Posted 06/23/2009
Ray Romano’s First Letterman Performance
Great stuff!
By Kevin Knebl
Karin and I have loved Ray for years and think he’s a genius. If you have kids, you’ll get his humor even more. This is mandatory viewing for future parents. Read More >>
Posted 05/18/2009
Knock-Knock!
Stickiness is a good sign
By Gael Stuart
I recently heard an adult tell a knock-knock joke that left everyone in the room trying desperately to hold back a silly grin. I was suddenly a little girl again, leaning against my mother and waiting for her reaction to this. . . . Read More >>
Posted 05/07/2009
I’m Having a Hot Flash
College funds wasted on a new Dodge Viper?
By Don Griffin
Dear Blabby and Crabby:
Our grandson will start college this fall. Over the past few years, his grandfather and I have given him several thousand dollars for his college fund. His maternal grandparents have done the same, which meant that our son and daughter-in-law didn’t have to spend hardly any of their own money to send him to college. Here’s our problem. The little weasel got an ROTC scholarship and spent all of the money on a brand new Dodge Viper. My husband and son think it’s “cool.” I’m “hot” over his actions and think it’s outrageous, since he could have invested the money and bought a nice house someday. Am I wrong? Signed: Boiling Brenda
Blabby: There are many good reasons why the term “generation gap” has surfaced in our language. Here’s another fine example. Read More >>
Our grandson will start college this fall. Over the past few years, his grandfather and I have given him several thousand dollars for his college fund. His maternal grandparents have done the same, which meant that our son and daughter-in-law didn’t have to spend hardly any of their own money to send him to college. Here’s our problem. The little weasel got an ROTC scholarship and spent all of the money on a brand new Dodge Viper. My husband and son think it’s “cool.” I’m “hot” over his actions and think it’s outrageous, since he could have invested the money and bought a nice house someday. Am I wrong? Signed: Boiling Brenda
Blabby: There are many good reasons why the term “generation gap” has surfaced in our language. Here’s another fine example. Read More >>
Posted 12/30/2008
Cooking to Die For
By Don Griffin
Dear Blabby and Crabby:
My wife passed away six months ago. Since then, our friends and neighbors, and even strangers, have been so kind and considerate. Almost every evening, I receive one or more casseroles from the caring single women in our community. In addition, they’ve been offering to do many of my household chores. I’ve gained 20 pounds since my wife’s death, and my refrigerator is full of leftovers. While I greatly appreciate their gestures, I don’t know how to gracefully decline their offerings without hurting their feelings. Do you two have any suggestions? Signed: Bulging Bill
Blabby: It’s been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. No doubt there are single ladies around who are practicing this old adage.
Read More >>Posted 02/13/2009
He’s Driving Me Insane!
By Don Griffin
Dear Blabby and Crabby:
My husband is one of the Clueless Left-Lane Drivers of America! He’ll drive in the left lane at 3 a.m. in any metropolitan area with an eight-lane freeway and no traffic. What’s worse, he slows down to talk on his cell phone and stays in the left lane. I’ve had it with all of the irate drivers who pass and yell obscenities and give us those awful hand and finger gestures. What can I do to get him to change his driving habits? Signed: Longing to Change Lanes
Crabby: I’ve been getting a lot of those gestures lately, but I don’t drive in the left lane.
Blabby: What are you doing that is causing a problem?
Crabby: Nothing! I always drive 45 miles per hour. I’m a careful driver. Read More >>
My husband is one of the Clueless Left-Lane Drivers of America! He’ll drive in the left lane at 3 a.m. in any metropolitan area with an eight-lane freeway and no traffic. What’s worse, he slows down to talk on his cell phone and stays in the left lane. I’ve had it with all of the irate drivers who pass and yell obscenities and give us those awful hand and finger gestures. What can I do to get him to change his driving habits? Signed: Longing to Change Lanes
Crabby: I’ve been getting a lot of those gestures lately, but I don’t drive in the left lane.
Blabby: What are you doing that is causing a problem?
Crabby: Nothing! I always drive 45 miles per hour. I’m a careful driver. Read More >>
Posted 02/27/2009
Martha to the Rescue
By Don Griffin
Dear Blabby and Crabby:
I’m concerned about my wife’s social behavior lately. She records what she serves each of our guests whenever we have anyone over for a meal. She also lists what they drink. In addition, she has started placing tags on each item in her wardrobe with the names of the people she sees whenever she’s in public so she won’t risk wearing the same outfit again when we go out. She spends hours on the computer organizing this data. In addition, she’s started purchasing new outfits for almost every occasion, since our circle of friends is small. She doesn’t want to violate social dress code. She frets over what to serve at our dinner parties. Her behavior is costing me money, but I’m mostly concerned she’s losing her mind. Can you help me with this problem? Signed: SOS (Save Our Sarah)
Blabby: This sounds as if it’s a real serious SOS. How can we help Sarah’s husband help Sarah?
Crabby: If she’s good on the computer, we could hire her and give her a clothing allowance. Read More >>
I’m concerned about my wife’s social behavior lately. She records what she serves each of our guests whenever we have anyone over for a meal. She also lists what they drink. In addition, she has started placing tags on each item in her wardrobe with the names of the people she sees whenever she’s in public so she won’t risk wearing the same outfit again when we go out. She spends hours on the computer organizing this data. In addition, she’s started purchasing new outfits for almost every occasion, since our circle of friends is small. She doesn’t want to violate social dress code. She frets over what to serve at our dinner parties. Her behavior is costing me money, but I’m mostly concerned she’s losing her mind. Can you help me with this problem? Signed: SOS (Save Our Sarah)
Blabby: This sounds as if it’s a real serious SOS. How can we help Sarah’s husband help Sarah?
Crabby: If she’s good on the computer, we could hire her and give her a clothing allowance. Read More >>
Posted 07/10/2009
Political Aspirations
A whole new adventure?
By Don Griffin
Dear Blabby and Crabby:
My husband, Harry, is considering running for our homeowners’ association board of directors and has this hare-brained idea that he can win. He spends most of his time watching CNN and has an opinion on how to solve every problem in the world. Between newscasts, all he does is eat and sleep. He doesn’t participate in any activities, clubs, or organizations, but somehow he’s come up with this plan to get himself elected. I think he watched too much of the presidential election campaign. The problem is, he wants me to take an active part in helping him get elected. I wouldn’t vote for the nutcase, and I sure don’t want to be embarrassed by getting involved in his campaign. Any suggestions? Signed: Ready to Commit Harry (Kerri)
Blabby: It’s easy to see why Kerri has an issue. Uncontrolled political ambition has soured many good marriages.
Crabby: Yes, you’re correct, but in Harry’s case, he may have set his sights too low. Eating, sleeping, watching CNN, and getting nothing else done sounds like our current Congress. He might as well jump into national politics with his qualifications. Read More >>
My husband, Harry, is considering running for our homeowners’ association board of directors and has this hare-brained idea that he can win. He spends most of his time watching CNN and has an opinion on how to solve every problem in the world. Between newscasts, all he does is eat and sleep. He doesn’t participate in any activities, clubs, or organizations, but somehow he’s come up with this plan to get himself elected. I think he watched too much of the presidential election campaign. The problem is, he wants me to take an active part in helping him get elected. I wouldn’t vote for the nutcase, and I sure don’t want to be embarrassed by getting involved in his campaign. Any suggestions? Signed: Ready to Commit Harry (Kerri)
Blabby: It’s easy to see why Kerri has an issue. Uncontrolled political ambition has soured many good marriages.
Crabby: Yes, you’re correct, but in Harry’s case, he may have set his sights too low. Eating, sleeping, watching CNN, and getting nothing else done sounds like our current Congress. He might as well jump into national politics with his qualifications. Read More >>
Posted 05/21/2009
Duffer’s Dementia
Convenient mental lapses when counting strokes?
By Don Griffin
Dear Blabby and Crabby:
I play golf twice a week with Frank (not his real name) in a regular foursome. Frank is in his late 60s and is in good physical and mental health. However, Frank frequently has mental lapses (maybe) when it comes to remembering how many strokes he takes on some holes. At least two or three times each round, he comes up short in his stroke count for a hole played.
When we ask him a second time for the count on a hole just to give him an opportunity to recount, he never changes his first answer. The other two players in our group have noticed Frank’s incorrect stroke count, but we’re not sure how to deal with the issue. Any advice as to how we can resolve this problem without risking our friendship? Signed: Frustrated with Frank
Blabby: It’s easy to see why Frank’s playing partners are frustrated. The founding principles of golf include both honesty and integrity. Read More >>
I play golf twice a week with Frank (not his real name) in a regular foursome. Frank is in his late 60s and is in good physical and mental health. However, Frank frequently has mental lapses (maybe) when it comes to remembering how many strokes he takes on some holes. At least two or three times each round, he comes up short in his stroke count for a hole played.
When we ask him a second time for the count on a hole just to give him an opportunity to recount, he never changes his first answer. The other two players in our group have noticed Frank’s incorrect stroke count, but we’re not sure how to deal with the issue. Any advice as to how we can resolve this problem without risking our friendship? Signed: Frustrated with Frank
Blabby: It’s easy to see why Frank’s playing partners are frustrated. The founding principles of golf include both honesty and integrity. Read More >>
Posted 09/17/2008
Going to the Dogs
By Don Griffin
Dear Blabby and Crabby:
My husband decided about a year ago to buy a small dog. He purchased a female toy poodle and paid $400, which I felt at the time was outrageous. The dog goes with him everywhere and even sits on his lap when he drives, which I think is a dumb thing to do—it’s potentially dangerous. The dog even sleeps in our bed. The dog first ruined my carpets and now is starting to ruin my marriage. What can I do? Signed: Lonely in My Own Dog House
Blabby: It sounds as if there are some serious issues in this marriage. Mrs. Lonely’s husband appears to have shifted his affection to the new dog.
Crabby: Yes, I recall someone saying that you should never underestimate the warmth of a cold nose. Read More >>
My husband decided about a year ago to buy a small dog. He purchased a female toy poodle and paid $400, which I felt at the time was outrageous. The dog goes with him everywhere and even sits on his lap when he drives, which I think is a dumb thing to do—it’s potentially dangerous. The dog even sleeps in our bed. The dog first ruined my carpets and now is starting to ruin my marriage. What can I do? Signed: Lonely in My Own Dog House
Blabby: It sounds as if there are some serious issues in this marriage. Mrs. Lonely’s husband appears to have shifted his affection to the new dog.
Crabby: Yes, I recall someone saying that you should never underestimate the warmth of a cold nose. Read More >>
Posted 08/30/2008
Family Buzzards
By Don Griffin
Dear Blabby and Crabby:
My 89-year-old mother just passed away. She outlived my father by eight years. With both our parents gone, my brothers and sisters are now starting to fight over the distribution of our parents’ personal assets that weren’t specifically included in either of their wills. I hate this bickering and greed that’s come over the family. Could you suggest an approach that would resolve the distribution of assets to everyone’s satisfaction? Signed: Grieving Gwen
Blabby: It makes me sad to see this problem occur so often in otherwise loving families. It’s almost impossible to resolve the distribution of parental assets to everyone’s satisfaction. Read More >>
My 89-year-old mother just passed away. She outlived my father by eight years. With both our parents gone, my brothers and sisters are now starting to fight over the distribution of our parents’ personal assets that weren’t specifically included in either of their wills. I hate this bickering and greed that’s come over the family. Could you suggest an approach that would resolve the distribution of assets to everyone’s satisfaction? Signed: Grieving Gwen
Blabby: It makes me sad to see this problem occur so often in otherwise loving families. It’s almost impossible to resolve the distribution of parental assets to everyone’s satisfaction. Read More >>
