My mom really is cooler than yours
My mom is cooler than yours.
There, I said it. Now, before I start getting angry calls (and, yes, I’m looking at you, Mrs. Cobb), I’m not implying in any way that any of your mothers are not lovely women who have sacrificed of...
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - 5:20pm
Occupying my mind before vacation
Do you remember those sleepless nights as a youth? The calendar would flip to November, and you just knew Christmas was right around the corner. You would begin formulating the perfect list in your mind, going over it again and again until you...
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - 2:12pm
Caterpillars are the butt of the joke
It’s been said by many who know me that I sometimes talk out of my backside. Normally, I get that comment during poker games, when the common perception amongst those who play with me often is that if I’m giving away anything about my hand, it’s...
Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 6:10am
Give me a break on this rationale
According to various reports, the U.S. Army will court-martial a military doctor because he refused to deploy to Afghanistan. Conscientious observer? Nope. Dying kid at home? Wrong again. Allergies to poppy fields? Three strikes.
Army...
Thursday, April 15, 2010 - 9:27am
A great week for us sports fans
Let’s be honest. Life’s tough.
Regardless your economic standing, gender, race, religion or favorite breakfast cereal, there is always something in your life at any moment that requires deep thought, immediate action or a comfortable...
Thursday, April 8, 2010 - 6:54am
Tradition isn't always a good thing
I’m a big believer in honoring one’s culture. I cling tightly to my family’s Irish heritage, and enjoy hearing and learning from others who are also fascinated by their roots. Shaun Lambert, for instance, can make my eyes roll back into my head...
Thursday, April 1, 2010 - 3:23am
Trying hard to understand reform
I’m searching for an old friend.
This was the kind of friend that was always there for me. The kind that would come through in the clutch no matter what, and would never ask for anything in return. Oh, we had a few bumpy rides from...
Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 7:43am
Has there ever been a spring as widely anticipated by this area as this one?
Businesses hit by a sluggish economy are excited about seeing vacationers and second-home owners get back in the area, and residents trapped in their homes...
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - 3:28pm
It's an interesting world out there
There’s tough, and then there’s “Kentucky tough.”
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that a 32-year-old Kentucky woman, who reportedly had no idea she was pregnant, delivered a son on the floor of her laundry room, cut the...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 5:01am
Hockey battle a game for the ages
There are moments in life when all seems right in the world. I remember feeling that way when the American hockey team scored a shocking goal with seconds left in regulation during their gold medal hockey game against Canada last Sunday. As the...
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 2:57pm
Warning: Don't do stupid things
I remember exactly where I was when my head nearly exploded.
Camped out on luxurious Couch Island (centered in my living room, in a strategic spot in front of my television), I was catching up on some news on CNN when they did a...
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - 4:21pm
The war of generations wages on
We’ve done a few things very well in this nation.
The Constitution, for example, is one of the most beautifully-written idealistic documents in the history of civilization. Many nations have used ours as an outline when composing...
Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 6:45am
It helps to have a captive audience
I apologize in advance, but I’m not letting go of this one without a fight.
The Nielsen Co. reported Monday that an estimated 106.5 million people watched the New Orleans Saints defeat Indianapolis during Sunday’s Super Bowl. That...
Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 8:14am
Trip to the Keys not quite paradise
Well, it looks like I picked the right time to go on vacation.
Sitting in various bars in the Florida Keys, I would see snowy images of home on the television screens. There were various texts coming to my phone providing me...
Thursday, February 4, 2010 - 6:05am
Mistakes are part of everyday life
People make mistakes. We’re flawed. It’s what we do.
While that sounds like an overly-simplistic humanitarian view of society at large, the fact remains that people sometimes screw up over the course of their lives. It’s been said...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - 5:22pm
Ravens have me in a hiding mood
“Gone hibernatin’”
That will be the sign I put up in my office window this week. After watching my Baltimore Ravens get their crabcakes handed to them by the Indianapolis Colts last weekend, I’ve decided to go into a sports...
Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 6:36am
The world continues to entertain
I’m constantly surfing the Web.
If I’m home, chances are pretty good that my iPhone is in my hand and navigating me from one Web site to the next. I usually click on a headline that grabs my attention, only to click on to the next...
Thursday, January 14, 2010 - 6:05am
A new year and new resolutions
Ah, the new year is now upon us.
There’s something refreshing about that, isn’t there? The concept of ditching the old calendar and all that it represented and flipping open that brand new (Coastal Point) calendar and its...
Thursday, January 7, 2010 - 3:53am
History will not remember 2009 fondly.
Many in our nation, and globally, were hit hard by a struggling economy. Acrimony in politics reached new levels of silliness. An attempted bombing of a commercial flight on Christmas nearly...
Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - 1:09pm
Tis the season for special gifts
This truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
As a child, I loved Christmas. Apart from those pesky socks and underpants that kept making their way to my gift pile under the tree, there was unbridled joy at each present that...
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - 11:01am
My cell phone bill is how much?
There are things that I come across that make me shake my head and contemplate how my father would have handled the situation had it been me as the central character.
For instance, I stumbled across a story recently that...
Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 5:01am
Santa, it's time we had a talk
Dear Santa,
I know you’re particularly busy right now. The big day is right around the corner, the elves are getting grumpy with all the overtime and it’s pretty much crunch time for people to fall on either the naughty or nice...
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 2:09pm
I'll leave Tiger alone for now.
Tiger, Tiger, Tiger.
You know, I’ve always admired how well Tiger Woods has kept his personal life separate from the entity that is Tiger Woods the professional golfer. Oh, we’ve all been allowed little glimpses into his...
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - 12:36pm
It’s the season to offer thanks
Yup, it’s that time of the year again.
It’s the time when we’re supposed to mentally push aside those day-to-day trials and tribulations in our lives that invade our minds throughout the rest of the year and focus instead on the bigger...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - 8:04am
The dictionary just got thicker
Hi. I’m Darin, and I’m a word nerd.
To be more precise, I’m a word nerd of the English language. I love how it is an ever-evolving language that adapts to changing times and changing vernacular, and it takes on the form of a living,...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 - 9:06am
Tuesday was not a slow news day
Shock.
That was what was going through my mind and body when I first heard of the actions of the now-infamous “D.C. sniper.” I was living in Atlanta, and following very closely the events transpiring in my hometown. Like many, I was...
Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 7:29am
The tide has turned.
As is the case most mornings, I was still half-asleep as I stumbled out my front door to climb in my car to begin a new day of work. It was Wednesday, which is our final deadline of the week, and promised to be...
Thursday, November 5, 2009 - 3:36am
Fantasy sports can take you away
If there was ever an appropriately-named hobby in this modern society of ours, it’s fantasy sports.
I admit it. I play them. I’ve had a fantasy baseball team on and off for about 20 years, and I’ve been in a fantasy football league...
Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 7:30am
Fishy stuff going on in Oregon
During one of my daily voyages through the wild frontier of the Internet, I stumbled across an Associated Press story that made me stop mid-surf. That in itself is not odd, in that I tend to get sidetracked by some strange things on the Web, but...
Thursday, October 15, 2009 - 7:40am
Chicago's loss could be our gain
There was quite a bit of disappointment last week with the announcement that Chicago would not receive the 2016 Summer Olympics, and for valid reasons. The Olympics would have potentially brought a bump for that local economy, a global stage for...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - 3:42pm
So much promise, so much misery
I spend a lot of time reading various newspapers.
Yes, it’s certainly part of the game when you’re in this business, but it’s also what I love to do in my spare time. If I’m sitting on my couch at home and watching television, there’...
Friday, October 2, 2009 - 5:05am
The nocturnal pug has my attention
It felt like a soothing mist.
There I was, fast asleep in bed with visions of giant meatball subs dancing in my head, when I felt the little spray on my forehead. I originally chalked it up as part of my dream — the spittle escaping...
Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 7:58am
Another look at a weird, weird world
We all have problems. Bills get piled up, kids run around with scissors, work becomes too much, etc., etc., etc.
It’s during those times when I reach out for hope — a quest for people who either have it much worse than me, or do...
Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 7:53am
Disagree, but stay on the same team
It was said by many at the time that Sept. 11, 2001 would change the world forever.
There was a prevailing opinion that the majority of people, particularly in this country, would set aside pettiness and confrontational differences...
Thursday, September 10, 2009 - 7:22am
Shoulder season is welcomed here
For openers, let me tell you that I had a very funny column lined up for this week. Well, to be fair, it was funny in my eyes, because I was going to make fun of my good friend Bob Bertram for his respective tastes in old movies and current films...
Thursday, September 3, 2009 - 8:49am
A look back at my summer goals
Reality can sometimes hit you when you least expect it.
I was flipping the page on my beautiful and practical Coastal Point calendar the other day to jot down a meeting I had scheduled, and the words “Labor Day” greeted me like a pie...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 4:09pm
Well, at least he's not on my team
It’s funny sometimes how news travels.
There I was, sitting on a short stack of chips at a poker tournament in Atlantic City last week, when word started circulating throughout the room that the Philadelphia Eagles had just signed...
Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 6:52am
The players are the real stars
There are some moments in time that we wish would just stay frozen. Those instances when all seems right in the world, and it feels as if we’ve finally figured out all of life’s little riddles.
I had that the other night in Roxana...
Thursday, August 13, 2009 - 6:32am
There comes a point in each man’s life when he must put down the water balloons and whoopie cushions, and make a definitive statement that he is indeed an adult — that marker in time that unequivocally states that adulthood is now upon him, and...
Thursday, August 6, 2009 - 6:10am
As a journalist, it is my absolute obligation to inform my readers of any information that could impact their lives. With that basic tenet of my profession in mind, I’ll now share a little tidbit with the general public.
...
Thursday, July 30, 2009 - 12:42pm
Remember the old gag when you would dangle your buddy’s hand in a bowl of warm water as he slept, hoping against hope that it would cause a, well, biological reaction?
Well, from recent experience, I can tell you unequivocally...
Thursday, July 23, 2009 - 7:28am
One bright light in frustration
There are those who claim to have seen Bigfoot walking by their campsite. Others have stated emphatically that they have seen the Loch Ness monster peek her head through the water and mist. And I have heard tell of giant pink monsters dancing up...
Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 8:21am
If we’re fortunate enough in life, we continue to learn, to better understand and to still be inspired as we grow older. We’re able to push aside the cynicism and pessimism that often accompany years of experience, and still stare wide-eyed at...
Thursday, July 9, 2009 - 8:59am
This is indeed a great holiday.
From watching the magnificence of fireworks exploding over head to the simple pleasure of biting into a hot dog fresh off the grill, we all seem united for at least one day of the year in a pride in...
Thursday, July 2, 2009 - 9:17am
It’s funny what you can learn from sitting on a couch.
For instance, I learned recently that Jon and Kate are getting a divorce — though I admit that I’m not exctly aware who they are or why I should care. I also learned that...
Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 6:51am
The brave adventurer deftly maneuvered his way past treacherous hazard after treacherous hazard. Surely, fear and apprehension filled his mind as he found himself deeper in the abyss, but he was single-minded in focus — and would not be denied...
Thursday, June 18, 2009 - 6:39am
Time for another look at stupidity
There are certain things in life that leave me completely astounded. I don’t mean merely surprised, or even shocked, but absolutely frozen in disbelief as I contemplate what it was I just came across.
A lot of the times, it is my...
Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 7:46am
Oh, what penguins leave behind
I get amazed sometimes by science.
I’m awed by the advances we’ve made in medicine, from orthopedics to cancer research and treatment to pills that not only can treat illnesses, but can also enhance one’s, well, I’m sure you get the same...
Thursday, June 4, 2009 - 5:57am
It happens every year.
Memorial Day weekend comes upon us, I start getting a little excited about all the really cool things I’m going to do that summer and I start to make a mental list on prioritizing them all — just to make certain that...
Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 10:44am
It’s been said that life is a journey. We twist and wind through life’s obstacles and victories, and encounter a cast of characters along the way that either impact the very nature of who we are, or simply disappear into the background in...
Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 11:59am
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