Halloween has always been a favorite holiday — the planning, the decorations, the nighttime wandering from house to house. And while my memories might be a bit rose colored when it comes to contests, costumes and candy, I haven’t forgotten the mischief. Eggs, shaving cream and toilet ...

A family wedding prompted the following conversation with a member of Gen Z. “If I ever get married, I’m definitely having a prenup,” she announced. “Really?” I responded, being very careful to sound like I was inviting a conversation, not judging her opinion. “With 53% ...

When I mentioned the inaugural Chucklehead Hoedown to my friend Amy, she shook her head, “Too bad there aren’t those old men around anymore that like to tell jokes.” And while I wanted to argue the point, I had to concede that it at least felt that way. Other than the highly coveted ...

Smencils were the gateway drug. Smencils were (and still are) scented No. 2 graphite pencils packaged in recyclable plastic freshness tubes. Root beer, bubble gum, tutti-frutti, grape — every kid’s favorite was covered. An affordable habit, even as a school fundraiser, they were only a ...

I can’t tell you the day, the month or even the year that it happened. But I can tell you the moment. Standing in front of an 8th-grade class, teaching a lesson on writing, I said, “This paragraph is pretty good, but we need to tweak it a bit.” Some soft titters came from the back of ...

My mother was a redhead. My father was dark Irish. Because of this, my childhood mind illogically believed that Lucy and Ricky Ricardo were actually my parents. Small details like never hearing my father speak in a foreign language or that he was a lineman, not an entertainer, weren’t ...