Stories of Suspense with a Sense of Humor
When I was a kid, I memorized all the dialogue in the old sit-com Hogan’s Heroes. Unless you’re of a certain age, you probably haven’t heard of the show. It made a mockery of the suffering caused by World War II, portraying Germans as buffoons, and made space for Colonel Hogan—a prisoner of war—to get … Read more
This is a story about my life in politics, but it won’t be political. At least not the way you might think of politics today. For instance, I’m not a billionaire, so I won’t ever be invited to the White House to consult on how to establish a monopoly. Or even how to win at … Read more
I grew up in the hey-day of sugar cereals, back when they didn’t even bother to disguise their main ingredient. Back then, Corn Pops were Sugar Pops, and Honey Smacks were Sugar Puffs, and Golden Crisps were Super Sugar Crisps. Our father hated the idea of sugar on cereal, and he periodically banned them from … Read more
Many years ago I took a job as a UNIX Systems Engineer. It was cool, and I liked working with Unix, but, one day, I found myself locked in a half-assed server room on a Saturday night with a woman who, like me, had no idea what we should do. UNIX is an operating system … Read more
Christmas—which just happened, in case you missed it—reminds me of yet another incident with my father. We’d traveled to Florida to visit his parents over the Christmas break. My grandparents had retired in Tarpon Springs, and my brothers and I loved those trips to Florida, giving us a break from winter. This one Christmas, one … Read more