Author: maryanncrum

    Not to cast a pall on what I hope is a pleasant weekend for you, but I’ve been struck recently with the brevity, fragility and significance of our lives on this planet.     Like comedienne Carol Burnett used to sing at the end of her T.V. show: “Seems we just get started and before… Continue reading Pursue Hearts, Not Headlines

  Have you ever been called a “Luddite”? Well, I have — by my normally very kind husband. Here’s why … Ned Ludd was an English factory worker who went berserk in 1779 and destroyed weaving machinery because he feared it would make human workers obsolete. Several years later, a group of weavers went on a… Continue reading Are You a Luddite, Too?

             Today’s science lesson, from one of the most unscientific souls you’ll ever meet, is about momentum. Real scientists will tell you that momentum involves complicated concepts like mass, velocity, vector sums and the like.             My definition of momentum, of course, is a bit easier to grasp: a fickle force that is impossible to predict,… Continue reading Lady Mo is Going to Shift

                A bass stranded in a drainage ditch, a couple of ladies on their way to a party, dense woods and a nearby pond – perhaps not a typical scenario for an epic rescue story … and yet, it was … sort of.                 A group of women from my church got together recently at… Continue reading As Helpless as a Fish in the Woods

                When you’re surrounded by strange, I guess strange starts to look normal.                 That’s the only explanation I can come up with for Al Sharpton’s remarks during the recent memorial service for singer Michael Jackson. Addressing Jackson’s children, Sharpton said, “There wasn’t nothin’ strange about your daddy.”                 ’Scuse me?                 Certainly, Jackson’s talent… Continue reading When Strange Becomes Normal

           I recently stumbled upon this quote from an official Japanese guide for English-speaking drivers: “Beware of greasy corner where lurk skid demon.”             After deciphering and pondering that little gem, I thought, “That’ll preach.”             Especially right now as folks in this neck of the woods are processing the shocking revelation that our governor was… Continue reading Beware the “Skid Demon”

            While I wouldn’t endorse all the humor of the late comic George Carlin, he pretty much hit the nail on the head with his legendary 1980s routine about “stuff.”              “A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it,” Carlin said. “You can see that when you’re taking off in… Continue reading “Stuff” Clutters Our Hearts and Homes

               Silly me. When I was anticipating becoming a grandmother for the first time, I thought about lots of things: Would I have to go out and buy support hose and orthopedic shoes to look the part? How rusty were my baby skills — changing diapers, installing car seats, fixing bottles, etc.?                 But I… Continue reading Sometimes, Names Do Matter

I just finished taking another trip with Talky Tina and I need to vent my angst.             Talky Tina is the GPS (global positioning system) “broad in a box” who tells my husband how to get where he’s going, an exalted position that used to be mine alone. It would seem my days as chief… Continue reading Nobody Likes a Bully

          For the second time in a year, our neighbors’ house was recently broken into and it really ticks me off.             So much so that by the time you read this, getting inside my garrisoned home will be like trying to break into Ft. Knox. We’re installing a high-tech security system, so to pilferers… Continue reading There’s a Thief in the ‘Hood