Thank you for my freedom to hate sweaters

When I was a kid, somewhere in my teens, at least, my dad got me an off-white knit sweater with a print of the American flag knitted into the chest. He immediately saw my disappointment upon opening it but rather than supporting the disappointment with his own, he told me I’d like it when I got older.

Almost thirty years later, while I still have the sweater, I still don’t like it (sorry Dad!).

9 pumpkin spice products to define fall 2019

Although everyone knows that the current season is called autumn or fall (or “spooky season,” if you’re really in the know), it seems like it really should be called Pumpkin Spice Season. People love autumn for a plethora of reasons, but lately, the only one that seems to matter is the fact that pumpkin spice can be found anywhere. In fact, Starbucks launched a campaign this year declaring the first day of fall to be August 27, which was the day they brought back the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte (or PSL).

Karma in the digital age

My wife and I are big returners. If we don’t like it (whatever it is) or if it’s broken, we return it, putting 100% satisfaction guarantees to the test wherever products are sold. After years of making returns, I’ve discovered that some stores are much more receptive to returns than others. Some stores take back their item with the same smile as when they sold it while other stores make you second guess your motives and feel like a criminal.

Insects aside

In previous years, if I had spotted a spider on my wall or heard a fly buzz in some corner of my room, I knew it was time for an all-out war. There was no resting until that bug was vanquished, usually with the help of at least one housemate, an old Starbucks cup for trapping, and an elaborate system of commands (“You guard the door, and I’ll go in for the kill”). If I lost the battle, losing track of the bug, there was a non-negotiable consequence: that room was no longer habitable.

Fool me once … here’s an iPad

Unfortunately, at some point or another, everyone gets duped or at least encounters instances that are truly bizarre.

Years ago in college, a friend moved to St. Louis with her family, but she frequently came back to visit. On one such visit, another fiend and I went to pick her up from Union Station where she was taking the train in, but before we got into the building, a quick-change artist approached my friend and scammed him out of ten dollars by asking him to break a ten and quickly shuffling around bills until he was out the ten bucks.

Maybe when you hear it, you brace, or roll your eyes, or take a deep, heavy sigh. Either way, one thing is clear: an offense is on its way.

Bright ideas aren’t always smart

Previously I’ve written about my, I won’t say “aversion” to technology, but my general unease about it, which makes me sound like I’m one of those people who think Terminator’s Skynet will someday become a reality and take over the world. That’s hardly the case. Though Siri is a little unsettling sometimes. My unease isn’t so much paranoia but practical concern. Basically, I don’t trust it. It’s not dependable.

Yes, I’m just going to talk about the weather

It’s May 22, and I’m back from my morning run. Dressed in long running pants, a long-sleeve sweatshirt, and shoes soggy from the cold rain. It’s 49 degrees, and yet June is only one week away. With a winter like ours, it’s not unreasonable to be thankful it’s rain and not snow.

Game of Thrones isn’t that great of a show. There, I said it

Although the primary recipient of this week’s Happy Trails doesn’t know I’m writing publicly to him (because I’m writing my column only after reading his), you could consider this an open dialogue between me and Sun Day Columnist TR Kerth. That said, for context you may want to read his column in this edition before reading mine.

A new leaf

Houseplants have always been a favorite for some people. Growing up, my mom always had spider plants hanging down from countertops or pots of ferns sitting on bookshelves. As a kid, I remember planting outdoor plants into indoor pots, just to see if they could grow in the kitchen, as opposed to a little garden we had to share with neighbors. I remember my mom digging through Home Depot and similar stores, looking for indoor greenery. What I don’t remember is my friends’ homes having these same indoor gardens.

The Sun Day’s 9th anniversary celebration

On Thursday, April 4, the Sun Day staff and contributors celebrated the Sun Day’s ninth anniversary at Niko’s Tavern in Pingree Grove.

Anniversary No. 9

I don’t believe talismans or lucky numbers contain any magic beyond the power you give them, but I do believe in the power you give them. If a certain object or numeral gives you comfort or confidence, great, I’m all for that. Thumb that worry stone if it eases your concerns. We all need something. But for me they’ve never had any sort of conjuring effect. However, I do have an affinity to the number 9.

5 things I’ve learned about creativity this year (so far)

Confession: I used to align with the thought that creativity was like a mythical will-o-the-wisp. Unobtainable if you tried. That it was something you had to let come to you, like a frightened animal.

While I do still cling to the idea that – sometimes – creativity can be an elusive dream just out of reach, I broke through a few mental barriers this year regarding creativity (and goals in general).

Boxes and basements and memories and Mr. Coffee

When I was a teenager, my house was the “party house” or “hang-out house.” My house was the place everyone converged nearly every night of the week. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for my friends to be there, in my basement, which was where we hung out, without me even being home. I’d wake up sometimes and find people in my basement. I’d come home from work and find people in my basement. I’d be having dinner with my family in our dining room, hear the side door open, and footsteps racing downstairs…several sets of footsteps. It was constant and not un-enjoyable.

The real golden hour

It’s no secret that getting up early is supposed to be more helpful if you want to get things done. As an early riser myself, I can vouch that this is true. Even as a young kid, I never wanted to sleep in. In fact, I had was the opposite problem. Every morning when I was little, my mom would leave a note taped to my bedroom door telling me what time I was allowed to get up and leave my room. Usually, she illustrated the note, often featuring a smiling sun with specific times like “6:30” or “7:15” drawn next to it.

Honey, call the plumber, the insurance system is clogged again

I have a love-hate relationship with the healthcare Marketplace. I love that it makes insurance available to anyone…and I hate everything else.

Ode to Mary Oliver

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

So asked Mary Oliver, one of the greatest and most prolific modern poets of the twenty-first century.

Drop and give me five hundred

For anyone who’s read my columns since the paper’s inception, you’ll know that I’m not partial to New Year’s resolutions, and I don’t subscribe to them. Resolutions, yes. Just not at the turn of the year, because I think that “fresh start” mentality is shaky ground to build your motivation on. However, that does not mean that folly doesn’t occur any time someone decides to make a change.

What I read in 2018

Before I get started, let me explain. I didn’t make it. I lost my way. I failed. At the outset of 2018, my goal was to read 24 books this year (two for every month), but I didn’t achieve it. Despite always having a book or two weighing down my purse (pages getting dog-eared, crumbs between the pages), and often purchasing new books that caught my eye every time I went to Target (“If I buy it, then I know I’ll read it”), it didn’t happen.

Will the wheels on the bus ever not go round and round?

So in other words, it means parenting.

Even words have defining moments

Hoodie. Left-click. Shout-out. Twentysomething. World Wide Web.

What do these words have in common? They all became an official part of the Merriam Webster dictionary the year I was born.

Although it might seem like words begin their lives by first appearing in the dictionary, the opposite is true. Words have to prove themselves before earning their place with the greats.

The (sort of) Great American Read

There’s a Thanksgiving tradition that my family has never practiced but I’ve always liked and that is the sitting around the Thanksgiving table, and each person takes a turn saying one thing they’re thankful for. I’m sure for the families out there who practice this tradition, you hear things like “I’m thankful for my parents or spouse or friends or children or health.” (Or, in the case of my son, he’d probably say he’s thankful for milk. He loves milk. He drinks a gallon every two days, which may account for why he, at only two, is countertop height.)

Vote of confidence

Six text messages. Twenty emails from myriad companies. Notices from Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

These are just some of the many ways in which I’ve been inundated in the past month with the timeliest question: Have you registered to vote yet?

If a pumpkin could talk, this is probably not what it would say, but it’s fun to think so

To find life, you have to face death. Okay, I’m being dramatic, but what can you expect from someone who recently had the top of his head cut open and his guts spooned out and cooked?

No, I’m not some vile science experiment (unless you call being worked on by a kid with a serrated knife science…uhhh, wait). What I am is a jack-o’-lantern. And my name is, you guessed it, Jack. You can save the grins. That’s my job. It’s my only job. To grin.

Just a phase: The three 2018 moons we’re about to experience

We’ve all wondered what might happen once in a blue moon or stared up at a harvest moon, reflecting on autumns past. But did you know that each month’s full moon has a name?

After my Instagram and Facebook feed lit up this month with a strange amount of mentions of the Harvest Moon, I decided to take a look.

This year, we’ve still got three to go: the Hunter’s Moon (October), Beaver Moon (November), and Cold Moon (December).

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