My loyalty costs exactly one penny
The older I get, the more things I learn to say no to. Things I should have been saying no to for a long time. Ice cream is not one of those things. I love ice cream. Probably too much. Last week I bought a half-gallon of cookies and cream along with a bottle of […]
Pay no attention to my suckiness
Kyle lives two doors over. He’s thirteen and, in my eyes, cooler than Miles Davis. I’m seven years old. Every time I’m out playing with the other kids my age, I peek over to see if Kyle is jumping on his trampoline. When his friends aren’t over, Kyle is nice enough to let me bounce with him. […]
Why Moms are blue-collar story tellers
Cruising north on a residential street, a small voice tells me to slow down. Instinctively I look up ahead where the police officer routinely shoots radar from a well-covered side street. The cop wasn’t present but his message was still delivered. In advertising, they call this “self-induced frequency”. It’s a message that resonates so much […]
Two broken lawn mowers
I have two lawn mowers. One’s a walk behind, given to us by my wife’s mother’s mother. We’ve had it for 6 years and it wasn’t new when we got it. The second is a riding lawn mower purchased from my wife’s mother’s friend for $300, a real steal. It looks like my mother-in-law has […]
Timeshifting and health pauses
Caesar salad and champagne chicken make for a delicious lunch. They taste even better on a beautiful day looking out at Lake Erie. I was among a cheery group of advertising people eating and watching a presentation about cable TV. Turns out people still really like TV. Americans watch more of it on more channels […]
My city smells
Windows down. Radio up. A summer breeze wafts warmly over downtown Buffalo. A familiar smell has hitched another free ride. The corners of my mouth arch upwards as I take in that sweet smell of Cheerios. Even if you are a world away you have heard this story before. This is nothing more than a […]
Why aren’t my trees growing?
Dads rule. Mine is no exception. He used to tolerate me as a little boy dressing up like Robin Hood and reciting every line from the (original) movie. From then until now, I knew emulating him was good practice. One day we were planting trees. A six-year-old is always convinced more is better, so I […]
What do they know that I don’t?
Last Thursday I published a post on Medium. It’s a new site for long-form publishing. Authors can post to a variety of collections. Readers can leave notes for authors. It’s a great place if you enjoy the exchange of ideas. Medium is also exclusive. Eventually everyone’s going to be able to publish their own content […]
The famous garage door paradox
My name’s Eric and I’ve been in competition with a garage door since I was six. Every time I leave my parents’ house I lock the door, hit the button and sprint out of the garage like Indiana Jones before the door can close me in. It’s never been easy. Twenty-two years ago the distance […]
