It's just not spring yet if the ducks aren't on the swimming pool cover
I knew it was spring three weeks ago. The freezing rain didn't tell me. Emilia and Sam did. They're ducks that magically appear every spring and take up residence on the winter cover of our above-ground pool. The semi-melted snow on the cover provides a half-lake, half-skating rink for the two webbed-foot freeloaders.

Not everyone's a psychic, but some events can't be explained
A month before the Comedy Shrine opened, my daughter and I went to our favorite Chinese restaurant in Naperville. We got fortune cookies after the meal. My daughter's was pretty generic. Mine was not. My fortune said, "Your audience is waiting for you to build your stage."

Bill Clinton would be the latest on a list of male first-timers
If Hillary Clinton becomes president, then Bill will become the first man. In fact, he'll be the first first man. It will be his job to entertain and meet the spouses of other world leaders, those spouses being mostly women. He'll entertain wives of prime ministers, presidents, kings, and even dictators and ambassadors from all corners of the world.

Comedy helps cope with tragedy
Harry Eigenberg died. He's better known to many as Bev's husband or David ("Sex in the City") Eigenberg's dad. I met Harry nine years ago, when my son was at Creative Nursery school. He was known as Mr. Harry to the kids. His wife was and still is Miss Bev there. My 5-year-old is at Creative now. He never met Mr. Harry.