On May 21, 1992, MTV aired the first episode of “The Real World.” The introduction to the show went like this: “This is the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house, work together, and have their lives taped. Find out what happens when people stop…
I have pink eye. Again. And I’m extremely happy I got it. I’ll get to why in a moment, but first some background. For the third time since March, the whites of my eyes are red and watery with occasional discharges that result in some crusting on my eyelashes.
If you’ve ever experienced an allergic reaction to something, you probably understand why the root word of misery comes from the Latin word “miseria,” which means wretchedness. My dog has been in a state of misery for the past two weeks due to an allergic reaction. We don’t know…
Reality bites. That was the name of a 1994 romantic comedy movie starring Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke. It’s about four recent graduates finding out how difficult life can be when searching for a decent job and true love after college. In pop culture, that phrase eventually came to…
May is Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month. While I was starting to write this week’s column, my wife, Jill, received some devastating news: Her second cousin, Pamela Averman, had passed away from pneumonia on April 28. Because this is a Huntington’s disease column,…
The first time I met my wife, Jill, she told me she wasn’t comfortable with “PDA.” Being a smart aleck, I asked her why she didn’t like personal digital assistants. (The old PalmPilots were known as PDAs.) She flashed the patient smile of someone who knew it would require…
My wife, Jill, and I live in Illinois, where the governor has declared a stay-at-home order for our entire state. It’s been weeks now. He also suggests canceling summer events and has decided that children will not return to school for the remainder of the academic year. We are…
Social distancing seems to be the trend these days. Several reality shows illustrate what I mean: participants practice social distancing and isolation to such an extent that everyone communicates to each other behind walls (in “Love Is Blind“) and computer screens (in “The Circle“). Now, though, this is…
My home has been super quiet for the past several days, a silence that will continue for several more as my wife, Jill, visits our daughter on the East Coast. Jill was supposed to be gone for only four days from Wednesday to Sunday, but her trip was extended when…
When she was little, my daughter, Alexus, visited a 7-Eleven store with my wife, Jill. To reward Alexus’s wonderful report card, Jill said she could choose any treat. Our daughter said she wanted one of those scratch-off lottery tickets. Jill patiently tried to explain that no one ever really…
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