I Have A Fortune.

Well, it’s a fortune that came from a cookie. It was presented to me by a little boy today at my appearance at the Midtown Global Market. It reads: “The entire sum of existence is the magic of being needed … Continue reading

Military Friends, Please Help An Old Sailor Out.

I’m sending this appeal out to all my military friends, both active duty and prior service: send me your Christmas pictures. I know there are a lot of you with great photos taken recently, back during Vietnam, Korea, The Gulf … Continue reading

It’s Half-way Night.

In the naval tradition, the crews of warships celebrate a night that is the 1/2 way point of their deployment abroad. In the modern era this is a bit dicey, as deployments seem to go on endlessly for some ships. … Continue reading

My Most Perfect Christmas Gift: Ava.

Each Santa has a wealth of great stories. One of my favorites comes from my first few years as Santa. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember names that well, sometimes faces elude me. But one name, one date, and one … Continue reading

I Don’t Understand Myself, Much Less Any Of You. And That’s Just As It Should Be.

My wife is a font of wisdom. For many years she has voiced the opinion that she’s not envious of anyone else, because their life can only be unknown to others. In a nutshell, the person you think of as … Continue reading