My parents tried everything they could to assist me in being a normal kid. That was more or less a hopeless endeavor but try they did. For most young boys, participating in sports is the ticket to fitting in and
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Two Wheelin’
Before the advent of mothers losing years of afternoons shuttling their kids to countless practices and activities…before the days of carefully planned play dates…before the invention of the game console…there was the bicycle. And the bicycle was integral to the
I’m kilt
As an only child and an accident waiting to happen, I didn’t have lots of playmates when I was in grade school. All of my Jersey cousins were much older than me. So, from time to time, Dad would pack
Hook’s Cinder Block Blues
Shortly after my superhero escapade, the first “Jesus, he could have been killed” misadventure came my way. As is the case with nearly every calamity in my life, it was almost completely my fault. My Dad, Halsey Fink, grew up
There’s Something Wrong With Richard
I grew up in an area of New Jersey where everyone was Catholic. And white. I didn’t even meet a Jew until high school. Ditto for a black kid. If I had gone to public school it might have been
Lying…It’s The Polite Thing To Do
Americans are considered polite by world standards. At least that’s what the 2005 Pew Global Attitudes survey found. The majority of Western nations thought Americans were, if not polite, at least not rude. Obvious the Pew crew never made it to
New Jersey Customer Service…Fuhgettaboutit!
In our century, customer service has become the work of efficient, uncaring machines that are taking over the world. Right now, they’re processing orders for Amazon and stockpiling our personal information on Facebook. So you’d better be nice to them.
Let’s Go Fly A Kite
I spent a good many summers in my misspent youth on the Jersey Shore. And when a cold wicked wind blows in from the West and the winter months seem endless, I often think of those days. In the early
The Magic Of Aging
Ah, the magic of aging. It turns a snarky seventeen year old into an ornery octogenarian in no time at all. At least, that’s the way it seems. Even through it was forty plus years ago, I remember being a
Hypochondria Run Wild – Thanks, WebMD
There was a time in the not too distant past when the average person didn’t know they were seriously ill until a priest appeared at their bedside. Those happy days are over. Today, anyone with a computer can find something