When I was growing up, a breakfast of pancakes was the reward for making it through Sunday mass. Upon returning home, our mother fired up the griddle – figuratively, it was an electric stove – and mixed up the pancake batter. When drops of water danced on the grill, it was ready.
Category: Random Thoughts
What doesn’t fit elsewhere
Something To Make You Squirm in Your Theater Seat
James Baldwin was well established as a best-selling writer when The Fire Next Time was published. His first novel, in 1953, Go Tell It on the Mountain, was based on his growing up in Harlem. Subsequent novels explored then-taboo subjects such as homosexuality and interracial relationships. His essays delved into racial tensions and the experience of being black in the U.S.
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Reporting on Fake News Reports
Back in the olden days, fake news was what The Daily Show reported, actually satire, with no expectations that its audience would think otherwise. When the Weekly World News reported “Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby” or the National Enquirer headline screamed “Cheating Blake: 9 Women He’s Hiding From Gwen!” most people smirked.
Vacation Planning Ideas
Have you started thinking about your 2017 travel plans, what sights to see and cultures to experience? Hibbing Minnesota is likely near the top of your list. The hometown of a recent Nobel Prize winner, Hibbing was also home to Yankee Should-Be-in-the-Hall-of-Fame Roger Maris, Boston Celtics star Kevin McHale and smarmy sixties singer Gary Puckett.
Defender of Freedom
Mike Royko, Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago newspaper columnist, did not live long enough to see the Cubs become champions. He periodically reported on the “Ex-Cubs 
Factor”: that the team with more ex-Cubs players would lose the World Series. He reported exclusive scoops from his friend and confidante, Slats Grobnik. Way back in 1984, before Fox News, he offered his opinion of Rupert Murdoch: “No self-respecting fish would want to be wrapped in a Murdoch paper.” Royko also published an annual column honoring the gun owner of the year.
The Days Are Getting Longer
Did you feel worse than usual after partying all night on New Year’s Eve? Or, if you retired early, before midnight, maybe you’re beginning 2017 feeling extra rested? That’s because while you were celebrating – or sleeping – keepers of the Universal Coordinated Time added an extra second to the night.