For weeks I’ve searched for a concise way of articulating my feelings on how the electronic era has changed our lives. Then it hit me.

In Sunday’s Parade Magazine, there’s a cartoon that shows a man at the computer, asking his wife, “What’s the point of having an opinion if you don’t email it to everyone you know?”

Now that was perfect: We must share, but if there’s no one to receive the message, what’s the point?

It’s like the age-old question: If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one there to hear it, does it make a sound? A slightly modernized feminist version of that asks, “If a man says something and there’s no woman around to hear it, is the man still wrong?” Continue reading →

It really seemed easy. I watched as three grandchildren tried the ridiculously easy task of kicking a sponge ball through a space of about two feet square. What’s the big deal?

Carly, Celina and Arthur Roland, my grandchildren, couldn’t knock the ball through; in fact, most of the time they missed the ball completely. The catch? Jennifer Ballen, of the San Miguel County DWI task force, had them wear goggles that simulate how an intoxicated person would see things.

“Let me show you how it’s done, grandkids,” I said. I put on the special goggles, carefully checked the location of the ball on the floor and let fly a kick that would have made Sebastian Janikowski of the Oakland Raiders envious. Continue reading →

When does a celebration become “excessive”? All of us who watch football have seen a number of flags tossed to penalize players or teams whose jubilation becomes disruptive.

Defining “excessive” becomes a problem. Many dislike the look-at-me attitude of some players who, while on their way to a touchdown, begin their strut, an in-your-face gesture that fans and — especially — opposing teams loathe.

We’ve all seen players, live or on TV, draw a flag for too much hoopla in the end zone. Where do we draw the line between genuine excitement and hot-dogging?

Well, have I got news for you: Apparently some places have much less tolerance than others for unrestrained joy. We’re discussing commencement exercises now, not football anymore, although crowds in the respective stands often are indistinguishable. Continue reading →

Girls are smarter than boys, aren’t they? It depends on who’s asking and who’s being asked. My experience is that the first person to ask is considered “right.”

Let me explain:

Back in my childhood, I believed that girls were smarter. Why? Well, because they raised their hands faster when Sister Mary Muy Catolica of Immaculate Conception School would ask, for example, “Who knows the first commandment?”

Up went 16 hands, corresponding to the number of females in our fifth grade class; the boys, on the other hand, didn’t always raise a hand. We were too busy contemplating the deeper meanings of things like catechism and commandments. Continue reading →