Meandering Monday about Personal Narratives

Do you ever find yourself sighing in annoyance as a friend recounts something that happened to them years ago – something that you’ve heard them recite countless times before? This sort of thing tends to happen even more frequently with spouses (although you would be best advised to only sigh inwardly…) We all have stories … Continue reading →

Free-pass, Funeral, and Flag Friday: A Time and a Place

I know – this is such “last week’s news”, but the uncivility is really bothering me. There were two funerals of note last week – Aretha Franklin & John McCain. Notables (or people seeking to be notable) performed in various ways at both. Aretha’s involved a lot of musical tributes; hers was, after all, a … Continue reading →

Foul & Filthy Friday: Moderate Yourself

We had the opportunity to stay in a hotel for a couple of days while dealing with an air-conditioning issue, and we had occasion to view a multitude of HBO channels while there (we’re cheap people, who are already amazed at how much we are paying for our cable, and see no reason to pay … Continue reading →

Feeble, Feigned Friendliness Friday: “I’ll Live…”

How much do we really CONNECT with our co-workers? Our friends, acquaintances, and fellow humans (for those of us who are human; for me it’s just THOSE PEOPLE)? We pass THOSE PEOPLE in the hall or on the street and say “How are you doing?”, without actually waiting or wanting to hear the answer – … Continue reading →

Meandering Monday about My Survivor’s Guilt

Back in February, my employer decided (despite an improving economy) to continue with their plans to reduce payroll, and they let a large number of experienced, knowledgeable, and talented people go. We’d been hearing rumors for months that this was coming, and various scenarios about who would be laid off. I fit into a number … Continue reading →

Meandering Monday about Patterning Manners

I just discovered Stranger Things on Netflix. First off, I will admit that I’m planning to watch the whole thing – at least unless or until it goes off the rails from seeming to have logic behind it as it does now (Season 1 episode 8 so far), to the strange feeling of disrespecting the … Continue reading →

Meandering Monday about the Herd

All this brouhaha about United Airlines and Dr. David Dao is illustrative of something outside of the mistreatment of a rebellious passenger by an overly empowered industry. People have been swinging back and forth like a pendulum on social media. First, it seemed to be the popular thing to rag on the airline for what … Continue reading →

Meandering Monday about Changing Seasons

It was raining today – at least where I am. That’s today, and one day’s weather doesn’t make a season, any more than a single year’s weather – or even twenty years – will give any real indication of climate change. I’ve lived in Texas well over half my life (so that makes me a … Continue reading →

Meandering Monday about Black Friday Promotions

Holidays = Holy Days. Even if you aren’t particularly religious and don’t practice or observe, THE HOLIDAYS are supposed to give us a pause to reflect on the past year, give thanks for our blessings (or good fortune), and catch a breath before we resume our work after the first of the year (towards those resolutions … Continue reading →

Forecast Friday: What (N)ever Happened To…?

Where’s my jet pack? Those things were going to be the wave of the future when I was growing up – we were all supposed to have one. Flying cars were a bit out there and not realistic (The Jetsons WAS a cartoon, after all), but jet packs were guaranteed to be in my future, … Continue reading →