People Out Loud: Three originals – Rest in peace, friends

May 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists, People | Comments Off on People Out Loud: Three originals – Rest in peace, friends

When I first conceived the idea for this column, many years ago, it was first and foremost centered on talking about people – living, dying, laughing, crying, and doing the things they do. Today, it is about people dying and ...

A Grin at the End: Finally ready – Nadine’s gift

April 2022 Posted in Obituary, Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: Finally ready – Nadine’s gift

“I’m ready to die,” she said, turning her head toward the apartment window. I looked at my mother-in-law, Nadine Stack, not knowing what to say. This was three years ago, and at age 97 she was in good health and still ...

A Slice of the Pie: Passcode predicament – Lessons learned the (almost) hard way

April 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Slice of the Pie: Passcode predicament – Lessons learned the (almost) hard way

Sometimes the best life lessons happen when things take a turn for the worst. That’s what happened last month when I forgot to charge my cell phone before driving my daughter to a gymnastics meet in Hillsboro.  I initially believed my ...

A Grin at the End: Good to go! – GoPros and crawdads

March 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: Good to go! – GoPros and crawdads

Some if you may know that I’ve been having close encounters of the medical kind during the last few months. And, no, it wasn’t COVID. It was really nothing super serious, although, for the first time in my life, my doctor ordered ...

People Out Loud: Mouse ears – A Disney adventure proves the power of branding – ca-chink!

March 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on People Out Loud: Mouse ears – A Disney adventure proves the power of branding – ca-chink!

I used to think the number one branded company in the world involved Golden Arches or a Swoosh. No more. Not even a close race, like Usain Bolt versus me in the 100 meters. Disney is so far out in ...

A Grin at the End: Are you ready to be a citizen? – Just get six right

February 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: Are you ready to be a citizen? – Just get six right

I was reading The Wall Street Journal the other day and my heart sank. No, I wasn’t looking at my mutual funds and how they have fallen through the floorboards in the last couple of months. That’s a whole other ...