Author Archives: PMcG

If it quacks like kryptonite…

Every now and then we’ll be out shopping for another 50 pound bag of fertilizer or  attending a lecture on sustainable indifference to the neighbor’s wealth, when Katherine will say something like “Hold my bag for a second.” Yesterday it … Continue reading

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Infrequently Asked Questions

If a guy named Charles Wood is called “Woodchuck” by his friends, how long before he gets it?  When Johns Hopkins was a boy, did his friends call him Jacks? Why is f*rt a socially taboo word but you can … Continue reading

Posted in F.A.Q., News You Can Use (Sort of), The human comedy | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Fish story No. 1

Our man is invited on an all-expenses paid fishing trip to the deepest reaches of northwestern Ontario. Exclusive lodge in the middle of nowhere, accessible only by float plane. Four star accommodations including maid service in actual buildings—no tents, no … Continue reading

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Oh, the toe bone connected to the…

We tend to make fun of what we don’t understand, from abstract ideas to concrete individuals. And let’s be honest, there’s no one easier to laugh at than a cement head with a dumb idea. But in defense of mockery … Continue reading

Posted in Mockery and derision | Tagged , | 3 Comments

No soup for you

Katherine has just made gazpacho, the soup you don’t blow on.  She says “Do you like gazpacho?”  I reply “Well…”  Katherine says “Well what?”  Hesitantly, I venture “Um…”  She says “Are you afraid that if you say no, you’ll hurt … Continue reading

Posted in Absurd and/or zany, News You Can Use (Sort of), The human comedy | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

What goes around…

I have been asked to say a few words about all the insanity that’s happening around the world and in our own country and state and city and village and street and backyard and dining room and the little room … Continue reading

Posted in Absurd and/or zany, The human comedy | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Doctor, Doctor, Mister M.D.

Your annual checkup is two months away. You remember the last checkup. Doc comes in, apologizes for making you wait an hour in your underwear. Through chattering teeth you say no puh-puh-problem. I walk around like this all the tuh-tuh-tuh … Continue reading

Posted in The human comedy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments