The staff room for my high school newspaper had a piece of furniture with slots for each staffer, plus drawers for supplies, etc. One of the drawers was labeled ASOS, for All Sorts Of Shit—the stuff that nobody cared to figure out what other drawer it belonged in. So here, ASOS = “All Sorts Of Stuff”; basically the category includes all the posts that don’t fit neatly into other categories on this blog. (But don’t dismiss it; some of my favorite posts are in this category!)
I guess we all have our Sunday-morning rituals. For me, the last couple of years, it has included a trip to Manor Grove nursing home in Kirkwood to spend time with my mom, who lived there in the late stages of her fight with Alzheimer’s, and with my dad, who came directly from church...
There was a surprise for me on Facebook this morning: a message from Sinan in Provincetown, asking if I had any digital pictures of my brother Jim. I met Sinan through Jim, before Jim died of AIDS in 1987. Today was World AIDS Day, and Sinan wanted to post a remembrance of him in...
I received the following e-mail on December 23 of last year. It hit me like a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky. The e-mail was from my cousin Beth, who lives in Maryland, and who I haven’t seen in many years. She has a deep interest in genealogy, as you’ll see...
During our trip to Santa Fe last week, we took a day trip to Abiquiu, where we had some excellent green chile cheeseburgers at Body’s, and then drove on up to the Ghost Ranch, and then further north, to Chama. The latter is a nice little town that seems to specialize in tourism, but...
Maybe it’s just the intoxicated feeling caused by the lack of oxygen at 7,500 feet. Or maybe it’s the universal friendliness of the people. Maybe it’s the rich history—both human and geological—of the land. Maybe it’s the mystical undercurrent of spirituality from the region’s many Native American tribes. Whatever it is, New Mexico has...
Eight years ago this morning, I took part in the Chicago Marathon. It was my first — and so far only — attempt at the marathon. Here is my mile-by-mile account of it, written a day or so later. To set it up, this was written for the “V-Team” bulletin board, which was made...
A week and a half ago, after dropping Jim off at Elmhurst College, I had the opportunity to visit Starved Rock State Park. I’d driven past the exit for the park dozens of times—it’s on the way between St. Louis and where several members of Jean’s family live in Northern Illinois—but we’ve never taken...
I set a personal record this morning. For several years now, I’ve been irregularly keeping track of my weight. When I think of it, I weigh myself. And when I think of it again, I jot down the number in a file in my gmail “drafts” folder. That file goes back more than four...
I’ve now seen the Google Street View Car twice. This picture was taken the first time, a couple of years ago. That’s me in the red shirt, with my camera backpack and, in my right hand, a sandwich from Jimmy John’s. It was almost certainly a Friday. I saw the car again a couple...
Six months ago today, Jean gave me an iPad for Christmas. It’s barely been out of my sight since. (And yes, that means that today marks the halfway point to NEXT Christmas, meaning we’ll start seeing those holiday ads in just a few weeks. Almost time to put those lights up on the house!)...
