Who woulda thunk that a little thing like a communications dilemma wrought by Hurricane Irma could give rise to a discourse on environmental degradation by a scribe atop his soapbox? The reason behind the enormity of Irma and her kissin’ cousin Harvey, the world’s climatologists tell us, is the warming of the oceans. That, and […]
Costco store, Lantana, Florida When you write a novel based on a significant crime that happened in your area, it leads to encounters and conversations that make the experience of being an author gratifying at times and, at others, just a tad disquieting. When I visit the Costco store in Lantana – two or […]
Lake Worth, Florida Attention book lovers and authors! A spiffy new bookstore is set to open in Lake Worth. It’s called Book Cellar, and the grand opening is a week from today, Friday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. Y’all come. Book Cellar is a welcome addition to a locale deficient in independent bookstores. Let’s […]
About eight years ago, my then-doctor did a routine blood test to determine my numbers for cholesterol, triglycerides, homocysteine, and those other markers they rely on to assess your health, particularly of the heart. Aha! My LDL cholesterol – you know, the “bad” kind – was 145. “I’m going to put you on a statin,” […]
Jonathan F. Putnam Aside from the opportunity to hawk my books that the outdoor market at Manalapan has afforded me, it has been it has been a thoroughly enriching experience for the fascinating, and sometimes illustrious, people I have met. On Sunday, I met several authors, including a Lake Worth woman who holds a doctorate […]
Kathleen Parker Riffling through a haphazard array of papers left unattended on my desk for longer than I care to admit, I didn’t find what I was looking for, but happened upon a newspaper column from a couple of months ago that I’d intended to share. It’s by Kathleen Parker, an alleged conservative who, […]
The Grammar Grouch has been so busy lately venting his spleen on our sorry excuse for a president and a GOP Congress afraid to counter him that the grousing over grammar has been put on the back burner to simmer. Alas, a spate of miscues in the Grouch’s local news organ has aroused him from […]
Humana, my health insurer, called the other day with a recorded message urging me to get a flu shot. It ran through a little survey: Did I get a flu shot yet? No. Did I intend to get a flu shot? No. Then I was asked to choose the best reason from a list. One […]
Tampa Bay In 1973, only months after my first wife and I moved from Milwaukee to Tampa, we drove across Tampa Bay one Sunday afternoon to the beach in Clearwater. Returning in early evening, we were entertained by the radio sermon of a Southern preacher fulminating about the evils of “the fullness of bread.” […]
Governor Rick Scott Last week, the Palm Beach Post carried two stories on the same day. The headlines were: 1) “Scott seeks tax cuts despite budget strained by Irma”; 2) “Why good teachers quit.” You know the elections are drawing nigh when politicians start talking tax cuts. Florida’s Republican governor, Rick Scott, whose term […]