In the James Hilton novel, Lost Horizon, the High Lama reveals to his predecessor that a great storm is coming to engulf the world.  At the storm’s conclusion, the treasures of Shangri-La (heaven-on-Earth) were promised to emerge, thereby restoring a ravaged world.  In his prognostications, the spiritual leader also echoed Jesus Christ in predicting that [...]

I recently had a computer problem that caused me to consider the nature of customer service and of business itself in a technology-driven world.  It is a story of an industry behemoth, a local shopkeeper, and my not so surprising experiences with both.

My story begins with a relatively minor problem experienced at one time or [...]

Some sage once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”  Be sure you’re not one of them, when trawling the Internet in search of gainful employment!

Among the ever-widening sea of job hopefuls, Internet job searches have increased by 7% in a two-year period (73% in 2007 versus 66% in 2005 as per The Conference Board).  [...]

Letting each other have a little space is an important ingredient in the recipe of any successful relationship, particularly those of the romantic and/or spousal variety.  Some people just don’t grasp this simple concept, so eloquently phrased as the old adage, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”   Technology has now made familiarity a lot more widespread, in the [...]

In the 17th century, King Louis XIV of France elevated the humble pea by ordering it to be placed, en masse, on the dishes served at the parties in his most elegant palace.   Tasty snow peas were being developed in Holland at about the same time Louis’ guests were rolling them around on their plates [...]

We grew up in a neighborhood in South Philadelphia, bounded by Snyder Avenue to the north and the Philadelphia Navy Yard to the south and from Broad Street east to 7th Street.  It was an ethnically mixed neighborhood.  I lived in the 2400 block of Hutchinson Street, and he lived in the 2300 block.  As [...]

Oddly enough, just shortly before I read Thomas Petruzzelli Sr.’s article, “The Fear Factor,” I recalled a dream that I had had many years ago.  I thought of sharing it here, in the hope that it might help someone, but it seemed so personal that I hesitated.  Tom Sr’s. article was a sign that I [...]

In my previous article entitled, Gas Pains, I explored the gasoline crisis affecting our nation, as well as our government’s inane responses to solving the problem.  Although the United States boasts the largest supply of natural gas the world over, The Powers That Be still insist that we import the bulk of it from foreign [...]

To the average American, the passing of Robert L. Howard went unnoticed but for the family and friends who survived him.  Yet, one of the most decorated soldiers of the Vietnam War compelled the news media to devote a brief commentary to him.  So, who was this man?

Born on July 11, 1939, at the age [...]

On a bleak, 3-degree New York winter’s day several weeks ago, I buried a relative by marriage.  As my husband was a pallbearer, I drove to the cemetery with my brother-in-law, who muttered repeatedly under his breath, like a mantra, “Please, let them not take us up right up to the hole.”   My own family [...]

Most people pursue some type of normal, enjoyable hobby, such as collecting coins, stamps, knick-knacks, stuffed animals, books, or music.  Others take hobbies to a new level, literally.  We are all acquainted with someone into whose home angels fear to tread.  In these domiciles, one cannot see the carpet or the coffee table for the piles of [...]