The Gallup poll has come up with a statistical composite for the happiest person in America.  He is a tall Asian American, observant Jew, over 65, married with children, live in Hawaii, run his own business, and have a household income of over $120,000. (more…)

I just returned from the Bahamas with my daughter, Victoria.  This was my third and final ‘Teen Trip’, 3 days and nights that I’ve taken with each of my children.  Of all the pleasures of the cruise — staring out to sea, being entertained by comedians, watching my daughter soak up the sun — what stands out the most was our snorkeling excursion. (more…)

I gaze out my window and I see only snow . . . a wall of winter white . . . and the world shut down.  Schools and airports are closed.  Doctors and dentists have nothing but cancellations.  Retailers hibernate.

And once the storm has passed, we are launched into work:  snow blowing, shoveling, salting, and plowing.  I’m reminded that snow days, like grief, require a persistent energy. (more…)

Last weekend, I indulged in one of my favorite hobbies: collecting sea glass.  As I hunched over a slip of beach on a rocky coastline, my eyes scoured the sand and rocks for small gems.  A sliver of green . . . a small piece of pale brown.  I found sharp shards that I tossed back into the sea to continue their journey. (more…)

For 3 decades, he had two waist-length signature braids and then . . . snip . . . they were gone.  It has been heralded as “the haircut heard around the world”.  Why?  Who?  Willie Nelson, of course.  I grew up in Texas where he was an icon.  For all of us, those braids were his identity. (more…)