When I realized I was indisputably sick, I recognized the perfect opportunity to gain sympathy points from my wife. “It hurts,” I said. “A lot. I think itâs pretty serious.” “It’s an ear ache,” she said. With the sympathy meter reading dangerously close to empty, I sought the advice of a qualified medical professional. [...]

  Big brother is watching you. And so is big sister. Uncle Henry’s in on the act, too. It’s getting hard to go anywhere without running into a nut with a video camera of some sort. A typical daycare music recital looks more like a press conference than a kidâs program. The presidential candidates would [...]

  When I got a note in the mail saying I needed to renew my driver’s license, I wasn’t worried. After all, I’ve been driving since I was sixteen. All I had to do was take a quick written exam, get a bad picture taken, and I’d be done. Right? When I got to the [...]

  For the first time in twenty-five years I have a new hairstyle. For a quarter century I’ve been faithful to a basic short-bangs, parted-on-the-right, square-backed haircut. It was a simple look; a serious look; a look that said, “I’m clueless about fashion.” If they had named my hairstyle, it would have been called The [...]