The toddler in that black-and-white photograph above is me standing with one arm resting on the handlebar of my prized tricycle. At first glance, you may think that I don’t look very happy in the photo, maybe because of those uneven bangs created by a cereal bowl plopped on my head to save the cost of a beauty shop haircut. Or perhaps I’m annoyed about wearing an ill-fitting cardigan with three-quarter length sleeves when a sweatshirt would suffice. The picture is dated November 1963. I would have been 3-1/2 years old, but I’m thinking I was a few months younger since it often took my mother awhile to get rolls…
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Heart smart
It’s not often I relish the age that I am, as in happy to be in my so-called golden years. But this weekend made me realize I’m glad that I’m old. The co-founder and CEO of the artificial intelligence company, Anthropic, put the brakes on frontier AI safety and research. And he called on other businesses in the field to do the same. Too much, too soon? You bet your chat bots, Claude. It took the head of Anthropic to write a 3,800-word essay, but his point was clear: Slow your roll. Engineers can’t keep up with advanced AI models. And the billionaire owner of this private company believes it…
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She’s got rhythm
Lately, it seems, I wake up tired. Not because I’ve been out carousing half the night or digging ditches all day long. Nope. No obvious reason, except for one: I’m in AFib. Again. Here’s a life tip: When your EKG looks more like a stock market chart than a recording of your heart’s electrical activity, you might have a problem. As in, an irregular heart rhythm — and often very fast — heart rate. That’s atrial fibrillation. I’ve seen this movie before. Back in 2017, I was in full-blown AFib with no symptoms except for a “resting” heart rate of 130. I got my mitral valve repaired and was good to…
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Dazzlin’ Dolly
The news of Dolly Parton’s passing didn’t surprise me. She hadn’t looked well and reports of her health struggles hinted that it may be something more than the challenges of eight decades. At 80, she sure didn’t look it or act it, on stage at least. I never saw her perform in person, but after our visit to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville a few years back, it was clear she was a force to be reckoned with. Singer, songwriter, actor, philanthropist. Her legacy lives on. And simply being a good person. That was Dolly. You can tell it was true because on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at precisely…
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Photographs and memories
Grab an RC Cola and a MoonPie to snack on while you read this post, my friends. Nothing beats the iconic “working-man’s lunch” dating back to the Great Depression when men were men and women were, well, making dinner. And in these uncertain times of tainted lettuce and AI dating sites, a low-budget combo of a Royal Crown Cola and marshmallow-filled, chocolate-coated graham cracker cake may be just the thing to get you through another maddening week. What else have you got to do but think of the sweet American South on this hot August day? You’ll thank me later. Today I’m taking you back to early 2026 when it…
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Five guys plus one
On Monday afternoon, two of my great-nephews were about to have the time of their young lives hiking the Hetch Hetchy, a hidden gem in Yosemite National Park’s peaceful northwestern corner. No Starbucks here, dudes. No tour buses or campers and RVs. This is what’s known as off the beaten path. Often called Yosemite’s “secret” valley, Hetch Hetchy’s glacial valley has been inhabited for more than 6,000 years, with its towering granite cliffs and cascading waterfalls. Pioneer conservationist John Muir called it a “remarkably exact counterpart” to the now world-famous Yosemite Valley, about 15 miles south. To Muir, this carved, U-shaped glacier was one of the earth’s most beautiful places.…
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Shifting gears
A couple of months ago, after much deliberation, we decided to buy a new vehicle. That in itself could be the subject of an entire blog post, but I won’t bore you with the details of our shopping experience. It wasn’t horrible, but it sure has changed in the past 15 years since we bought our last new car. For one thing, dealerships don’t keep as many models on the lot, so you can’t just walk around like a kid in a candy store and pick one out in your favorite color. Most times you have to order it and wait. And wait. Particularly if it’s a popular make or…
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Heavy lifting
We have a white tea towel in our upstairs bathroom that says this in bold, black capital letters: “I CAN’T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO GO TO THE GYM TODAY. THAT’S 7 YEARS IN A ROW.” It makes me laugh every time I see it, which is at least once or twice a day, not only because it’s funny, but also because it’s true. Neither one of us has ever been a gym rat or fond of fitness centers. For several years, we attended Jazzercise classes regularly three or four times a week. It was a fun way to socialize and get some exercise through dancing, light weight training and building…
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Born in the USA
Guess what, dear readers? Yes, I know it’s hotter outside than a snake’s butt in a wagon wheel rut. Slow down. You move too fast. Make the morning last. Feel groovy, as the song goes. Not because winter will be here before we know it, but because we’re halfway through this year. Today is the oft-overlooked midpoint as we wander through yet another 365 days around the sun. Only 184 days left until we ring in a new year. Not that I’m wishing life away. My parents advised against it, with the caveat that doing so wasn’t wise or productive. Time marches on, whether you rush or savor each day. Carpe…
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Pep talk for America
Most of us don’t know what to trust these days. We’re living in a time when Snopes – after 30-some years now the definitive online reference source for researching urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors and misinformation, once known as “fact-checking” – lights the way. Their crack investigative team must validate whether a sitting president dozed off in the Oval Office during a coal industry event and woke himself up by passing gas, as a video allegedly shows. (According to Snopes, the alleged flatulence didn’t occur.) I am not making this up. And I refuse to write another word about it, except to say I suspect it didn’t pass the smell…
