Yesterday evening, Chris and Hugh were out at the gym. Malcolm was dozing on the couch, and I was reading a book. All was peaceful. Then the phone rang. Naturally, I had not thought to bring the portable to the living room, so had to scamper on tiptoes (so as not to wake Malcolm) into the kitchen [...]
Recent photo of my brother Richard in front of Grandpa John and Grandma Lorene’s house in Ottawa, Kansas. They built this cottage with its cat-slide roofs in the midst of the Depression. Here, they raised five children, tended gardens, cooked and baked and played piano, presided over holidays with crowds of grandchildren, showed a hundred slide shows of [...]
That headline is a song title, right? I just want to make sure everyone knows I’m referring to a formerly popular Lionel Ritchie ditty here. And if you go to a party in Bolivia or Barcelona, it would be OK to call it a “fiesta.” Nobody could stop you from saying “Vamos a la fiesta.” I’ve [...]
The other day I posted a little update on Facebook that caused a bit of a commotion. It was about how I ran into another mom at Back to School Night who seemed skittish around me. Inwardly, I was amused – because I knew that she had defriended me on FB. Her discomfort, I assumed, was [...]
After a summer of utterly brutal heat and stifling humidity, we are enjoying gorgeous early fall days. Crisp, clear, blue-skied, sunny, and warm-ish. Perfect, splendid September, we welcome you. This past weekend I found myself in several iconic Philadelphia locations: the Pennsylvania Historical Society, Rittenhouse Square and the Phillies ballpark. Early drafts of the Constitution were [...]
Last spring, our talented art director friend (and devoted MOB reader) Kevin Reilly designed a series of countdown-to-birthday cards for his niece, who is also his god-daughter. Francesca was so thrilled to find a card in the mailbox every day for the 10 days leading up to her 10th birthday that Kevin had one of [...]
Last week, Emily alluded to a new Friday tradition that will begin today here at MOB. Whichever one of us is writing will post a photo from the previous week in this space, and the image will do most of the talking. Sometimes, it may even speak for itself. Today’s photo completes my car-centric theme for [...]
Are the people who get to choose car names being evil and ironic, or merely clueless and stupid, when they pick monikers for their giant SUVs and trucks? It drives me crazy that they name them after pristine parts of nature, or glorious locations, both of which are endangered by the very vehicles that laud and glorify them. Dodge Durango. Yukon [...]
Hugh recently got his learner’s permit, after several Kafka-esque visits to the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles, now located conveniently behind the ACME at Granite Run Mall. During these visits, we never had the right papers or the right method of payment or even the right day (closed on Mondays, everyone, although the clerk did not tell us [...]
Weather, time, and their mood permitting, our boys have frequently gotten themselves to school under their own steam. Walking, biking, even longboarding have been their favored methods. In the past, I received calls from aghast neighbors reporting such sightings as “I noticed Ian walking to elementary school – do you realize a construction project has started [...]
