Sure, he was slow to walk with at ballgames, and he told jokes I didn’t understand. But what a grandpa he was. For years, I thought he might’ve been Santa Claus.
Category: Road trips
This Windy City
Sails equal horsepower, and artisans build them the way God makes tulips, strong and no thicker than absolutely necessary.
Why I Love California
Just as I can sniff out an Ivy Leaguer, I can identify someone from the Upper Midwest – their manners, their corduroy trousers, their bookish souls. I can tell just from the cheery way they order a beer. Midwesterners possess the same basic decencies we spot in Golden Retrievers. It’s an idealized subset of society. … Continue reading Why I Love California
Well Done, L.A.
It’s a funny chore to show a visitor around such a fickle place. You jump on the freeway and immediately run into a steel curtain of stopped traffic.
Red Alert!
We share a wonderful autumn weekend here, full of dark hints and pregnant suggestions, as per Pinter. Damn, wish I’d brought White Fang to frolic in the chill.
On the Road Again
Takes a while to build a boy. Far as I’m concerned, he’s a masterpiece, though he could use a little work on ancient Greek history, Cleisthenes to Alexander.
What’s That Bear Doing in My Hot Tub? (and other insights into the ursine world)
Mozart once said of a colleague: "When he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt." So it is with "Bear Whisperer" Steve Searles, the subject of a new book that explains why bears are suddenly everywhere.
A Toast to Teachers and QBs
The Big 10 swallowing up the Pac-12 reminds me of when the Chicago Trib ate the Los Angeles Times. And look how well that turned out.
Ode to College Life
I’d put college campuses right up there with Thanksgiving and Dolly Parton as the best of what America has to offer…pumpkin farms, Kurt Vonnegut, Grace Kelly…yep, right up there.
College: The Encore
Smartacus is headed back to the University of Trees. Now who'll mock my t-shirts. Now who'll spray my joints with WD-40 every day?