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Dad in the Box

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  • Small_thumb_b740140c0afc95b31baa_cicada-itch

    The Seventeen-Year Itch
    by John Christmann
    May 21, 2013

    The nasty bugs were everywhere; an undulating mass of tiny brown nymphs inching up trees and telephone poles and doorways and traffic ...

  • Small_thumb_21728db4cc4764baae53_hearing-aid

    Hearing Is Believing
    by John Christmann
    May 2, 2013

    I hear lots of interesting things from the back seat of the car.   For example, it was in the car that I learned that the th...

  • Small_thumb_abe8c003f48f03ae4487_good-buddy

    1040 Good Buddy
    by John Christmann
    April 15, 2013

    I owe HOW much? This is the way I usually greet my tax accountant who I see once a year.  Sometimes I even say hello before I...

  • Small_thumb_c198395d8e4d598567ba_i-am-not-a-foodie

    We Are What We Eat
    by John Christmann
    March 28, 2013

    Let me just say right off the bat that I love food.  The more the better.  Especially greasy, salty, spicy foods that are no...

  • Small_thumb_d9c1390937cc374abaf4_brain-on-teenagers

    This is Your Brain on Teenagers
    by John Christmann
    March 7, 2013

    I have three.  For several years I had one.  Then, just like that, on a birthday, I had three.   I am talking ...

  • Small_thumb_d9f3cb196152874e8802_love-alarm

    Time For Love
    by John Christmann
    February 14, 2013

    Today is Valentine’s Day.  Expectations are high.  There are cards to sign, poems to write, flowers to buy, candy ...

  • Small_thumb_35faef8c8bf894f81c20_super-brothers

    Oh, Brother!
    by John Christmann
    January 31, 2013

    Greetings sports fans!  Super Sunday is fast approaching and if you are like me, you probably want to catch up with the latest Su...

  • Small_thumb_c100b8f2e7d17d9371a3_angry-swineflu

    In With the In Crowd
    by John Christmann
    January 15, 2013

    I am a trendsetter.  This is territory with which I am totally unfamiliar.  I have never in my life been ahead of the cu...

  • Small_thumb_f4edccb0bfb8916e8824_child-god

    The Grace of God
    by John Christmann
    December 24, 2012

    Not only is there no god, but try getting a plumber on weekends. - Woody Allen I have been thinking a lot lately.  As my wi...

  • Small_thumb_072e78f27089344bb775_santa-plane

    Bad Air Days
    by John Christmann
    December 7, 2012

    I have been traveling through airports a lot recently.  Airline travel is a form of transportation in which passengers are packed...

  • Small_thumb_4ad51870230fd04629ee_light-noir

    Light Noir
    by John Christmann
    November 8, 2012

    The lights flickered fitfully before dying completely.  Like the extinguished gasps of dead men who know too much.   Ou...

  • Small_thumb_0150e9883dde2492192b_cat-dog

    Pet Projects
    by John Christmann
    October 12, 2012

    Clyde is a dog. He could easily be a cat or a rabbit or a fish or a bird or a snake or a pig or hamster or any other animal someon...

  • Small_thumb_1c12d0a5a455b7a29b5b_reality-tv

    Easting My Dust: Episode II
    by John Christmann
    September 20, 2012

    “You hit a . . . WHAT?” I like to insert a little TV sitcom drama into conversations with my son.   Like Jer...

  • Small_thumb_fd76d2213f94626284c3_caution-parent

    Eating My Dust
    by John Christmann
    September 17, 2012

    My car drove off and left me standing alone in the driveway. On one hand, I was delighted that I didn’t have to drive.  ...

  • Small_thumb_aeebe186a82d03fdbf57_beach-walk

    Picture Perfect
    by John Christmann
    August 30, 2012

    Picture this:  A quiet, romantic beach lining a sheltered cove.  A fiery red sun suspended low in a vibrant blue sky mot...

  • Small_thumb_2bcef6487614bd64f10e_mud-sling

    Positively Negative
    by John Christmann
    August 17, 2012

    After enduring two weeks of television advertising that accompanied Olympic coverage, I am ready for a lobotomy.   Fortunate...

  • Small_thumb_f1ee12c46735b413e8e8_olympic-darts

    Pretty Darn Good
    by John Christmann
    August 2, 2012

    I want to be an Olympian.  Oh, not just any run-of-the mill, best-in-the-world athlete, mind you.  I want to be an NBC Olymp...

  • Small_thumb_9b6b4a0abd56a6a1ff39_homer-asleep

    The Day Away
    by John Christmann
    July 27, 2012

    I can’t sleep.  There are just too many lumpy objects under my mattress: painful dilemmas, problems without solutions, worr...

  • Small_thumb_d79ac976fc3bbe6c94a1_car-surgeon

    The Ultimate Driving Machine
    by John Christmann
    June 25, 2012

    I am seated nervously in the examination room waiting for a consultation with a physician.   I have never had cosmetic surge...

  • Small_thumb_1198ca4b4189c84acbb3_homer-worried

    Dreaming of Dad
    by John Christmann
    June 15, 2012

    In my failure to be recognized as Time Magazine’s Father of the Year, I forgot two very important considerations.  One, Tim...

  • Small_thumb_2592577fe4c6d985796d_investment-coaster

    Investing In Our Future
    by John Christmann
    May 24, 2012

    My kids have been asking me about money lately.  How to get it.  How to invest it.  How to avoid losing billions. ...

  • Small_thumb_79f3cd7c73832771401b_isis-goddess

    The Mother of All Days
    by John Christmann
    May 10, 2012

    The second Sunday in May is upon us.  Mother’s Day.  The day we honor everything mom.   The day my kids and ...

  • Small_thumb_5fd9d6fce15882ea3aae_titanic-taxes

    Titanic Taxes
    by John Christmann
    April 12, 2012

    In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.  - Ben Franklin One hundred years ago, on April 15,...

  • Small_thumb_fe7d369d79bdd0c6dee6_keep-sakes

    We Are What We Keep
    by John Christmann
    March 29, 2012

    A lot has been written lately about the Collyer brothers who became notorious in New York City during the 1940s for their reclusive ho...

  • Small_thumb_9ef35f94094cfe9b3ba4_super-triathlon

    Tri and Try Again
    by John Christmann
    March 15, 2012

    Let’s face it.  There are times in life when we have to make a change.  When stagnation leaves us no choice but to rei...