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Vacation. It is a time of rest, relaxation and recuperation. It is a time when families can get away and re-strengthen their bonds. It is a time when the rat race of the American lifestyle can be safely left behind and the relaxed lifestyle of other countries and cultures can be embraced. Yeah, right. We are Americans, and we can leave America behind, but the American in us is always strong and manages to shine brightly, even during our vacations. Take my trip to Paris last su...
My baby just turned 10 and, even setting aside my emotional baggage over that, it is a momentous birthday. This milestone involves special traditions in our home, the most sentimental of which is a letter from me entitled "10 Wishes." I outline 10 things about my child right now that make me proud and 10 wishes I have for their future selves. As I worked on this last letter, I realized it is a list that we could all use right now. So I humbly offer up an abbreviated version...
I knew this column would be written one day - I just wasn't sure when. After 12 years in Hinsdale, the Neiman family is packing up and heading back to the West Coast. When I dragged my family here from California, I made my wife, Nancy, a deal. Once our daughter Madison graduated from high school, we could move back if my job allowed it. Madison graduated from Central in May and Nancy called in the contract. But where to go? Back to California? Nope, to the surprise of many....
On Thursday morning, the alarms went off. All of them. Every cell phone. Every egg timer. Every theft alert in every Walgreens, Walmart, Best Buy and bank. In an instant, every man, woman and child was awash in the clanging, clicking, beeping, buzzing, trilling, chiming, whooping, squealing cacophony that blanketed the Earth. Sump pump alarms sent homeowners scrambling to the basement and crashing through dusty cardboard boxes, wondering if maybe it wasn't time to start Marie...
I recently read about a study that investigated the relationship of human happiness to random social contact. Scientists found that even momentary social interaction with a stranger increases our well-being. As simple as making eye contact or smiling and nodding - whatever the interaction was - it apparently makes an actual, chemical difference in our brains. This story seems similar to a refrain we've been hearing for a while now: the idea that, for all the technological...
I have long dreamed about backpacking the Appalachian Trail and in July, that dream became reality. I've gone on organized hiking trips in the past, but this adventure would be different. No guide or timeline - just fly in, strap on my pack and head north. I found a hiking partner, bought a one-way ticket to Dulles, took an Uber to Harper's Ferry, W.V., and started walking. Our daily routine consisted of hiking, eating and sleeping. The distance we hiked depended on the sorene...
