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but I finally used the knowledge I gained from two years of high school Latin. Yes, Latin. Semper Fidelis, verbatim, vice versa, magna cum laude, pro bono, per diem, fac simile, bona fide, et cetera (etc.) These are great examples of how Latin is omnipresent (another e.g. – exempli gratia.) So you see, Latin is a part of our everyday lives but I am not writing this post to elaborate on the virtues of a “d

“Hi. My name is John Doe. Who are you?” “I’m Jane Smith. I’m an accountant with XYZ company.” “It’s nice to meet you, Jane. I’m a marketing assistant with XYZ company. You must be on the 4th floor. I’m on the second floor.” I’m sure you have experienced something like this a few times throughout your life. How often do we answer the question, 

My task, I assumed, would be simple: “Trim Bushes.” At first sight and from a distance my job appeared to be easy because I didn’t see what lied beneath the surface. Upon closer inspection, an invasive and undesirable Bittersweet vine had entrenched itself within an old, established, and healthy Juniper bush. In time, the parasitic vine would have grown thicker and killed the bush. The bush needed h

Over the past few days, I have spent a considerable amount of time catching up with an old friend. He was my best friend when I was a child, and then as I grew older, we grew apart. I reunited with him briefly in my mid-20s and in light of the life-changing year I had in 2014, I decided to look him up again. I am talking about Winnie The Pooh. Yes. I consider him as my friend! As a young boy, I was all about the lova

Today is Halloween. A day when children are generously rewarded, with lots of candy, for their costumes and playing make-believe. During this season, adults dress-up in outlandish outfits and have a fun day at the office, attend parties, or go to a bar. The rewards are different for adults: maybe a day off, a cash prize, or a free drink. Halloween is a season of walking through haunted houses or corn mazes and watchi

Questions are like an annoying tickle in your throat that just won’t go away. And the answers, like remedies, are hit or miss. I’ve tried nose sprays to stop the post-nasal drip. Hot tea with lemon and honey (I tried it with whiskey once. Yuck!) Cough drops. Expectorants. Suppressants. Yet, the irritation of an unproductive cough still lingers. And so it is with the questions that I have. They hang around

As I sit on a large rock in my backyard, I am waiting for my muse to make her presence known. I hear two birds conversing in a tree behind me. Their vocabulary is limited to five syllables, repeated over and again. “Chick-a-dee-dee-dee.” In a nearby lilac tree sit two Black-Capped Chickadees, next to an empty bird feeder. I take a break from cursing writer’s block to re-fill the feeder. I say with a

I’d listen to a few songs from a clunky 8-track tape player while thumbing through a stack of 12″ vinyl records. I’d choose an album and queue it up on a turntable. I also had a double cassette deck to work with. I was a rock-n-roll deejay, in my older brother’s bedroom. I was 10. I could spend half a day in Andy’s room listening to his current American Rock (now considered Classic Rock.

The branches of the rose bush looked like tentacles of  two octopuses playing a game of Twister. The gangly stems could not support the slight weight of the pale pink flowers. The ground was a cemetery of dead blossoms. I had been neglectful, and the bush was no longer beautiful. It was a beast! With a pair of pruners in hand, I approached the eye sore and started snipping the far-reaching limbs. I am no Master Garde

In a few days, I will take a trip to Wisconsin, a place I’ve never been. My hope is that I will find and rescue BaileighJo, a 1-year old Samoyed. She has been missing for over a month and has endured a blizzard and near zero temperatures. And, I am terrified! I am not afraid of flying. Piece of cake.  I do not know the dog’s owners but I will stay in their home. That doesn’t scare me. I am not afraid of looking