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My favorite quote from the evening’s festivities came from Tim at around doughnut number 8: “The doughnuts have stopped being refreshing.” I dug deep and managed to best my previous total (12 in an hour) by eating 14 krispy kreme doughnuts in 30 minutes. It wasn’t enough to propel me into the winner’s circle; I [...]

It’s a burning question, one that has generated a lot of big talk around the office. However, only one of us has actually scaled this height. The ground rules: The doughnuts must be room temperature. Warm doughnuts go down too easy. You cannot modify the doughnut in any way; no sticking 20 doughnuts in a [...]

I returned from an early morning bike ride last week to see a fox trot calmly through the back alley. I braked hard. A fox? In the 4000 north block of Chicago? I stared closely to make sure I wasn’t being fooled by someone’s dog. Thin face, lean body, reddish fur, bushy tail… definitely a [...]

The niece (who went and turned nine months old) is fearless in the water. She really shines when it comes to splashing her mom in the face. Atta girl! Obsessed with trains, my nephew kept shouting “all abooooard” while he rode the swings: They are possibly the coolest kids ever.

A flash thunderstorm swept through yesterday around 3:30, flooding most of the basements on our block, including ours. The neighbors who were home at the time told me the street was submerged from “front step to front step.” I am still trying to get my hands on a photo, because I can hardly believe it. [...]

In the naive days of our marriage, Renate and I purchased two rugs simply because we thought they’d look nice in our apartment. This morning I carried the first rug to the curb. Thirty minutes later it was gone, sucked up into a world of scavengers who might live with cats but long ago accepted [...]

I keep “things” for years. I still have a beer bottle cap that was given special meaning at a college party. I have insurance statements for a car I shed five years ago. I’ve got concert wristbands. Credit card statements. Baseball ticket stubs. Seashells. Grad school loan payment coupon booklets. Postcards. Props from high school [...]

Maxim: when you find a warm spot on a Saturday afternoon, plant your rear in it.