Who needs brains when you can just ask ChatGPT? I have been remiss in my blogging of late, and I can blame some of it on promoting “Mosaic Pieces,” my true crime book that is not yet a national bestseller. It has received a great reception from those who have read it, and I’m looking forward to a June 3 signing in Williamsport, PA— the city where the murder case was tried way back when. There are [...] READ MORE
Spring is springing, if not completely sprung, here in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania in the dwindling days of April. The hum, whine and sometimes roar of gas- and electric-powered mowers —large, small, pushed, and ridden—reminds me of what is coming. Most of my lawn has chosen not to grow to a height that cries out for trimming, but then there are those patches that have sprouted like mini jungles crying out to be The leaves of autumn [...] READ MORE
I grew up believing that all of us who are sound of mind have a sense of humanity in common. We’re more alike than different, my mother insisted, regardless of religion, race and politics. It’s about our shared membership in the human race. God didn’t create a species of saints and sinners who didn’t have the capacity to get along with one another despite the gift of being able to think and act independently. Even though we were granted [...] READ MORE
Cheers to St. Patrick, Ireland's Patron Saint from England. I’m not big on conspiracies, but it seems to me St. Patrick’s Day is getting the shaft. I’m ranking it No. 5 behind Christmas, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Easter. Halloween is for kids and future diabetics. Check out the top ten lists of our most popular holidays, and it’s not on any of them. It is ranked behind Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Day and even Labor [...] READ MORE
Will artificial intelligence mimic a human's sense of humor? It seems that, all of a sudden, artificial intelligence is about to change life and humanity as we know it. Who is going to need writers, poets, artists, musicians, composers, philosophers, and even preachers when artificial intelligence is about to mine the best we have within us, including any thoughts and theories ever recorded or visuals created on canvasses and movie screens since the first stick figures were [...] READ MORE
Note: This is an updated version of a Memorial Day blog I wrote about five years ago, both celebrating and mourning personages of the past who can only be reached by memories today. It’s funny how people in your life are there, flashing bright, briefly and with intensity, and then they are gone. This is especially true of military service in general and wartime duty in particular. You mourn the loss of guys you were close to— literally a [...] READ MORE
I often look through past commentaries to make sure I’m not repeating myself— not just the topics but the wording as well. I’ll write something and it seems too familiar. Am I repeating myself? Lots of people repeat themselves in conversations— telling the same jokes, making the same points— so it’s logical that writers occasionally do the same thing. This time I thought I might purposely repeat myself, with random observations from columns and blogs written over the span [...] READ MORE
So much to be angry about and so little time. Okay, everybody. I just want you to tune in and mellow out, as they said in the commune before it was time-shared into a condo. Take a few deep breaths and count to ten. Now tell me, as calmly as you can: Why are we all so angry? Why all the sputtering and spitting? Have things really reached such a sad state? How is it that we’ve [...] READ MORE
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Shakespeare may have seen the process of naming as irrelevant based on Juliet’s soliloquy stated above. I beg to differ as I start out 2023 with a topic I explored about seven years ago. Naming can be both mystical and empowering. It may move you to tears, as it often does when the names of victims are read aloud on anniversaries [...] READ MORE
Don’t be lonely too long or you might not have long to be lonely. Only the lonely know the way I feel tonight…— Roy Orbison Are you lonesome tonight? — Elvis Presley All by myself. Don’t wanna be all by myself.— Eric Carmen (covered by Celine Dion) Synonyms for loneliness and being lonesome include desolation, forlornness, reclusiveness and friendlessness. Just being alone doesn’t make all of us lonely or longing for companionship. Sometimes it can be quite [...] READ MORE
