Author: maryanncrum

    I’m not sure if dogs are vulnerable to human maladies, but I think maybe my dog Winston has caught a bad case of personicus discontentus. I’m guessing he got it from watching too much T.V. After all, there’s nothing like a steady dose of pop culture to create a big whoppin’ case of discontentment,… Continue reading Are you a “personicus discontentus”?

            It drives me nuts to realize that some Middle Eastern sheiks and Texas oil tycoons have turned us all into a bunch of riverboat gamblers. But that’s the exasperating feeling I have every time my gas gauge nears “E” these days.             Should I buy gas today when the price is an outrageous $2.65/gallon… Continue reading The Only Sure Thing in Life

            I knew my husband had many good features when I married him nearly 30 years ago. Joe is faithful, kind, intelligent, honest, fun, laid back, very tall, and more. (And “more” includes MINE, the best part of all!) What I didn’t know is that he is also equipped with an autopilot program that randomly… Continue reading Cruising on Autopilot is Dangerous

    Familiarity with some people and some things may indeed “breed contempt,” as the old adage goes. Sometimes, however, it breeds appreciation. In fact, it’s downright amazing what I’ve learned to enjoy when I’ve simply taken the time to educate myself a little.     Take curling, for example. No, not hairstyling. Curling, the winter Olympic… Continue reading Learning to Like Curling

    One of my favorite parts of the movie “Runaway Bride” is when Bob, the football coach fiancé of Maggie (Julia Roberts’ character), uses sports psychology techniques in a vain attempt to train his bride-to-be to overcome her immense fear and to actually walk down the wedding aisle and into holy matrimony.     “Focus on… Continue reading God Never Loses His Focus on Us

          Driving through town from the funeral home to the cemetery was a surreal experience. It was hard to comprehend that folks were simply going about their business, completely unaware that a light had gone out of the world.           For 89 years, Edith Thompson gracefully sailed seas that were rougher than most I’ve known… Continue reading A Life That Mattered

            We’ve considered installing a doggy door in our house – you know, those little free-swinging flaps that enable dogs to let themselves in and out all day. Our heating/cooling bill might surpass the budgets of some developing nations, but our dog, Winston, would certainly be a happy camper.             It seems our attention-deficient dog… Continue reading Are You In or Out?

           It’s enough to send paranoid, anxious souls scrambling for their nerve pills …            “A killer tornado could devastate Dallas, a category five hurricane could wipe out New York City, an earthquake could flatten L.A., a tsunami could wash the Pacific Northwest into the sea. It hasn’t happened yet, but it COULD happen TOMORROW,”… Continue reading It Could Happen Tomorrow

           Some folks consider getting lost an adventure. I am not one of those people.            I find nothing adventurous or exhilarating about trying to find my way out of a navigational black hole in a strange city. I usually have a pretty good sense of direction, but some cities are diabolically designed to be… Continue reading Found is Much Better Than Lost

           Ahhh, I do love the savory aroma of fresh-baked bread. Not enough to make it on a regular basis, but occasionally I like to roll up my sleeves and bake something completely delicious and nutritionally bankrupt. I know that the things that come out of my oven aren’t always very good for my body,… Continue reading Don’t Let the “Stuff” of Life Enslave You