Our society is obsessed with arguing. It didn’t always use to be this way – remember when we all agreed that Russia was our enemy and that polio vaccinations were a good thing?
Today we’re energized and consumed by confrontation wherever we find it.
Next time someone raises their voice in public, look around to see how many cell phone cameras are recording. Read More
The Craft Beer Snob is one of the most peculiar social animals to emerge during my lifetime. When I was born in 1980 there were only eight craft breweries in the United States. Today there are over six thousand and they’re all being propped up by beer snobs. Read More
Hesitation has an undeserved bad reputation. Because our culture values action, we often associate hesitation with weakness and uncertainty.
We liken ourselves to decisive gunslingers ready to take on all comers at the twitch of a finger, but our most famous gunslingers knew the value of hesitation. Lines like, “Go ahead, make my day,” and “you’ve gotta ask yourself one question, do I feel lucky?” invited hesitation. Read More
I can walk the entire length of a grocery store multiple times with a straight view down each aisle and still not find the person I’m looking for.
When I was a kid, the vanishing point in a grocery aisle was exactly the size and shape of my mother; now that I’m a grown adult, it’s exactly the size and shape of my wife. Read More
I don’t just change my voice to mimic a customer service rep, I change my entire persona.
I’ve long since learned two important truths: the operator can always do something to get you a better deal, and people respond favorably to other people that are just like themselves. Read More
As early man was brought fireside out of fear of darkness, I was introduced to my town’s Facebook community group as a resource for learning about car break-ins happening in town.
And I did learn about them, but the conversations weren’t what I was expecting. Read More
Nobody waves hello in Connecticut. I didn’t notice it at first; Jenny had to point it out.
A well-recognized rule of living in Connecticut is that you don’t actually exist unless you were born here or have resided here for at least twenty years.
Anything less is considered “just passing through.” Read More
There is little else in the world as interesting to me as a fair. I love everything about them – the lights, the noise, the games, the poorly health-inspected food – but mostly, the people. I can watch fair people for hours.
My favorite place is the funhouse around dusk when overstimulated kids on their third hour of a sugar high go running full force into plexiglass walls they choose not to see. There’s something for everyone at the fair. Read More
Coffee shops are a remarkable spot in the modern landscape. I respect that they have the courage to stay open late into the night, unlike those bagel-making sissy shops that close at two in the afternoon.
Their nature is ever-changing from a hurried bustle in the early morning hours to temporary office space in the afternoon and peaceful sanctuaries at night. Read More
If I could make one wish for a happy couple on their wedding day, it would be that they’ve found someone who will be as loyal to them as I am to my brands of toiletries.
I don’t think my brands of toiletries are the best; I wouldn’t even necessarily recommend them. I just keep buying them because they work and are what I’ve always known. Read More