The way I see it...

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  I feel like Valentine's Day is a day invented by florists to keep their lights and electricity turned on. I've  been married just a few months shy of 33 years.  After 32 previous Valentine's days, I've laid a few eggs present-wise. So what can you do to keep your wife happy on this day?  Check out some of my go-to ideas for a drama-free evening. Women love flowers.   They don't care if you spend $80 or $8, it's all about the thought and the effort.  Personally, I like to go to my local Sam's Club that has a nice florist right in the store.  Pick out a nice bouquet, get a card and you've spent under $20.  Go home and stick the flowers in one of the numerous vases laying around your house, lean the card against the vase and you're golden. Take her out to dinner.   My wife and I usually don't go out to dinner on Valentine's Day; it's just too crowded and many times you have to order off...

Normally, I enjoy the Christmas season.  I enjoy driving through neighborhoods looking at the bright, cheery lights and animated displays.  I love seeing family that lives out of the area.  I love the smell of delicious food being prepared on Christmas morning.  Even though my kids are grown, I still enjoy seeing them open presents. With all those upsides, this Christmas is an unusually sad one for our family.  Our German Shepherd, Heidi passed away about 3 weeks ago.  She was 10 years old, and went from happy and healthy to being gone in just 24 hours. Heidi was the first dog we'd ever rescued and overall the third German Shepherd my wife and I have had over the last 32 years.  Our other German Shepherds were wonderful dogs in their own ways.  Heidi however, was the most amazing.  She was a very large girl with a dark-colored mask and quite an imposing profile.  Even though she presented an intimidating posture, she was the mos...

Yesterday I was meeting a friend for breakfast at IHOP.  My friend beat me to the restaurant by a few minutes and was already seated at a table by the time I arrived. As I walked in the front doors, there were about 6 people waiting to be seated; a family of 4 and two ladies up front.  The family was seated and the ladies were standing at the entry point of the seating area. I paused behind the ladies as I scanned the restaurant for my friend.  When I saw him, I said, "Excuse me" and proceeded to walk between the ladies towards my table.  One of the ladies took a step to her left as I was walking past her which pushed me ever so slightly into her friend.  I paused, looked at them both and said, "I'm sorry" and then continued on to the table. I had been sitting at the table for no more than 2 minutes when one of the ladies came to our table and said, "You ran me over.  Did you run into me because I'm wearing a Red Sox hat or because I'm sma...

Do you watch much TV between the hours of 10am to 2pm?  If so, you're probably either retired, partially retired, disabled or partially disabled.   The commercials set to run during this particular time frame are specifically aimed at the last 2 groups; disabled or partially disabled. Those commercials are by Personal Injury Lawyers and they're absolutely dominating the commercial space during that time of day.  They'll tell you that your accident could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and all you need to do is make one, simple phone call. The thing these lawyers fail to understand is the depth of laziness for people these days.  If someone would only make the call for them, meet with the attorney and forward all their medical expenses for them, things would be hunky-dory.  The reality is most of them will only leave the couch once or twice a day. I first noticed this daytime commercial phenomenon about 3 1/2 years ago when I retired from the full...

The 4th of July was just 3 days ago but I'm still thinking about the millions of dollars spent on legal and illegal fireworks. I totally understand that these legal fireworks stands are an opportunity for schools, churches and other needy programs to make some much deserved money.  And it never ceases to amaze me that at least 4 different fireworks booths will have their inventory stolen every year....every single year. And have you priced fireworks lately? When I was a kid, the local Red Devil fireworks stand had a pack called "The 49er" because it cost $49.99.  It was the perfect sized package deal with enough sparklers, snakes, Smokey Joe and fountains to keep me entertained for hours. When my kids were growing up, The 49er was still available, but it was now roughly the size of a shoe box.  Your $50 was gone in a matter of minutes.  This year, I saw what $100 gets you at a fireworks stand; it aint much. The average fountain is $8 and head upwards, well ...

Top 10 Habits of Annoying Drivers Do other drivers honk at you for no apparent reason?   Do people yell out their window or flash obscene gestures at you when you're just driving along, minding your own business? If you answered yes to either (or both) of these questions, you might be an annoying driver. Now don't get me wrong, being semi-retired I am very rarely in a rush to get anywhere.  But the actions of annoying drivers could cause those who ARE in a hurry, to reach their boiling point and go all "Road Ragey" on you.  Here's a list of things I see drivers do every single day that are aggravating to other drivers, including me. 1.  Creating a rolling blockade;  If you are going the exact same speed as the vehicle next to you, you are making it totally impossible for anyone to pass.  This is particularly annoying on any road with only two lanes in each direction.  Move to the next lane and allow other drivers to pass, even if they're b...