November 2021
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Out and About on South Beach and Lincoln Road
The Complimentary Spouse and I were out on the town in Miami Beach Saturday night. Here are some of the things we saw.
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Office Space
We’re having some work done at Camp David today, so I’m camping out in the Complimentary Spouse’s office. It’s a corner office on the third floor. Look past the parking lot and you can see the campus swimming pool. That makes me wonder if Britt is contemplating a transfer from…
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A Salute to Rubin Simanoff on Veterans Day
My World War II hero is my grandfather, Technical Sergeant Rubin Simanoff of the 353rd Army Corps of Engineers. I never met Rubin, but I imagine he was a lot like me: Loud, social, and clever. He loved to chat and entertain. He was proud to be an American, yet…
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Mary Lou Retina
As the ophthalmologist was preparing me for photocoagulation this afternoon, it took every ounce of restraint in my body to not turn to him and say, “Do you expect me to talk?” That’s because, until today, my only knowledge of laser surgery came from this scene: It turns out that…
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Bird Lines
Our neighborhood has looked a bit Hitchcockian since the weather got cool. Large flocks of birds have taken up residence on power lines all over South Tampa. It looks a bit menacing, doesn’t it? I assure you there’s nothing to worry about unless you believe in omens or don’t like…
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Here Comes the Sun (an Hour Earlier Than Yesterday)
Daylight Saving Time1 kicked in yesterday, and lots of people seem upset. I’m not one of them. I time my runs with the sunrise, and an earlier start means I won’t be late for work. Ergo, I won’t have to give up sights like this — the blue hour from…
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Somebody Alert Ed McMahon
Is there anything more fun than pretending you’ve misheard your other half?1 I do this all the time with the Complimentary Spouse, and he seems to enjoy it. In fact, he’s a good sport and goes along with it. I pretend to mishear him anywhere and anytime I want — even…
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Acceptance, Change, and Me
I have been thinking lately about how difficult it is to balance radical acceptance and self-growth. It has always been a challenge for me, and I’m willing to bet for many others, because the two concepts seem to have disparate objectives. First, some definitions. Radical acceptance is the ability to…
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Frankly, My Dear …
Dear Hollywood, Please stop using “from the studio that brought you …” as a selling point when you promote new movies. It’s disingenuous. It’s ludicrous. It’s like EMI telling people they’ll enjoy Iron Maiden’s “Dance of Death” because it comes from the same label as the Beatles’ “St. Pepper’s Lonely…
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Cults, Myths, and Conspiracies
On Tuesday, hundreds of Qanon supporters turned out in Dallas1, believing that John F. Kennedy Jr. would return from the dead and dance the batusi with Steve Buscemi.2 Spoiler alert: JFK Jr. didn’t show up. But the bigger picture is worrying. I’m not the first person to realize that, for…