I had a hankering for some banana bread, is how it started. So I bought three bananas when I did the grocery shopping last week. You need ripe bananas for banana bread, so I set them aside thinking, I’ll make the bread this weekend. I says to Charlie, “I’m saving these bananas for banana bread, OK?” No reply. “Charlie!” I hold up the bananas. “I’m saving these bananas for banana bread.” “Heard you the first time.” “Well, sometimes it’s hard to tell.” “What do you want to me to do? A cartwheel” “No need to get sarcastic. A simple “OK” or “yup” would be sufficient.” Again, nothing. Honest to God! It’s enough to drive a …

When is a bargain a bargain, and when is it a waste of time and money? Case in point:  What a Deal On my way home from the dump I stopped at someone’s sale I smelled a bargain lurking, and This nose, it doesn’t fail I zoomed in on some rubber boots They just jumped out at me The kind you’d wear for hunting ducks, That come up to your knee LaCrosse 800’s what they were And just as good as new They looked about my size, and fully Insulated, too “Are you a ten?” the woman asked Ten is what I wear “Then they should fit you good and snug And keep you dry …

With all that’s going on in the country, on TV, heck our town meeting right here in Mahoosuc Mills was louder and more mean spirited than ever before, it seems like we’ve forgotten some basic things we were taught as a kid. What happened to common courtesy? Good manners were drilled into me by my parents. There’s no getting around it. Not that I’d want to. Being polite is a good thing, and has served me well over the years. It was hard getting the hang of it at first, though. In our house, you had to say “please,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome.” End of story. There was none of this, “Now what do …

Did you give up something for Lent? That used to be a big deal, didn’t it? I don’t think people do it so much, now. Seems the older I get, the harder it is to come up with something to abstain from during Lent. It’s not that I’m so pure. It’s that I’m so boring. When we were little, my sister Irene and me would give up candy, of course. But in our family there was a loop hole. Sundays during Lent didn’t count. So we’d save up our stash all week, then pig out on the Lord’s day. I remember this one Lenten Sunday in particular. (This is back in the days where you …