By Jack Edwards Every once in a great while, you come across a book that changes your life. One of those books crossed my path this week, and I will forever be grateful to the author, Nicholas Boothman. The book is How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less. You may recall […]
By Jack Edwards My Michigander sister is always busy – the type of person that is so active she makes you feel like, well, the television watching slouch that you are. She has a barrel load of hobbies. The three things she looks for in a hobby are: 1. Convenience (something she can do at […]
By Jack Edwards I belong to a pot-bellied demographic that doesn’t need to seek out thrills to satisfy my desire for excitement. I don’t need to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan free handed, run with the angry bulls or skydive from the edge of space to feel the rush of adrenaline. You see, I’m teaching my […]
By Jack Edwards The three happiest people on Earth are, in ascending order: #3. Lotteries winners (before the relatives find out), #2. Patients whose cancer tests have come back negative, and (in a dominant first position) #1. Airline passengers who have just landed after a long flight seated in the dreaded middle seat. Here are […]
By Jack Edwards My wife recently informed me that I’d volunteered to help out at a fundraiser. This has happened before. So far, I had narrowly survived these bouts of my wife’s generosity of my time. In this case, they needed parents to staff the concession stand at our daughter’s school during a football game. […]
By Jack Edwards If I had to describe myself in one word, that word would be “omnivore.” “Omni” meaning “eats everything.” And “Vore” meaning “which is not securely nailed down.” Merriam-Webster.com defines omnivorous as, “avidly taking in everything as if devouring or consuming.” Not merely “taking in,” mind you, but “avidly taking in.” (Avidly, meaning […]
By Jack Edwards When trendsetting Americans think of weight loss, they think of three things: Diet, Exercise and, of course, Caffeine-infused underwear. Well, at least they used to think of caffeine-infused underwear, until the Federal Trade Commission gave the companies marketing these undies an atomic wedgie two weeks ago. (FTC motto: “We spend billions saving […]
By Jack Edwards Few things are more fundamentally wholesome than a high school fundraiser – a bake sale, a bottle drive, or, in the case of my daughter’s cross country team, a forced run of out-of-shape parents over a grueling 5K race course. And if you aren’t a runner or haven’t used the metric system […]
By Jack Edwards I don’t know why we humans are so fascinated with toilets. But we are. It’s in our DNA. From the first time a Neanderthal dug a small hole in the ground and presented it with beaming pride to his Neanderthal wife, we have found few items of greater interest. This is especially […]
By Jack Edwards My daughter attends a university which is conveniently located two thousand miles away. This year, I didn’t think I’d be able to attend “Dad’s Weekend” until the last minute, which meant that scheduling flights was a challenge, but luckily, I was able to book an airline itinerary which only included 25 legs. […]