off to the airport. I hated leaving home before the weekend had ended, and I hated not having the comfort of being able to go into the office like a regular person, but what I never disliked or dreaded was the flights themselves.…
Memoir
Mountain Climbing
I have always had a fascination with mountain climbing, not because it was something I wanted to do, but rather, because it was something I could not possibly see myself doing or ever wanting to do. What would compel a person to want to climb a mountain? It is an obvious question and an even more obvious answer with, “because it’s there” being the most common. But there are lots of things that are “there”…
Love Memoir
Life Goes On
Indeed, life does go on. This simple phrase carries a lot of wisdom – through challenges, joys, difficulties, and triumphs, the world continues to turn and time moves forward. I have noted this reality on many occasions. The most obvious of them is when someone you know or love passes on. Yes, “There’s got to be a morning after” – that’s the opening line to “The Morning After,” the Academy Award-winning song from the 1972…
Fiction/Humor Retirement
Sports in the Age of Orthopedics
Pickleball has become extremely popular and continues to be America’s fastest-growing sport. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) Topline Participation Report, there were an estimated 19.8 million pickleball players in the United States in 2024, which represents a 45.8% increase from 2023 numbers. Pickleball has been named the fastest-growing sport in the US for the fourth consecutive year. The growth has been phenomenal over the past few years, with participation increasing by…
Fiction/Humor Politics
Sticky Fingers
Fingers are a funny appendage. They pretty much dominate one entire human sense, our sense of touch. They have to be very sensitive and tactile while being very rugged and durable since they are used every day for multiple chores. For instance, tomorrow morning I can think of three distinct things I will use my fingers for. The obvious one is that they are my preferred mechanism for inputting my thoughts into stories via keyboarding.…
Memoir Retirement
Croquet Picnic
Croquet as a sport has a fascinating history dating back several centuries. It’s thought of as an elegant lawn game that developed in Victorian England and is played in whites like tennis used to be played. Croquet appears to have evolved from a French peasant game called “paille-maille” (pall-mall) played in Languedoc in the 13th century. Players used mallets to hit wooden balls through hoops made of willow branches. By the 17th century, a similar…