Being a teacher can be a latte trouble — When temps plunge and millennials, some unaware members of Generation X and those in the too-big-for-their-britches Generation Z cohort break out their comfy cardigans, I hardly ever think of fall. I tend to dwell on Pumpkin Spice Season, and how it once was such a pain in the patoot for…

A sleepy time becomes a nightmare, just like that — Seen: After the sleepiest Atlantic hurricane season, Ian woke things up. Heard: A dear friend was in Ian’s path. She and her husband were still undecided about evacuating their low-lying property as the storm approached. Hope things worked out. Noted: Moker and I have friends who were walloped, including some who evacuated to Orlando. But the inland Mickey Mouse Capital remained squarely in Ian’s sights. Yikes!

No, but by golly, we’re an awful lot alike — Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: I think I’m turning into my mother. Anyway. It goes without saying that we more than slightly resemble one another. And I get a pretty solid confirmation of that fact every time I look in the mirror. OK, she had beautiful, olive-colored…

Today’s a good day to read a banned book — September takes the honors in our American pantheon of literacy as Banned Books Month. Of course, we’re obviously not celebrating the power to strike certain titles from our public and school library shelves, although some in the country’s patriarchy are trying their damnedest to do so; instead, let’s all take…

Prompt #17 — Here, kitty, kitty, kitty I let my cat out of the bag the other day. Well, I didn’t really let her out. She absconded with her own self, meaning that I spent the better part my evening looking for her. And I never found her — at…

After a beastly summer, we hope we’re headed for a fall — Seen: Happy Autumnal Equinox. We can officially celebrate at 9:03 pm EST Thursday. Heard: That’s when the sun will shine an equal amount on both the northern and southern hemispheres. But I doubt we’ll be seeing any rays at all during Prime Time here. Noted: It’s like a Disney cartoon in our neighborhood. Mama deer teaching babies it’s OK to cross the road on still-wobbly legs. Squirrels collecting acorns for the winter. And the birds — at least the cardinals, year-round residents — seem to twitter a tad louder.

A kid’s gonna do what a kid’s gonna do — My grandson D does things backwards. Or, as my Daddy used to say, “back asswards.” He holds his bottle — most of the time — with the bottom pointed up, in order to savor his sips to the last drop. But sometimes, he loses focus. Shifts his pudgy lil infant…

If the pandemic is over, does that mean I don’t have to worry anymore? — I visited my local drugstore chain last week for another booster shot. I’ve been told by the experts, from the president on down to local health officials, that I and my fellow Americans need to be vigilant and stay on top of things. So I was happy to roll up…