Does time fly when you’re having fun? It does, and I am as I write this 300th Brief. I try to mix humor with serious suggestions while fitting all into my template of 14 1/2 lines. In the first year with more space, it was easier to write on profound, serious topics like “Mine Is…
“Where did the time go?” Who knows, but it went! What a shock to spot that gorgeous, still undulating lava lamp in a display window and then realize it’s in an antique shop. Likewise, when you alone sing along to “Jail House Rock,” enact the whole Who’s on First or confuse the young around you…
My flight back to my old home in Tokyo was uneventful, but started with the security guard taking one look at me and abruptly asking if I had a pacemaker or a knee or hip replacement. It was like being given a senior discount without asking for one. One manages a weak smile. My first…
We of a certain age are well acquainted with the term “senior moment” or, as others quaintly phrase it “brain fart.” I have found it popping up quite often recently at my weekly men’s discussion group. While having coffee we solve the world’s problems. The jealous powers-that-be refuse to acknowledge us, thus we progress toward…
Before I left for my yearly visit to Japan, my home for 40 years, I engaged in the traditional New Year’s house cleaning, a custom I follow as religiously as my resolution to lose 10 pounds. A hard look at my “must keeps” instantly reminded me of my father’s comment, “If you have a closet,…
In this season honoring various traditions, one is mindful of the places with differing cultures where misinterpretations are likely, but finding what might be called a mixed metaphor right here in a San Diego display case gave me pause. The age old depiction of Christ’s birth in the traditional stable/manger crèche scene included an unannounced…
Thanksgiving Day. The posting on Grandma’s front door read, “NO POLITICS. I MEAN IT!” Cousin Annette arrived with Celia (Sid) whom the family stoutly refers to as “her best friend” resolutely continuing “and we all just love her.” Both were dressed in pantsuits a la you-know-who and wearing huge safety pins which they explained meant…
Thanksgiving Day 2016. Well, so much for the prediction the Trumpites would protest in the streets if Hillary won and how awful and un-American that would be. The entrails seem to have been mis-read. Obviously, my advice to vote, at least, for the senate was ignored. I suggest you ask all who complain if they…
The “It” may be interpreted: the election, the country, the American Way, etc. As I write this, I have no idea who won what. As a non-partisan columnist, the secret of my preferences is sacrosanct, so I will refrain from detailing the horrors ahead for the LGBT community if she didn’t win. In either case,…
Wake up. Election Day, Nov. 8, is almost here. The steady supply of publicity about state and local issues and the colossal amount of time and money spent on the presidential race indicate the importance of the outcome. Unfortunately, many people from both sides are unhappy with their party’s choice to the point they may…
