Schoolteachers seemed determined to persuade me that 'classic' is a synonym for 'narcotic'.

Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No politician with half his senses, which a majority of politicians have, is likely to vote for its abolition, however. As a class, mothers are tender and loving, but as a voting bloc they would not hesitate for an instant to pull the seat out from under any Congressman who suggests that Mother is not entitled to a box of chocolates each year in the middle of May.

The charm of television entertainment is its ability to bridge the chasm between dinner and bedtime without mental distraction.

The worst thing about the miracle of modern communications is the Pavlovian pressure it places upon everyone to communicate whenever a bell rings.

Life is always walking up to us and saying, "Come on in, the living's fine," and what do we do? Back off and take its picture.

It is fitting that yesteryear's swashbuckling newspaper reporter has turned into today's solemn young sobersides nursing a glass of watered white wine after a day of toiling over computer databases in a smoke-free, noise-free newsroom.

A day spent praising the earth and lamenting man's pollutionist history makes you feel like a superior, sensitive soul.