Ponderings

My smiling little grandson Nathan. 

Five years ago, Virginia Metcalf Merida, 51, won the Powerball jackpot lottery. She told the press after she won the $65.4 million prize that she was going to quit her job making corrogated boxes, and buy a house. Her husband, a forklift operator, wanted to quit too, and make a […]

It’s unusual in the history of disaster relief: today NY Times’ Stephanie Strom writes about the surplus facing the NGOs who raised more than $1.3 million after last December’s Tsunami. “From our point of view, this is like dying and going to heaven,” said Charles MacCormack, president of Save the […]

”People come in the door and can’t get a car loan and can’t get a cosigner,” Doucette said. ”What do I tell them, to go get a bus pass? We’re in a tough economy. People don’t have a lot of money. They need cars.” Doucette was explaining a new device […]

Strong Hands Massage has opened at 9 Mountain Rd. S. Dfld. 

Bloomberg carried this story last week. “Geeks, Single and Proud, Turn Seattle Into Online Dating Mecca: To find a date in Seattle last April, Allstate Corp. attorney Steve Takahashi carried a stick of salami around a Trader Joe’s grocery store. He was following the instructions posted on a chat board, […]

Rico, an instructor on a Semester at Sea Voyage, writes a blog about the trip.Here is a story about an unfortunate student travelern named Beau. “What would you do? One of the students in the trip you lead gets a little silly and while running after a monkey, knocks down […]

The Village Voice’s Lusty Lady with advice on older women and sex. “For her, it’s still a meat market in some respects. “I can date younger or older men. It’s a question of do they want to date me? Men want younger, hot-looking women to boost their egos and impress […]

A warm Thanksgiving….the Franklin stove was crankin all day and the result was a warm house, while the snow blew outside. My sister and family are all joining Steve for a 38-person feast in the hills outside of Hopewell, NJ. That’s too many people around a turkey for me… We […]

Mark Bowden wrote an article about the Iran hostages in December 1979, including this dispatch about one prisoner’s defiant gesture. The hostages and guards were having a Christmas party, allowing Rev. William Sloane Coffin and others to come into the embassy and cheer up the hostages. But Michael Metrinko would […]

It’s a tradition that had been enjoyed by generations of drinkers, with even the likes of Prince Harry enjoying a few covert pints. The BBC reported today on the new effect of longer legal hours at pubs, and the fading away of the “lock in” a British pub tradition. While […]