Irrational Fears
I don’t like seeing big cranes in the neighborhood. I always worry they are going to drop a big load of something on top of an innocent baby stroller, or on my car with my kids inside, or just wreck something.
This morning, this crane was in town, and all day I felt anxious.
I remember [...]
Moaning Workmen
I am having my house cleaned, some concrete pressure washed and my windows washed inside and out. This is long overdue. I have been barely able to see out my windows all summer, but remember how it kept drizzling? And I had this leak I had to get fixed.
But now it’s all getting done. [...]
Paramedics — Love Them
Have you heard about the baby born this week on Coast Highway at Dover?
Piper Cecilia Hunt was born Monday, delivered by her father on the side of the road after his best attempts to make it to Hoag Hospital were cut short by a stern 911 operator who said “PULL OVER SIR, YOU ARE ENDANGERING [...]
One Way
Has anyone else noticed this summer that the one-way entrances and drives through the Citibank/Albertsons parking lots just seem to confound people?
In the past week, I’ve had to stop more times than I have in the whole rest of my life here, waiting to let wrong-way drivers pass.
If there are big delivery trucks, look [...]
Ah Ha! Extra Week of Summer, Boom!
My son will enter seventh grade next month at Corona del Mar Middle School. He’s excited, and I’m nervous. He doesn’t want to wake up earlier, and I don’t want to deal with a new set of traffic problems. But I’m sure we all will adjust.
Part of going into seventh grade is a one-day Seaweed [...]
Mi Trash Can, Not Su Trash Can
Yesterday I took my trash cans to the curb. A few minutes later, my neighbor went by while walking her dog. She couldn’t see me, but I could see her, and I saw her look around and quickly stash her dog’s poo bag in my can.
For some reason, this annoyed me beyond belief. She was [...]
Steven Slater: Hero Or Creep?
Everyone is talking about the JetBlue flight attendant who was hit by a passenger’s bag, who grabbed the intercom and swore at the person then grabbed beers and his luggage and walked away via the emergency shoot on the plane.
If not, Google “Steven Slater” and you’ll see.
Everyone seems to be acting as if they are [...]
No, It’s Not In My Junk Mail Folder
I have not been getting some important emails lately for some reason. But when I ask the senders about it, the senders invariably say, “Oh, it’s in your spam folder. That happens to me all the time!”
To be clear, I check my spam/junk folders every day. All the time. I know what is there and [...]
More Dog Rants
I know you all love dogs, and you all clean up your dogs’ messes, and you would NEVER take your dog to the funeral of a man not known for his love of canine pets.
I know that this rant will fall on deaf ears, or maybe offend or make some of you defensive.
But I just [...]
Funeral Etiquette
My dad’s funeral was Wednesday morning in Pike County, Illinois, just about 30 miles from Mark Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, Mo. My father used to play in the same caves that Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn played in, long before they were tourist destinations with electric lights overhead. Like many of us who grow up [...]
Where to eat tonight...
