Recent Comments

1. 1 day ago on Crankshaft

   I, too, was a marching band member in school (trumpet, bass drum) in the late 1970’s. Our band director could be a rigorous drillmaster at times. One day, I remember how he focused on my four-person squad at band practice. Any time one of us made a misstep or misplayed a note, he’d make the entire marching band start over from the beginning. He’d shout into his megaphone, “Take it back!” It was one heck of a long band practice. He could be strict, but all the students liked him. There was even talk of inviting him to one of the high school reunions.

   People in my high school marching band found Harry Dinkle amusing because he was an overdramatized version of our band director. In that role, Harry Dinkle was hilarious. However, he is no longer a band director and is now bossing around elderly ladies in the choir with excessively long choir practices. He was also second-guessing and interfering with the authority of the current high school band director. Harry Dinkle is now seen bullying attendees of a writers’ festival. No one can withstand the will of Harry Dinkle. Not even his hearing loss could resist the will of Dinkle.

   The passage of time has not treated this character well. Harry Dinkle is out of place and belongs to another era. He is is a wretched, egotistical, condescending, smug, obnoxious, bullying, contemptible jerk. I no longer find him funny at all.

2. 1 day ago on Crankshaft

   If they receive a substandard meal at a restaurant, instead of complaining to the waiter, they will still eat it.

3. 1 day ago on Crankshaft

   Losers of the lucky draw get TWO free band turkey dinners with the author.

4. 8 days ago on FurBabies

   My mom and dad met while working together at Bolta in the 1950s. One of Mom’s sisters lived in Lawrence. The other sister lived in North Andover. Her brother lived in Salem NH. They’re all gone now. I had some cousins on Oakland Avenue in Methuen. The parents are deceased and the kids have moved away. I had some cousins in Salem, NH, but they moved to Florida after retirement. Now I have no remaining New England relatives, that I know of. Many of Mom’s relatives are buried in Bellevue Cemetery.

   Like my cousins, my siblings are scattered all over the country. Only I still live in Ohio.

   I remember a gas station where Elm and Lowell Street met. I vaguely remember the name Haffner’s, but I definitely remember the kicking donkey and the wall leading up to the intersection.

   Late last year, I became curious about my time in Methuen and investigated online. My old house on Louise Avenue had just been sold and was listed on Zillow with a photo gallery. It was good to see the house again even though I don’t remember it very well. Talk about good timing.

   I tried to look up my best friend who lived the next street over on Elm, only to discover his obituary. He died only a month before I looked him up. Talk about bad timing. Except for the early death, he seems to have had a good life.

5. 9 days ago on Crankshaft

   Nuts and bolts. Nuts and bolts. We’ve been screwed.

6. 9 days ago on FurBabies

   I live in a suburb of Akron, Ohio. My dad worked for Bolta Products, a division of General Tire, in Lawrence. He transferred to the General Tire Akron headquarters in the late 1960s.

   My mom was from Lawrence, while my dad was from Manchester, NH. We used to live on Louise Avenue in Methuen.

7. 10 days ago on FurBabies

   Methuen, Massachusetts? There’s a name that rings a bell. I lived the first five years of my life there.

8. 18 days ago on Non Sequitur

   Folding sheets? Why? I buy my sheet sets one at a time and wash them once a week. Into the washer, then the dryer, then back onto the bed.

9. 19 days ago on Day by Dave

   I like “Hop Scotch” better.

10. 22 days ago on Red and Rover

    I remember the Nestle Quik cans with metal tops, bottoms, and lids from the 1970s. You needed a strong spoon or a screwdriver to pry the lid off. The last spoonful usually went directly into my mouth. Chocolate and strawberry flavor, though I vaguely remember vanilla Quik.