The best pirates in history are not funny. Pirates who were good at their jobs took other people’s property by threatening violence, and they were prepared to carry out their threats. Even if they spoke in a funny pirate drawl and all looked like Johnny Depp,...
Some are terrified by the disease, and others are more frightened by the new vaccine introduced to produce immunity to the disease. While I could be talking about today’s reaction to COVID-19, I’m referring to the situation 300 years ago in Boston. In the spring of...
February 14 is a day associated with disappointed expectations and heart-shaped boxes of candy. I don’t think the disappointment need any sort of explanation. Or, frankly, the chocolate (although you can check out my blogs about growing chocolate and the history of...
I intended to write about why we sing the song “Jingle Bells” at Christmas, but after doing some research, I now wonder why we sing the song at all. If people knew the origin of Jingle Bells, it would disappear faster than you can say “cancel culture.” Jingle...
When you contemplate Election 2020, it is pretty easy to despair for the future of our nation. But it could be worse. Maybe. Nearly 200 years ago, a relatively young United States endured an election cycle of truly nasty proportions. And that was without social media,...
While tiki fans may disagree about the what makes a bar a genuine tiki bar, there is no doubt about the fact that a tiki bar must offer at least a few tiki drinks. Of course, what constitutes a tiki drink may be up for debate. In the original tiki bars discussed in my...
Tiki culture—the drinks, the food, the music, and most noticeably, the décor – looks like it came from somewhere. That’s the idea. Visiting a tiki bar is supposed to give you the feeling of escaping to a tropical, exotic paradise. But that tiki paradise never actually...
As I prepare for a tropical storm by painstakingly removing approximately 4000 pounds of tiki masks, thatched umbrellas, glass floats, and other potential hurricane projectiles from my yard, I blame my parents. Not for the storm, of course. But I’m blaming them for my...
“Stay safe!” has become the most common parting wish bestowed by friends and strangers alike in these COVID-centric times. All across the country, municipalities have cancelled 4th of July celebrations to keep people from gathering so that they remain safe. But this...
When did Memorial Day become the start of summer? While some people lay flags on the graves of the fallen during Memorial Day weekend, far more people celebrate this solemn holiday by stripping off their clothes and heading for the nearest pool or beach. When did...
