humorwriters.org
Erma Bombeck | Writers´ Workshop
http://humorwriters.org/page/4
The workshop for humor writing, human interest writing, networking and getting published. Fat cat on a thin roof. It has been said, probably by Andrew Lloyd Webber, that a cat has nine lives. If that’s true, it means the cats in our humble home had 36. It also means I should win a Tony Award because my version of Cats ran even longer than Lloyd Webber’s, 27 years to his 18 and 9,855 daily performances to his measly 7,485. That did not stop her, however, from eating the boiled chicken that was part of Liz...
michaelpicarellacolumn.com
Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands: December 2011
http://www.michaelpicarellacolumn.com/2011_12_01_archive.html
Thursday, December 1, 2011. Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks. So when my wife’s aunt and uncle invited us to their home for Thanksgiving a second year in a row, we should’ve said thanks but no thanks. Instead, my wife agreed to go. Then I felt guilty. 8220;But they had us over last year,” I said. “We should be inviting them over this year.”. Maybe my wife was right. Maybe the gift doesn’t have to be returned. Maybe saying thanks is enough. My mom, who writes thank-you letters for thank-you letters, t...
michaelpicarellacolumn.com
Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands: Happy Father's Dismay
http://www.michaelpicarellacolumn.com/2013/09/happy-fathers-dismay.html
Monday, September 16, 2013. The world is against me. My son is approaching his teenage years - he’ll be 10 next month - and his friends are pushing me out of the center of his universe. It’s not fair - 10 years went too fast. With Father’s Day upon us, I wondered if this year would be my final great year to bond. Worse, maybe last year’s tribute to Dad was the end. 8220;Oh no,” he said. “Sunday’s Father’s Day, isn’t it? I can’t play video games.”. So now he was going to be a martyr. 8221; I asked. 8220;T...
michaelpicarellacolumn.com
Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands: May 2012
http://www.michaelpicarellacolumn.com/2012_05_01_archive.html
Thursday, May 24, 2012. 8220;The Dentist” or: “How I Tricked a Dental Professional Into Thinking My Teeth Were Perfect”. Six months ago, my dentist said I had a cavity that needed drilling. He warned me to change my brushing habits immediately or else. My first thought: My brushing habits have kept me cavity-free for 20 years. What’s he talking about? We’re in tough financial times - I have no cavity. This guy just needs money. This guy was a car salesman. What the heck does receding gums. Receding gums ...
michaelpicarellacolumn.com
Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands: March 2013
http://www.michaelpicarellacolumn.com/2013_03_01_archive.html
Thursday, March 21, 2013. It’s night. Good Guy is fast asleep in bed, unshakable. Outside, Bad Guy is armed, dangerous. He breaks into Good Guy’s house. If only Good Guy could hear Bad Guy down the hall, he could reach into his end table for that pistol and defend himself. But Bad Guy enters Good Guy’s bedroom. He raises his weapon, aims it at Good Guy . . . Good Guy has no bullets! Bad Guy blasts Good Guy down. It was like being shot in the chest. I couldn’t breathe. It was worse than death. 8220;You ca...
michaelpicarellacolumn.com
Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands: The Great Flag Debate
http://www.michaelpicarellacolumn.com/2013/05/the-great-flag-debate.html
Sunday, May 26, 2013. The Great Flag Debate. My son is no dummy. So I have no problem attempting to explain complex things to him, like the large-scale electronic structure theory and the manner in which it can provide potential energy surfaces and force fields for simulating intricate chemical processes important to technology and biological chemistry. 8220;Don’t you think that’s a little too advanced and time-consuming for a 1-year-old? Who was I kidding? 8220;So,” I said to my son, “you wa...8220;What...
museharbor.com
Everything Ever After | Muse Harbor Publishing
http://www.museharbor.com/eea
Real Simple Privacy Policy. Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Conejo Valley Botanic Garden Thousand Oaks, CA. Saturday, June 14 3:00PM - 6:00PM. Mrs Fig’s Bookworm. Mrs Figs' Bookworm Camarillo, CA. Tuesday, July 8 5:00 - 7:00PM. Please note that 15% off coupon codes are valid for the purchase of e-books from museharbor.com. Paperback editions of. Are available from Amazon.com. The Los Angeles Times. The Bridge: A Celebration. Former ABC-TV Bureau Chief, West Coast. Picar...
michaelpicarellacolumn.com
Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands: Competition is a Lose-Lose
http://www.michaelpicarellacolumn.com/2013/05/competition-is-lose-lose.html
Sunday, May 26, 2013. Competition is a Lose-Lose. Everything with my son is a competition. 8220;Which is better? 8221; “Who do you like most? 8221; “Do you think I’ll win? 8221; “I got more points.”. That, I suppose, is America. Americans love winners. Our heroes show us that winning is the big picture. Former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis used to say, “Just win, baby.”. US Army General George Patton once said, “Americans play to win at all times.”. 8220;If you had. 8221; my son insisted. 8220;I noticed...
michaelpicarellacolumn.com
Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands: August 2011
http://www.michaelpicarellacolumn.com/2011_08_01_archive.html
Friday, August 19, 2011. I’m not a cheater. But I’ve had second thoughts. LA is my town - Dodgertown, as the marketing campaign suggests. So when my in-laws invited my wife, 7-year-old son and me to an Angels game in Orange County, I said, “No thanks, I’m a Dodgers fan. I watch baseball at 1000 Elysian Park Avenue.”. But my son, now quite the baseball fan, wanted to go. “Please,” he begged. 8220;Good,” I said. “They’ll know I’m not with them.”. And off we went to see the Anaheim. Angel Stadium might be n...
michaelpicarellacolumn.com
Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands: March 2015
http://www.michaelpicarellacolumn.com/2015_03_01_archive.html
Tuesday, March 17, 2015. If he wasn’t practicing math, he was reading. If he wasn’t reading, he was writing. If he wasn’t writing, he was organizing school supplies. And if he had spare time, he slept - but only if the “School Success Stories” CD was playing softly in his ear. Fifth grade is a giant leap for an elementary school student, and my 10-year-old son had to be ready. The opposition this year would be fierce. 8220;I’ll be fine,” my son said when I shouted it was time to hit the books. 8220;But D...
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