Each year for Christmas, I always put cigars at the top of my list. If I’ve been particularly good that year, my kids usually spring for a pack or two and they are always good cigars, not like the cheap stogies I normally buy. This past Christmas, my daughter Laura came through with a 4-pack of Cubans. They were specially packaged and looked great. I horde cigars like that, waiting for a … [Read more...]

A fellow died and found himself standing in the long line to judgement. As he stood there, he noticed that those marching to the right went through the Pearly Gates into Heaven, while those heading left went to Satan, who threw them into the fiery pit. But every now and then, the devil would toss one aside into a small pile. Curious, the man strolled over to Satan and asked: “Excuse me, Mr. … [Read more...]

Sportsmen face many obstacles in their outdoor careers. Driving a Jeep down a muddy, rut-filled logging road deep in a grouse covert comes to mind. But that’s not the most difficult challenge. Stepping squarely on a hornet’s nest while creeping in on a spring gobbler is no walk in the park, but worse can happen. An outdoors type might even find himself or herself between a mother bear and her cubs … [Read more...]

I saw on TV last week that someone had developed an app for I-phones to remind forgetful parents that they had a baby in the back seat and not to forget and go to work and leave the infant there in a hot car with the windows rolled up. I’m not making this up. And I have an app for those parents. Use your brain. Anybody who can’t remember they are hauling an infant around should be removed … [Read more...]

  We chose the Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Pride of America to tour the Hawaiian Islands primarily because it is the only liner that cruises the islands. There are no other choices. They’ve got you by the short and curlies. Our goal for this vacation was to see as much as possible, not necessarily do as much as possible, and we thought that island hopping by ship was the best bet. The Pride … [Read more...]

… [Read more...]

  Carlos Santos had been avoiding me. He knew what we had to do, but had been putting it off. My old friend, you see, had a pretty good fender bender with the car of a teenager who thought that texting his girlfriend was more important than looking out the rear view mirror when backing out on a major thoroughfare. Crunch! My friend now has a nervous tic in his right eye due to … [Read more...]

  I like a little fruit for breakfast – blueberries, strawberries, bananas and especially cantaloupes. But I haven’t had even a decent cantaloupe all year long. I’ll see them in the produce department - $3.99 with card – and the cards taste better. They are tasteless and basically inedible. Grocery stores wouldn’t sell you a steak that was inedible, or a half-gallon of milk or a … [Read more...]

My hunting pants had met their match in a spirited contest with a blackberry thicket on the last day of rabbit season. There was big tear across the right front leg and a 12-inch rip in the back seat. Unfortunately, the rip in the seat had nothing to do with the blackberry thicket, but more to do with too many blackberry pie servings throughout the year. I not only tore my hunting pants, but I … [Read more...]

Outdoorsmen are not known as natty dressers. You hardly ever see any of us in GQ magazine, or any other magazine for that matter – except maybe Field & Stream and Outdoor Life. When camouflage is your favorite color, you are not runway material for Fifth Avenue fashion shows. An outdoorsman is more of a practical dresser than a fashion buff. An old flannel shirt with most of the front … [Read more...]