Category Archives: This and That

Every year, our family takes a two-week vacation at a nearby lake. I usually fly home late the night before, worn out from my nonstop travel schedule (some years I’ve spent more than 300 days on the road). Not this year. The global pandemic has kept me home since March, with our activities severely curtailed […]

Some people think we’ll see a lot of “quarantine babies,” conceived during the COVID pandemic when most people were stuck at home. True or not, it’s a good idea for all prospective parents or grandparents to get their pets ready for the new arrival. Here are my five top tips for success. 1. You really […]

Since moving to Almost Heaven Ranch, our daughter Mikkel’s very social Quarter Horse, Chili, was very lonesome. Our older horse, Pegasus, had died, and Teresa’s horse, Angel, is temporarily at the local barn where Teresa rides and trains.  Chili constantly sought human contact, following us everywhere, and was restless and lethargic. Teresa has been quietly […]

The global pandemic has turned our world upside down. The nation imposed travel restrictions, some states are on lockdown, our cities and towns are reeling, many neighborhoods seem like tumbleweeds should be blowing past boarded-up windows, and our workplaces and homes have dramatically changed almost overnight. Despite shifting sands, there are some bedrock-solid things that […]

Remember your first pet? Of course you do! As you read “first pet,” the memories instantly flooded back with the species, breed, name, color, size, gender, where she/he slept, what games you played, on and on. I’ve asked this question one-on-one in conversations with movie stars, sports heroes, business titans, and politicians during the 17 […]