If you still have a calendar stuck on your refrigerator or can hear radio and television ads you know we’ve been in the holiday season since Halloween. But if you’re from another planet – it’s possible – or don’t speak-the-language you . . .
Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable). . . .
They are the major holidays occurring in the month of October that have some controversy and intrigue surrounding each of them, including the month itself. October is the tenth month of the year, named after the Latin word for eight (“octo”) because . . .
There are many words and phrases baby boomers and the generations before them used that rarely are in vogue today. That’s because language is constantly evolving. What may be the hip new phrase of today is often forgotten tomorrow. Many words and . . .
For some folks, those are fighting words. Some people just don’t want to be referred to as a senior, elderly, retired, aged, or heaven forbid, old!
Just because someone’s approaching their golden years doesn’t mean they don’t still feel young . . .
While volunteering at the St. Therese Food Bank recently another volunteer added some grapefruit to items already in a food cart. I asked, “By the way, why are they called ‘grapefruit’ when they don’t seem to have any connection or taste like . . .
After completing requirements for a master’s degree from Northwestern University in December 1964, I immediately was subject to the military draft. So, I enrolled in the U.S. Army Reserves in Fort Wayne on Jan. 6, 1965, and left for Fort Knox, KY . . .
Near the end of my 30-year career in the Public Affairs Dept. at Indiana Michigan Power in Fort Wayne, the company sent me to a week-long photography workshop near Portland, Maine.
I arrived at the Portland International Airport late on a Sunday afternoon . . .
April Fools’ Day is one of the most widely recognized non-religious holidays in the Western world. Children prank parents, coworkers prank coworkers, and even national and local news outlets still prank their readers and viewers. But why? What is . . .
The “wearing of the green” on March 17 in honor of St. Patrick, along with all the parades with their bagpipes and blarney, is part of a folk ritual that announces the death of winter and the birth of spring. On this day, Irish and Irish-Wanna-Be’s . . .
The above proverb means without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring. The exact origins of the phrase remain unclear, though it was recorded as early as 1659. (However, we don’t know who “Jack” is). We do know many are working . . .
“Izzy! Izzy, come! Izzy, where are you? There you are! Wait a minute, what have you got? Izzy, put that down – you can’t have that! … Good boy!”
Sorry about that. Had to check on our Miniature Schnauzer, Izzy, before I began writing about . . .
Why do we say “Merry Christmas” and not “Happy Christmas?” Most people often use the word “Happy” for the New Year, holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. But for Christmas, the majority of people in the United States use “Merry” instead . . .
Didn’t we just honor veterans on Memorial Day? Yes, but to answer my own question, Veterans Day and Memorial Day are similar holidays. Both recognize and honor the bravery and sacrifices of United States soldiers. However, there’s one important . . .
“Octo” is Latin for “eight,” this once having been the eighth month of the year in the Roman calendar. In the Gregorian calendar, which we presently use, this is, of course, the tenth month.
The Julian, or Old Style calendar, was established . . .
The month of September has three landmark days: Labor Day, Sept. 5; Patriot Day, Sept. 11; and the First Day of Autumn, Sept. 22. But in addition to those major days, here are some others you may want to consider observing:
Kodak Camera Day, Sept. 4 . . .
Leading scientists have not really been able to unravel the cause of one of life’s greatest mysteries: why ever so often does a sock come up missing?
There are a lot of theories out there about why socks disappear. Do they get lost in the washing . . .
My wife and I enjoy watching old television shows on Antenna TV, especially The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson who had a 30-year run as the affable and talented host. One of our favorite skits features Johnny as Carnac the Magnificent who is able . . .
As we get older many things change not only within our bodies but with the language we speak. It’s no wonder we often can’t remember things because many of the words and expressions we’re used to using aren’t around any longer.
For example, . . .
Even though it’s considered the unofficial beginning of summer, I would like to focus on the principal purpose of Memorial Day as a day of national mourning. Americans are asked to fly the flag at half-staff from sunrise until noon to commemorate . . .
As most of us know – often times too late — April Fool’s Day is an annual opportunity on April 1 to play one or more practical jokes on an unexpecting someone, often times a spouse or a youngster. Jokesters often expose their deeds by . . .
Bet you didn’t know that March 11 is National Johnny Appleseed Day.
March is so consumed with celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th that many of the other national observances get covered, such as: Peanut Butter Lover’s Day (1), Dr. Seuss’s . . .
When Valentine’s Day rolls around every year on February 14th I can help but think of the trials and trepidations – plus downright fear — I went through as a teenager trying to get the nerve to ask a girl out on a date.
I think the dread goes . . .
An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase. When you see a group of words that actually don’t make any sense in the context if read as normal words, suspect it could be an idiom. . . .
According to The New Yorker, one of the most popular Thanksgiving-related myths in American history is the notion that Benjamin Franklin preferred the turkey as the national symbol of the United States, over the bald eagle. Is there any truth to it?
It’s . . .