One Last Time

Not that I’m trying to be cute, but Life is like the World Series: Sometimes you have finality, but more often you don’t. When this year’s Series went to seven games, we knew that whoever won that game would be crowned champions, and whoever lost would have a long offseason to think about how things

An unexpected payoff

Being a Cubs fan is never an easy thing. After spending almost forty years in that fold, I can make such a statement with complete confidence. The good years–as measured by when the team makes it to the playoffs– can be counted on one hand, or two hands at the very most. And every one

Have you heard about the Midnight Rambler

Tonight’s hockey game went into three overtime periods, and the sudden death nature of the playoffs meant that any scoring opportunity could have ended the game. And in the end, a shot taken at midnight deflected off of not one, but two Blackhawk players, and set off a wild celebration scene at the United Center.

It’s time for me to try

Today I got some shocking news about my older daughter’s first caregiver. I hadn’t seen her in more than a decade, but the news of her sudden passing over the weekend brought memories flooding back to me. Her name was Amy, and I am grateful to her for taking care of my daughter once upon

A smile relieves a heart that grieves

Back in the fall of 1981, I was getting into the Rolling Stones for the first time. I had bought a cassette version of Tattoo You, and listened to it all the time on my fake walkman. Little did I know that it wasn’t the Stones’ best work, or that most of the songs had

And it really hit home

How can it be that I’ve written hundreds of posts in this space without focusing on the Stones even once? I’ve mentioned them in passing before, but never given them their due here. I heard a cover of “It’s All over Now” at a bar recently, and it’s far from the best-known Stones song there

A no-no-no

The Cubs managed just one hit tonight against A.J. Burnett of the Pirates. Burnett had a no-hitter into the 8th inning of tonight’s game, and only a single by rookie Adrian Cardenas stood between Burnett and an historic feat. As the saying goes, close but no cigar. Most people are aware that the last time

It never felt so good, it never felt so right

The Sony Walkman has now officially been scrapped, a victim of its own success. But when the Walkman first appeared in the 1980s, it was nothing short of revolutionary. Never before had it been possible to choose your own music and enjoy it in public. The boombox forced your music onto other people, and that

You drive us wild, we’ll drive you crazy

I just learned today that my family and I will be going to Cleveland in May, and I finally will get to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Besides the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, that’s probably the only one that I would be interested in seeing. So it will be a