This week half the country will be upset by the midterm election results and half will be elated. more

Thanksgiving is much more than a big meal with family and friends. It’s a time to reflect on, and be thankful for, all of the good things you have. more

Murphy’s Law being what it is, whether you’re talking about a surprise party, a romantic getaway or visiting an acquaintance in the hospital, good intentions don’t always pan out. more

When I was growing up in 1970’s East Texas, my experiences with international cuisine were pretty much limited to pizza, spaghetti and an occasional tamale. more

Since the Reagan era of the 1980s, we have heard arguments from various quarters lamenting the supposed “fact” that studying liberal arts or the humanities in general was a colossal waste of time. As a Generation X teenager, this message was routinely fed to me and my peers. more

It’s a question worth asking in these nutty times: how old is too old to trick-or-treat? On the question-and-answer website Quora, some people ask if the age of 12 is a good time to hang … more

Perhaps it’s partly because my mother owns a huge antique desk from Milky Way Farm (the former estate of Franklin C. Mars, founder of Mars Candies), but I pay keen attention to the annual flurry of “filler” news items about Halloween candy. more

I’ve experienced a lifelong identity crisis, of sorts, because of my name (or names), and I’ve actually kind of enjoyed it—most of the time. more

“Were you raised in a barn?” more

Gosh, I hate debt. more

For those of you who don’t know, my more respectable gig for the past quarter century, or so, has been teaching college English. (Scary, I know.) more

Have you heard of the “quiet quitting” trend that is being breathlessly reported on social media? more

My brother and I rarely saw eye-to-eye about TV viewing choices in our teens and twenties, but we were both among the handful of people who imbibed the hilarity of a sitcom that NBC unleashed upon an unresponsive world on Sept. 30, 1982. more

With the “fall back” clock change coming soon, one thing makes me especially grumpy and confused. more

My adult life has been full of transitions—from single to married, from childlessness to fatherhood, and from virile coolness to cringey blobfish. I now find myself in the midst of a change from occupying a nest literally bursting with hatchlings frantically pecking at my wallet to now watching one last teenage fledgling perched on the edge of a limb and hoping I don’t do anything embarrassing. more

I used to love the first weekend of autumn. Now I loathe it. more

So, having earned an associate’s degree from our local community college, my son Gideon is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechatronic engineering from my old alma mater. more

“No problem.” more

Now that my eldest and middle daughters are off at college dashing my prospects for retirement, and my youngest daughter has started navigating the pubescent challenges of high school, I can turn to … more

I'm confused. more