Back in the eighties someone coined the term ‘cocooning’ to describe the activity and mindset of locking away the world. From columnist George Will, ca 1987: “… the harassments of daily life -- looming nuclear incineration, rude waiters -- have driven people to ''cocooning.'' They have gone to ground in their dens with their VCRs …
Tax Day has come and gone. In my life I have been three very distinct types of taxpayer come April 15th. The first, which is most wage earners, file their taxes using the 1040EZ expecting, and getting, a refund. Of course, it’s not seen as a refund but as Christmas morning, a surprise in the …
In my business I sometimes get called in to advise during the disposition of an estate. It’s usually the same story – the heirs want to know what to do to get the home ready for sale. I walk around with them, in what was often their childhood home, and stare almost in disbelief at …
In 1970, as a twelve-year-old, I spent a week at Landstuhl Hospital in Germany undergoing tests. I had already had two surgeries to remove my thyroid glands and now, using emerging technology, they wanted to see what else was going on in there. I reported to a basement radiology lab in the morning where an …
He tried to tell them. Oh sure, everybody sought after him for healing of infirmity and disease. The stories recorded tell of the blind seeing, the lame walking. Leprosy was cleansed on the spot. There’s even an instance of a hand growing back. People love a good show, and the more dramatic the better. Funny …
The real estate business is booming these days. It has been exciting going through the winter covered up with busy-ness and, of course, I’ll not complain. But with lots of opportunity also comes lots of disappointment – you’d be surprised how many times a deal falls through. Just a couple weeks ago I had two …
A couple seasons back my wife Diana and I took a Fall trip to the beach. I am a late convert to beach trips as I really don’t care for sand, salt water, or excessive heat, and those are prime ingredients for any good beach. But I have discovered “my” beach, which is in October …
There is something strangely satisfying and comforting about Blues music. While the songs could be seen as largely negative they are, instead, just fully revealing and honest slices of a life that is often hard. On the day of my 60th birthday I listened to this, sung by Buddy Guy: And I done got old …
As I approached Frank Lloyd Wright’s well-known residential masterpiece, known as Falling Water, the home didn’t so much as leap out and cry ‘greatness!’ as it did slowly envelope me in greatness. It is remarkable that such a simple project, a getaway home on a creek in Western Pennsylvania, became a statement of genius, the …
So you know that scene in the blockbuster ‘Titanic’, where we find Rose and Jack trying to stay alive by clinging to a piece of debris? It wouldn’t support both of them so Jack struggles to maintain in the freezing water in order to keep Rose alive. Ultimately, of course, Jack slips away into the …
Life On Purpose 