While at a restaurant, I often find myself observing other diners: those who are clearly enjoying the whole experience, those who are quietly eating, folks who enjoy their companions and of course, much to my disappointment, those who are texting. This is a story—based on my observations—of two mothers and two very different daughters.

One long-ago winter day, Mom and I were ...

Already, really dumb things are happening in 2019, so I had better get through covering 2018. Here are the rest of the news items from last year that you swore you didn’t have anything to do with, and no one believed you.

ELON MUSK LAUNCHES TESLA INTO SPACE
When I first read this headline I assumed he launched his Tesla into a parking space, which seemed a bit of overkill, but Musk is ...

It was a Saturday before Christmas and, after feeding Pyewacket and Stanley (my cats) at 6 a.m., I decided to go back to bed and sleep in.  I had nothing on my calendar and before I knew it, it was 11:30 a.m. and my doorbell was ringing.  Sleepy eyed, I opened the door to find Santa Claus, accompanied by three of his helpers, and my grandson Brian.  They were all members of the ...

The president of a house of worship in Connecticut told me that a congregant, well past retirement age, who said he had been a very successful marketing executive, stood up at its annual meeting to comment on the need for a better marketing plan to attract more members.

His remarks were not received well by the president. It had nothing to do with the merit of his ideas. “That’s ...

I’m not an expert on insects, but one day as I was on my way down to the basement with a big basket of laundry, something jumped out from under the stairs that was definitely not one of our pets or my children. Being a calm, suburban mom who can take most things in stride, I naturally shrieked, stumbled, and hurled the basket of laundry down the stairs.

“Aaaahhhh!” I yelled ...