I started the journey back to the party… The sun slowly and majestically rose out of the Atlantic providing the perfect silhouette of an imbecile staggering down the street with a bag full of children’s toys intended to survive only a few hours, and several bottles of artificial color and electrolytes. I was proud of myself at this point for having the presence of mind to remember to purchase … READ MORE
As I mentioned in Part 1, this story is a bit lengthy, but worth following to the end. So I’m just going to pick up right where I left off, and try to keep the breaks in the story at appropriate points. I hope you enjoy another one, completely at my own expense. As the night progressed and slowly morphed into morning, I witnessed the age old practice of … READ MORE
The story you are about to read is one of my favorites. It happened pretty much exactly as you are about to read. It may take a few weeks to get through this one, but I promise you, it’s worth following. It’s about a really crazy night I had several years ago. I hope you enjoy. I had once promised myself that I was never going to tell this … READ MORE
Many of the telltale signs that spring is here have recently befallen us. Or at least they have around my house. This week will be a collection of short stories sighting examples of how spring is showing its presence in the Nichols home. The first example is that I recently got my – more or less – semi-annual haircut. Every spring when it seems the weather is about to … READ MORE
In this week’s column Syd revisits a trip to his Mecca on the shore, an annual event known as Pork in the Park, in Salisbury, MD. This past weekend brought an event that, as pathetic as it may seem, I actually mark on my calendar and eagerly anticipate each year. It wasn’t a holiday weekend, my birthday or anniversary; I didn’t have any babies, receive a massive tax refund … READ MORE
Morning comes, the sun rises, and the new day begins whether or not we’re ready. It’s pouring rain outside, it’s our anniversary, we have three sick little girls at home, and as the result of a series of bizarre events, neither my wife nor I will be going to school or work today. A maelstrom of bodily functions is one hell of a way for us to get to … READ MORE
When we left off, my oldest daughter had just finally finished throwing up like a freshman on spring break, and had drifted off to sleep. Right about that time, (which is now roughly 5:00 am), my middle daughter woke up coughing like a coal miner being rescued from a shaft collapse. At this time, I became painfully aware of two facts. The first was that I wasn’t going to … READ MORE
I’m going to pick up right where we left off last week. It’s about 3:30 in the morning; I’m sitting on my kitchen floor covered in vomit from two different generous donors. In the past few hours leading up to this moment, I hadn’t noticed that the temperature outside had dipped about 15 degrees, the wind had picked up to about 25 mph, and it was now raining torrentially. … READ MORE
When we left off last week it was during the waning hours of the evening before my anniversary. I was bummed out about Anquan Boldin heading west, and mentally preparing to wow my wife the next day. I had just finally gotten the last of three little girls to sleep, and made myself a cocktail to unwind and make sure they were all in a deep sleep before I … READ MORE
Many of you are aware of the fact that March 12th happens to be my favorite day of the year. If you do know that, then you are probably cognizant of the reasons why that day is so special and important to me. In fact, about a year ago I devoted an entire column to explaining the significance of March 12th. I almost never read my own stuff, but … READ MORE
The article you’re about to read is one I’ve actually had in the vault for about a year. It’s the piece I wrote that was to post right after St. Patrick’s Day of 2012. It’s also the piece that unfortunately got lost in cyber space. I remember thinking, (at least at that time), that it was one of my favorite pieces I had written to that point. So I … READ MORE
I was having some trouble deciding what to write about this week. It’s a week or so too early to write about all the bizarre rituals associated with St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t want to start my next multi-part story because I’d have to break it up. And there’s not exactly a whole lot going on in the bar this time of year. So, as is often the case, … READ MORE
I was having a little trouble deciding what to write about this week. I have a few other lengthy articles I’ve already written, but I figure coming off of a five part piece (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5) on quitting smoking, I didn’t want to hit you right away with another month-long diatribe. I wanted to keep this one brief and light. One of the stories I’m sitting … READ MORE