Our lives can be divided into stages according to our relationship to stuff. In the early years, stuff is temporary, ever-changing. We have clothing, but we can’t keep it for long, because we’re always outgrowing it. Likewise, toys and books. … Continue reading →
You may recall that I hurt my knee about two weeks ago. It was progressing, but in the wrong direction—day by day getting worse instead of better. Medicine didn’t offer me much (actually, it didn’t offer me anything), and there … Continue reading →
Many years ago I lived in southern California in the hills bordering the San Fernando Valley. Every day I drove towards the city on the San Diego Freeway and then back again. Back then the traffic wasn’t as bad as … Continue reading →
I’ve been experiencing a tiny health care crisis myself. Sunday night, something or other happened to my knee—one of the body parts of mine that had always been A-OK till now. I woke up in significant pain, and the pain … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I’ve decided to take a short break from ragging on Obama today.] So, do you agree that Eight O’Clock coffee is better than Starbucks? Consumer Reports says it is. I have no opinion on the subject, because I never … Continue reading →
Almost twenty years ago I hurt my back and sustained injuries to both arms that left me with what’s known as neuropathic pain. We all know what pain from an injury feels like. But if you’re fortunate, you don’t know—and … Continue reading →
Gatesgate has reminded us that one of the things that “everybody” knows is not to give cops a lot of lip. This is information that most people learn by their late teens or early twenties, be they black or white, … Continue reading →
One of the greatest things about the internet is the opportunity if affords us to revisit things we thought lost forever. A line from a poem runs through our heads, and we can’t place it. Before Google, it could drive … Continue reading →
Some of you may have seen Webutante’s two-part story (see this and then this) about her “can you top this?” car breakdown and rescue. Driving with a fading alternator and no cell phone in a snowstorm in the Midwest, she … Continue reading →
In what seemed to be a stock market freefall back in March, some people panicked and did exactly what you’re not supposed to do: sell low, at what now appears to have possibly been the bottom of the market drop. … Continue reading →
Commenter “Baklava” started a fascinating conversation yesterday that was (among other things) about women and car breakdowns: I’ve heard this from many women friends. They simply aren’t interested in entertaining the idea of getting a car that is older to … Continue reading →
I live in an area of the country where you need snow tires. At least I do. I find that my little ten-year-old Toyota Corolla is so light that it can’t get up snowy hills without them. That means that, … Continue reading →