Graduation season is upon us. That seems surprising in a year when I’ve just gotten the lawn mower out of the shed and not yet “summerized” the snow blower, but the earliest ceremonies commence next weekend. This includes the University of Connecticut, where my wife Jenny will walk for the MBA she completed last summer. Read More
Gas station attendants have a unique view of society. I learned this at age sixteen when I started working at the neighborhood station in my small, suburban town.
It was a Getty, tucked in a residential area and offering food essentials, convenience products, and impulse indulgences.
The owner knew most customers by name and encouraged me to make as many personal relationships as possible. It wasn’t a good fit. Read More
Every time I order coffee at a restaurant, I fear the waitstaff hates me. Several friends who’ve worked as servers have confirmed that this is likely true.
Not sophisticated enough for the bartender, but more complicated than either soda or water, coffee is by far, the highest maintenance drink. Read More
I love to hold a newspaper in my hand, to read it and to feel it. Paper is, admittedly, not the most effective way to get the news. I have a system for rehabilitating waterlogged copies and my snowblower has had a run in with one or two, but the overall user experience can’t be beat.
The sound of the pages turning, the satisfaction of completing a good fold to keep the section crisp. It isn’t a good Sunday unless there’s a little bit of ink smudged on my hands. Read More
The first thing everyone notices when they walk into my house is the old box TV sitting prominently in my front living room. This seems like a source of embarrassment to most people, as one time, the front door hadn’t even shut when a visiting ten-year-old asked “How can you watch that thing!?”
It was perhaps the first picture tube his entitled little eyes had ever seen. Read More