Parents Behaving Badly

LightGrams April 13, 2017 Volume 21, Number 13 What could be more adorable than a community Easter Egg Hunt, especially when it is hosted by the local volunteer fire department?  Residents of Pottstown, Pennsylvania will have to imagine that scenario this year.  Officials with the fire department have announced that this year’s egg hunt has…

You’re Being Watched

LightGrams March 30, 2017 Volume 21, Number 12 There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about our privacy nowadays.  Technology has produced surveillance devices the average person might never notice.  Many private vehicles now sport dash cams, and cameras are mounted in numerous stores, city streets – even church buildings!  We are indeed being…

The GOAT

LightGrams March 23, 2017 Volume 21, Number 11 I remember the morning well, though it was a few years ago.  I had just opened the garage door to put something in the trash and I saw an animal walking up the slope in our back yard.  It took only a moment to identify it –…

Filled Out Your Brackets?

LightGrams March 16, 2017 Volume 21, Number 10 As I write this, you only have a couple of hours left to submit your brackets.  I’m referring (in case you didn’t know) to an activity that occupies the minds of millions of Americans at this time every year.  It’s called “March Madness” for a reason.  People…

The High Cost Of Parking

LightGrams March 9, 2017 Volume 21, Number 9 Like most others I know, there has never been a time in my adult life when I didn’t own a car.  Some have been ugly and barely operable, but I’ve always had a ride.  But when I read the story from Brooklyn this morning, I understand why…

Haunted By Garbage

LightGrams February 23, 2017 Volume 21, Number 8 Connor Cox is like any other college student who lives away from home.  When a package arrives in the mail, he’s eager to get into it.  One of the two packages he received the other day at Westminster College (New Wilmington, PA) was what he hoped it…

Pay $14 Billion And Go Home

LightGrams February 16, 2017 Volume 21, Number 7 Claudia Brown is relatively new in her position as Justice of the Peace in Bell County, Texas.  When a man was recently brought before her to be charged with first degree murder, she first set his bell at $100,000.  He had willingly turned himself in, she reasoned,…

“Melting Masterpieces”

LightGrams February 9, 2017 Volume 21, Number 6 When I was young I loved playing in the snow.  Almost every new snowfall would find me rolling balls of snow as I constructed a snowman.  I knew my creation would not last beyond the 32-degree mark.  My best work was doomed from the outset. There’s a…

The Report Of My Death …

LightGrams February 2, 2017 Volume 21, Number 5 “The report of my death was an exaggeration,” is a line written by Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain) in May of 1897. Clemens was traveling abroad, and reports had been published of his “grave illness”, eventually leading to his reported death.  A reporter had written to inquire…

Look Who’s In The Back Seat!

LightGrams January 26, 2017 Volume 21, Number 4 Sam Snow drives a taxi in Washington, D.C.  Last Friday, the day of the Presidential Inauguration, he picked up three riders.  Since Snow was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jacket and cap, the conversation turned to professional football. “Who’s the best all-time quarterback?” Snow was asked.  He responded…