I have a friend in his thirties. He is from the Middle East and when not freshly shaven really does fit the physical profile of someone you wouldn't be overly comfortable with on your next flight. Every time he flies he is "randomly" pulled out...
If we could concoct a pill that could raise people’s I.Q.s by ten to twenty points we could soon be fabulously wealthy. Lines to get our pills would be longer than the lines to get a new iPhone. We used to think the intelligence we...
"Telling it like it is" has become something of a pop culture virtue. People describe, with pride, themselves or another as one who "tells it like it is." It appears to me to be an excuse for being rude and not being sensitive to other...
With over two feet of snow on the ground and another foot coming tomorrow the birds are not straying far from the feeder. However, this noon I noted not a bird in sight. Five minutes or more passed and still not a bird. It meant...
I was sitting in a physician's waiting room and my curiosity was aroused by a fellow waiter. He was wearing what appeared to be a traditional small black cap. This was not unusual because we have an active Jewish community in our little city. What...
Our black lab has established a ritual. If she spots one of us going upstairs she hastens to get on the stairs right in front of us and then stops. It’s time for a tummy rub. I’m not sure how long she would stay there. ...
The graying college professor was watching television—but not really. He was casually interested but not enough to give it his full attention so he pulled a volume of the 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica off the shelf and began to browse. He came across...
Near our school there is an old brick factory that has been transformed into an upscale condo container. Over a year ago they put up a sign proclaiming sales were so successful the condos were going quickly. The sign is still up. I guess the...
We are creatures of habit and love the familiar. I do not assign seats in my college classes but 90% of the time students will sit in the same chair they got the first day. When I take attendance I automatically look at the chair...
Antique stores fascinate me because they are filled with priceless junk from my childhood. I walk around and say, “Oh, look. I had one of those. I wonder what happened to IT.” I most likely was looking at IT. Recently I was in one that...