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I dozed off for a few minutes and Ranch dressing was crowned the king of all American condiments. I was a ketchup kid who grew up in the condiment-barren ketchup generation. Ketchup reigned supreme for most of the 20th century. It was red, it was cheap, and it was manly. Salsa made a nice runContinue reading “The Ranch Generation”

What do the creator of the first thesaurus Peter Roget, Colonel Sanders the inventor of the first fried-chicken franchise, and your humble columnist have in common? We are all late-comers to the game. We are all late to the game. Roget was 73-years old when he became the synonym king, Sanders was 65, bankrupt, andContinue reading “Late to Tea”

ATTN: Chris Neugent, President, Post Consumer Brands And/or The Knucklead Who Made the Decision to Abandon Peaches Post Cereal Consumer Affairs Department 20802 Kennsington Boulevard Lakeville, MN 55044 Dear Mr. Neugent, I don’t typically write letters to corporations, or heads of corporations. Actually, this is only the second letter I have written to a majorContinue reading “ATTN: Chris Neugent”

It’s graduation season. I didn’t speak at a high school commencement ceremony this graduation season, but had I stepped up to the podium this year I would have told the graduates what I have told graduates before. I written about it before. It’s what I wish I would have heard at my commencement. Students, youContinue reading “The Next Step”

On the list of “Things I Love to Do Most,” having a steak dinner with my 15-year old son would be a shoo-in for the top 10. It would vie for placement alongside “having breakfast with my 15-year old son.” Several years ago, I was worried that my son and daughter were growing up tooContinue reading “Dinner with the Boy”

BARBERINO, TUSCANY— Traveling and leading a group of more than 22 people can be challenging. It can also be a blast. I have come to learn that I was pre-wired for this type of work. In 2011, watercolorist, Wyatt Waters and I, spent 10 weeks traversing Italy while working on our third collaborative book project,Continue reading “Stars and Bars and Parasol Pines”

TAVERNELLE VAL D’PESA, TUSCANY— My ongoing love affair with breakfast bakeries and pastry shops continues even when I am out of the country. Actually, it increases when I am out of the country. I spent a month in France several years ago hitting a different patisserie every morning. I never got bored. I believe peopleContinue reading “Italian Breakfast”

BARBERINO VAL D’ELSA, TUSCANY— I dreamed of travelling as a kid. My parents purchased a set of World Book encyclopedias when I was about four-years old, and— for more than a decade— that was my conduit to other parts of the globe. I dreamed of far-off exotic lands and what they must be like, theContinue reading “Travel Benefits”

BARBERINO VAL D’ELSA, TUSCANY— The older I get the more I search for authenticity. Often, I find myself attracted to things, places, and experiences that are “real.” So often when people travel overseas they, by no fault of their own, wind up in the EPCOT version of a European town or restaurant. I always striveContinue reading “An Easter to Remember”