Dadtritus Alert: Twin Zippo Lighters Can you get too much of a good thing? As we tackle the notion of "dadtritus" -- those very dad-type objects that seem to accumulate in cabinets and drawers and corners -- the answers seems to be a resounding, "well, duh." Whether it's an avalanche of rapidly-graying T-shirts, or closet... Continue Reading →
Random Smiling Banana - Give Your Face a Rest In this new, recurring feature, we hunt down the things in everyday life that randomly tickle you. Around my house, it could be a stupid pet trick. Or -- quite often -- something my sons have drawn. Or a spontaneous quip in the middle of our... Continue Reading →
This was the beginning of a 4+ hour delay with a view: watching the mechanic disassemble the engine cover ... and keep disassembling ... was the visual cue I needed to change my flight. Yes, There’s an App for That - Dad About Town It was a perfect, clear-blue, sunny Saturday, tailor-made for taking to... Continue Reading →
Caught in this creepy pic is Stephen King, making a cameo in It, Chapter Two. I’d paused the in-flight movie to study the symbol on his mug: anything significant, Constant Readers? Apropos of Something: Hidden meaning in movie mug? Life is random, randomly filled with randomness. And a discerning Dad keeps careful track. On my... Continue Reading →
Fine morning for a walking commute from the Tower Bridge, London. Sunshine on the Thames - Dad About TownIn my job I am blessed to be able to spend a few days or, at times, a week or more working from locales considerably far flung from my usual Midwestern town commute. As travel restrictions tighten... Continue Reading →
Sky Line Chili Isn't Exactly Ken Jennings's Dish In what has certainly become a trend, and is rapidly becoming a certainty, my oldest son, Jonah, is proving daily just how much cooler he is than Dad. Among his latest trendy obsessions is tuning in avidly to The Omnibus Project, a twice weekly effort by Ken... Continue Reading →
My first 1st-place Pinewood Derby car only took 35 years. Here is my son Ben's "Screaming Cheese." Crafting a Winning Cub Scout Car: Dadding with DistinctionMy first experience with the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby came in 1984. I was 7, and thus, brand new to the experience of sitting in my dad's basement workshop in... Continue Reading →
Keeping the Fire Going at Camp Shetek With temperatures pushing 60 degrees this weekend in South Dakota, and the snow melting away like the disappearing drifts of wrapping paper from a Christmas that seems... just yesterday, it's easy to imagine this fine March 1 that we've left the winter doldrums behind. When, in reality, there's the usual... Continue Reading →
A thing of beauty to this lifelong Cleveland Browns fan: a replica 1952 Otto Graham jersey. Divine Vintage: Paying Props to the PastToday marks the 54th Super Bowl in NFL history, and for the 54th time, my beloved Cleveland Browns won't be playing in it. It's an annual rite of futility that hasn't dampened my... Continue Reading →
In Memoriam: Don Warren, 1928-2019 I'll begin with a confession: I have not spoken to Don Warren for probably five, maybe seven years. Not since before or shortly after my family and I picked up stakes after 11 years in Chicago, Don's nearly-lifelong stomping grounds, and trekked west to South Dakota. "You're WHAT?" I can... Continue Reading →
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