Do you know someone who has a way with words? Or someone who no have way? Lake Superior State University, located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, has hosted an annual List of Banished Words from the … more

“Four dead in Ohio,” the song says. It was recorded by countertenor Neil Young and the other members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on May 21, 1970, just weeks after a tragic incident on the … more

Dickens memorably began “A Tale of Two Cities” with a perfect description of 2020, especially the first twelve words. It sums up, at least in my lifetime, the current world, where extraordinarily … more

If you have in-home family or companionship, please shove off. I’ll see you next week. This is for the others who don’t. My 80-year-old high school English teacher don’t. She’d love that … more

On a Monday in March, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock briefly panicked the city by declaring liquor stores to be non-essential businesses. He declared they would have to close and remain closed until … more

During these strange days and nights, many of you are watching films to pass time. So am I: mostly comedies, mysteries, and, believe it or not, love stories. Yes, I am a bread crumb-encrusted old … more

Stay at home, isolate, avoid crowds such as parties, concerts, athletic events, parades, weddings, funerals, and limit physical contact with non-household members. Snap. I have been doing just that … more

Is your perception of time any different than it was a few months ago? For a while it seemed like I was having at least two birthdays every year. Now? Time has slowed down. Days are different. Weeks … more

It’s springtime in the Rockies. Try to keep that in mind. It may not be anyone’s idea of an ideal spring, but it’s the only one we’re going to have this year. A year that’s only three … more

Headline: “Celebrity swears by moisturizer.” Tell me: Who swears by a moisturizer? What exactly is a moisturizer? Is here a man alive who can say the word “moisturizer” with a straight face? … more

If you own what is commonly called a “painting,” you might want to hang on to it. Someday it might be worth a lot of money as a curiosity. Paintings, typically but not always, are considered art, … more

This is it, I promise. My one and only political column. Nationally, roughly 43% of eligible voters did not vote in the 2016 presidential election. Let’s try to do better. That’s all I am going … more

Bach credited God. Raymond Chandler refused to expedite the screenplay for “The Blue Dahlia” unless he was permitted to drink alcohol and to drink heavily. I depend upon hot, black coffee — … more

The misquote “The stuff that dreams are made of” concludes what great 1941 noir film? The answer and some interesting information about the film come later. Every Sunday in the mid-1970s, a … more

My hope this year is to rebrand my brand with some brand new words, while holding on to such dependable ones as “go-to” and “vibe” and “sustainable.” Listen, my go-to restaurant in Lone … more

Ernest Hemingway kept six-toed cats at his home, now a museum, in Key West, Florida. They’re called “polydactyl cats.” The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum currently has 40-50 polydactyl cats … more

“Lead” not only means “first,” “foremost” and “front,” lead is a heavy metal, hence Led Zeppelin. An old adage in journalism is “don’t bury the lead.” Journalists are not … more

English jurist John Selden (1584-1654) said, “Syllables govern the world.” Maybe syllables governed the world in the 17th century, but lately they have been treated with impudence and disrespect … more

I will never be recognized as the first to do anything. I wasn’t the first in my family to graduate from high school or college, or become a schoolteacher, or nothing. Unless you stretch it. I was … more