Dear Customers, Starting a new year is stressful, at least for me.  Instead of looking at it as a “clean slate” with endless possibilities, I seem to dwell on the negative aspects:  Writing “2022” has become automatic and now I’m pretty sure at some point I’m going to slip up and forget the ‘3’ at…

Dear Customers, There is an old fable about a young swineherd who accidentally burned down his family’s cottage killing the nine pigs trapped inside.  While trying to invent a plausible explanation, he became tempted by the delicious smell emanating from the burning rubble.  He had some difficulty getting his father to take a taste because…

Dear Customers, From the time I was a little boy, whenever I’d hear Christmas carols, I’d start getting really excited for the holiday!  It was probably because Christmas was right around the corner! Sixty years ago, you never heard Christmas music on the radio until December!  Now, kids are going door-to-door for Halloween and satellite…

Dear Customers, You’ve no doubt heard it said, “an elephant never forgets!”  Humans, however, are prone to forgetfulness.  We forget mercifully, habitually, and conveniently!   When my oldest son was born in 1975, I wasn’t allowed in the delivery room which was fine with me.  However, for births two through five I was expected to be…

Dear Customers, It seems hard to believe that over 90% of 2022 is history.  In fact, all that’s left is the month of December!  But the last month of the year promises to be chock full of so much festivity that it will sap your energy and try your patience. For the next three weeks…

Dear Customers, One of the perks of getting older is that the memories of our youth often take on a nostalgic “sepia” tone.  Funny how we manage to purge a lot of the low points from our consciousness, while the good times play over and over in our heads each year. When I think of…

Dear Customers, The “Big Week” is here at last.  Who’d a thunk that a Thursday would become so revered in this nation’s collective consciousness?  It’s not a weekend?  It’s not a three-day holiday. . . Stop to think why.  We celebrate the anniversary of the beginning of our new nation as the Pilgrims did –…

Dear Customers, In less than two weeks’ time, America’s number one food consumption day of the year will be at hand!  November 24th is Thanksgiving, a veritable cornucopia of entrees, side dishes, and desserts interspersed with 4, count’ ‘em FOUR football games that last from noon till well after my bedtime!  That includes the tryptophan…

Dear Customers, There’s something very dreary about the forests of Penn’s Woods when they become devoid of foliage.  Maybe because we know it’ll be six or seven months before we see the trees fully leafed out again! This time of year, particularly when we return to Standard Time, the days are so much shorter and…

Dear Customers, Long about 9 or 10 o’clock in the evening, my eyelids begin to get heavy.  My body starts winding down in preparation for the next 8 or so hours of sleep.  Except for the exact times, this routine plays out, with little deviation, every night of the week.  November is the annual equivalent…