Ask an Angel: August 25, 2016

My dad fights us when we suggest he take a bath. He has memory issues, but it doing pretty good in many areas of his life. His hygiene, however, is a problem and is getting embarrassing. How can I get him to shower?

Tibet’s high points

As we all know, Tibet has mountains and most of the country is at a much, much higher altitude than Chicago. Where smog might have been an issue in China, just getting oxygen may be an issue in Tibet. While it won’t be on your schedule, you may feel like you are climbing Everest itself.

Captain Fantastic is, well, fantastic

I went to see this movie for two reasons. Principally, because I love Viggo Mortenson, one of the best and most underappreciated actors on the big screen. Of the many films he has made, his roles as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Frank Hopkins in the unforgettable movie Hidalgo, are his best works. The second reason is I read a brief summary of the storyline and it sounded like something worth seeing.

Finding the right footing just a step ahead of disaster

Some twenty years ago, when our kids were grown and my wife and I determined that our family had finally grown out of the hand-to-mouth stage, we decided that with a bit more hand-to-mouth sacrifice we could afford to splurge on buying a vacation property.

I leaped to my feet and almost stepped on the dog, who was also leaping to her feet at the time. She looked at me with an accusatory glance, as if all the noise was my fault. But I knew better.

Dealing with those wascally wabbits, Part 2

It is important to use a variety of animal repellent products. What works in someone else’s yard, may not work in yours. What works in your yard for a while, may stop working if the rabbits get used to it.

Check these out: July 14, 2016

On the NEW bookshelves is a non-fiction item that appeals to me because it has (as you can tell from the title) many pictures and not too much text. I used to tell my high school students that an easy way to keep up with current events, so as not to appear totally ignorant, was to browse through a weekly news magazine and look at the pictures, and read the captions.

Traveling to China presents challenges

We’ve all seen multiple pictures of the various wonders of China, but visiting and seeing it for yourself is different; the “touch and feel” makes it a definite lasting memory.

Refresh the Aging Hardware and Paint Inside Your House

The plating on the door handles on several of the doors in my house has worn off and they look bad. It is worst on the outside of the room. I would like to take the new looking ones on the inside of the closet doors and swap them with the worn ones, but I don’t know how to do this.

A Grand Slam Breakfast “Slam”

There is an old saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” As we get older, doesn’t that seem to be the case? It is a proven scientific fact that time does seem to go faster as you get older. Having said this, welcome to our post Fourth of July article! We are celebrating it at our new Denny’s Restaurant aka “America’s Diner” at Drendel’s Corner.

Ask an Angel: July 14, 2016

I really need to stay fit! I see all types of classes in my community, but quite frankly I am a little self-conscious about trying them out. I have good intentions, but never make it to the class. How can I get motivated enough to attend one?

The Legend of Tarzan – ok, but not great

As far as I can tell, no other character, fictional or otherwise, has been the subject of more movies than Tarzan. This is the 53rd film starring Edgar Rice Burroughs epic hero, each story different from the others, but of course with lots of commonalities.

What’s a mom to do when the channel-changer is way over there?

Let’s face it, we’ll never make America great again until our politically correct legal system stops harassing good parents.

I speak, of course, about the McHenry County woman who was charged with a misdemeanor and forced to plead guilty of endangering the life of her children, just because she fired a pistol shot into the TV where the kids were watching a music video.