SAVE MORE WATER, DADGUM IT. Do it for the greater good. My wife is currently on a tear to save water. I’m hiding in my den writing this because I accidentally dumped a half-glass of water into the sink, and now she’s bending my ear. I’m an idiot. I could have poured that water on […]

I’M GOING TO STRING TWO SHORT TOPICS TOGETHER. It’s either that or milk each one to death. I attended the 19th annual Pin-A-Go-Go pinball convention at the Dixon Fairgrounds last weekend. Having grown up in a town awash in pinball machines, Pin-A-Go-Go is like a dream come true. Well over 100 games filling three cavernous […]

AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, I have a Drummer notebook where I jot down column ideas, random thoughts, site details, and tidbits. When I use an idea, I delete it from my notes. Funny thing though, even while writing a column a week, my notebook keeps growing. This week is a grab bag. I’ll thread a […]

THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIME-WARP STORIES where I speak of a future event that will be over when you read about it. Susan and I threw a double retirement party for ourselves on Saturday, May 9 at the house. Currently it’s still three days away. I wonder how it went? It was a midday […]

I WENT FISHING. Here’s what happened. I caught four trout. I’ve been fishing with this group of guys for ten long years and have caught a total of three trout in ten years, years apart. What has changed? No Gino. When he came, he didn’t fish, so when I hung with him, I didn’t fish. […]

THIS IS A TALE OF my first real-life Texas Hold ’em no-limit casino poker experience using real money that I worked hard to earn. We moved into the Eldorado on Sunday and on Thursday I finally mustered the mustard to play cards. Buy-in was $50 to $300. Unlimited additional buy-ins were allowed between hands. I […]

I PROMISED TO REPORT BACK AS SOON AS I had an opportunity to play Texas Hold ’em in a casino for the first time, and here I am. Instead of jumping straight to the results, let me build up the background story first. If you’ve been following, you know that one December day while waiting […]

I’M NOTICING A SIGNIFICANT DISCONNECT in our current version of 21st-century learning, call it an irony if you wish. It’s troubling, and I’m only able to guess at the reasons why. This disconnect came into sharp focus for me a few weeks ago while I was engaged in a class discussion with a room full […]

YOU GOT YOUR GOOD AND YOU GOT YOUR GREATER GOOD. Therein lies one of life’s great dilemmas because the good can sometimes interfere with the greater good, making the good bad. We look for bad people to be culpable for life’s tragedies, but oftentimes we find good people wielding the sword as they strive for […]

HERE IS YET ANOTHER PENDING-RETIREMENT-THEMED REPORT. My final semester, which I imagined to be a smooth glide to the landing strip, is bumpier than expected with mixed emotions of push-me-pull-you. Some days I’m eager to stay after and work with struggling writers. Other days only the Kraken of responsibility can drag me from my slumber. […]