One of my most common disclaimers when I meet new folks is that one of my parents was raised Jewish and the other was raised Catholic, hence I am "half Jewish/half Catholic - which equals twice the guilt." And while I say this partially in jest, it is grounded in a clear understanding and appreciation of the [...]
A 17 year old teenager in the West Fargo School District committed suicide on Wednesday. West Fargo students were informed of the suicide yesterday. My daughter Cheyenne told me about it when she came home from school and after my initial shock my first question was, "Why?" Cheyenne did not know the answer to this [...]
I serve as a constant embarrassment to my teenage daughter (a.k.a. Miss Sparkle). I am regularly asked in the most dramatic presentation possible, "Why can't you be like all the other parents?" This lament surfaces whenever I try and do what I view as a parent's due diligence. According to my daughter, I am the [...]
Let's talk high school facial hair. When I take Cheyenne to school each day I see young men - lots of them - with full-blown facial hair. And by full-blown I mean, not the peach fuzz or couple of straggly chin hairs that I saw on teenage boys in my youth, I mean the facial [...]
Let me start with a confession - I do not find any joy in doing laundry. I do it because I must. My reaction to doing laundry is the equivalent of putting gas in the car - it is just something that must be done. My laundry technique is not the most typical approach of [...]
Cheyenne received an academic letter from West Fargo School District last night. Silly me, I did not even realize there was such a thing. I thought lettering was all about sports. Cheyenne was nonplussed when she first heard she had earned a letter, but once she realized that she was the only kid in the [...]
Old-timers and history buffs - I am in the former category - will remember President Kennedy's now iconic statement, "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." I always liked this statement because I think it speaks to the duty and responsibility of [...]
THE NEW FORTY 