Living in Baltimore, I’ve developed a hard shell. Everyone has a story. Everyone wants your spare change. I’ll cop to sometimes ignoring someone on the street or at a gas station when I don’t have the time or patience for it. I was in one of those moods when we were driving I-70 in Western […]
Archives for December 2017
When My Dad Almost Struck Gold
My dad grew up in New York state on the North Fork of Long Island. In 1952, when he was 16, his widowed step-grandmother Vera announced she was moving to Oil City, Pennsylvania. But first, she wanted to simplify and downsize. Would my dad be interested in buying her gold coins at face value? At […]
We Brake for Free Firewood and Other Frugal Heating Adventures
For men, they say that you marry a younger version of your mom. That may be true, but in one way, my wife Nora is very similar to my dad. I told you before about how Dad is not afraid to lay down a 4-wheel skid (in the days before ABS anyway) if he sees […]