Freckles—The Perfect Pet? I was being a little disingenuous with the title of this post; Freckles is not the perfect pet. At least not for us, but she could be the perfect pet for someone. Freckles is a rat terrier mix. If I didn’t know better I’d swear the “mix” part was wolverine. Thirteen years ago we…
Good Dogs and Bad Dogs There are good dogs like Gracie (Coffee Dog), who I wrote about here, and here. And there are good pigs like Sweet Pete, who I mentioned here. And then … there are dogs like Mollie. The first post I ever wrote was about Mollie —more specifically, the trouble she caused. And then I wrote…
Talking Dogs and Good Storytelling What Makes Good Storytelling No matter the media, good storytelling requires good material. It doesn’t matter if it’s a book, a movie, or a joke — the material has to be good. But even good material isn’t enough. Any comedian can tell you horror tales of jokes that fell flat…
Is Storytelling Genetic? What makes a good story? How come some books you can’t put down, have to turn the page or even start a new chapter, and others … might be good, but if you get tired, the book waits for the next day. How about movies. Some movies you can leave running while…
Living In The Shadows — The Fate of Secondary Characters I was watching a movie the other night that looked like it had promise. The first ten minutes got me interested and the main character was intriguing. And then I met the rest of the cast. With only one exception, they were dull, flat, cliched,…
What I Learned From Coffee Dog A few months ago I did a post about Gracie, the coffee dog. What I didn’t say in that post was that Gracie had been suffering from diabetes for a few years. Now the disease has progressed rapidly, bringing on complete blindness. She gets insulin shots twice a day,…
A Giant Of A Man Many, many years ago, growing up in the Cleland Heights section of Wilmington, DE., I learned a lesson that I’ve never forgotten. The lesson was taught to me by my mother, a woman who had a way of making you recognize the truth. People say the best lessons are the…
I’m a Damn Sissy I went grocery shopping with my wife the other night, an unusual occurrence in itself, but the experience was not pleasant. The store was crowded, and the people were rude. Not like when I was growing up. I made a few comments to that effect. My wife laughed, and said, “You…
Thumbs Up I was reading a book the other night, and when I finished I went to write a review for it. I wondered, does this get a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down?” Since it was a damn good book I gave it a thumbs up. But did I do right? Whenever I see…
Memories of a Great Teacher I recently lost two of my favorite people in the whole world — my Aunt Margaret, who passed away a few weeks shy of her 91st birthday; and then Aunt Rose, who passed away a few months before her 97th. They were at the top of my list for a…