Bill’s Briefs

Concerned with the welfare of our feathered friends on Thanksgiving Day, I ventured to a nearby store famous for its empathy and compassion. I was assured my free-range guest of honor, Abigail, spent the day frolicking in the fields before drifting off later to a final sleep surrounded by family and friends. Except for perhaps…

The cries of the righteous, “I don’t know anyone like that” have dimmed as family members and co-workers come out. But sadly, in our somewhat united states, behind many a closed door, the well-known words are still persistent and routine. For all that, we are more and more in public view which is all well…

LGBT History Month, a once inconceivable concept, includes wrangles about teaching LGBT history in schools as “concerned parents” face the horror of their innocents becoming aware of us and our past. Yet even if details are skimmed over or omitted, there would (should) be acknowledgement of our existence and the many men and women, our…

My articles are sometimes less than relevant to some seniors due my forgetting how broad that classification is. A 60-year-old at my FOG table asked what my recent reference “Come on-a my house” meant. I shouted the line to the next table and a shout of “My house a come on” came back. My friend’s…

My partner and I are in Maine visiting old landmarks and attending an ever shrinking reunion of my high school classmates. The landmarks range from barely changed to nearly unrecognizable to sadly non-existent. The same can be said of the classmates. All assured me I remain unchanged, recognizable and still here. Dismissing my receding hairline,…

Washington’s tweets and twitters were unconnected to certain recent headlines. The tabloids have been transported into ecstasies of outrage and indignation over The Feud. Forget Hamilton and Burr or Bette and Joan. Today it’s youth idols Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. After checking their videos, for your benefit, I admit the multitude of hair styles,…

The excitement mounts as September starts with the arrival of my partner of 44 years for a two month visit. Later I will go to Japan for an equal time. In the interim we are together through daily phone calls. Since I retired our living arrangement is a long story, but it works for us….

I spend hours at this machine trying to amuse and advise my loyal readers – those who still remember Petticoat Junction, Jack Paar and how to use a mimeograph machine. I also allot a generous amount of time to satisfying my addiction to The New York Times’ Sunday Crossword. My loyalty to the weekday challenges,…