After a heavy snowstorm, how small acts of kindness quietly build a neighborhood.
All in Other
Not Your Average Father's Day Story
It was Father’s Day a few years ago and the kids and I decided to do a tour of the Jersey shore. The plan was to start in Asbury Park, and then we would work our way along the coast to Belmar and then end up in Point Pleasant for a late lunch. In Asbury Park, as we walked the boardwalk, I got excited as we neared Convention Hall. I told the kids to follow me...
Bad Weather Makes Good Neighbors
I am a bad neighbor.
Just Wrap Yourself In Plastic And Go
When you think of kids’ sleigh riding, you might picture a Currier & Ives print of children innocently navigating a hill of snow.
That wasn’t use as kids.
When You Say, ‘All I have to do is…’ God Laughs
Riddle me this: When is a magnet not a magnet?
When it’s a medicine cabinet.
Why This Non-Smoker Carries a Lighter
Recently, a friend who read my first book told me, “Al, I feel that you are the type of person who listens to the universe.”
It’s true, I listen to the universe. Either the universe, or intuition, or God, but I take notice.
A Christmas Carol II: Ebenezer's Revenge
Scrooge was better than his word …
Christmas Stories Over the Years
A collection of Christmas stories over the years from Conflict and Scotch
Don’t Look a Gift Car in the Mouth
They always say, ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’.
And I didn’t.
I did, however, look under the hood.
The Day I Died Down The Jersey Shore
In the late seventies and early eighties, my friends and I spent summers down the Jersey Shore. It was different each time: sometimes a week, or weeks, or a month, or the full summer in houses that were just steps or blocks from the beach.
You Bet It's a Jersey Thing
Note: I am writing this before the Yankees/Blue Jays Game Four of the American League Division Championship. So far, the series is still alive.
I Was Today Years Old When I Learned How Old I Was Today
There are certain things in life that are a given. The sky is blue (even on cloudy days), the sun is hot (even though we can’t touch it), and the New York Football Giants are going to have a losing season (even if we don’t watch them).
If you think knowing your age would slip easily into that group, you’d be wrong.
One of the Last Things My Mother Ever Said to Me
Sometimes Parents Are Not Always Right
In Hot Water Again (Thank God)
Procrastination, thy name is Al.
Dating: The Audacity of Hope (and Horniness)
Note: I DID NOT write this (however, I wish I had). This was written by ChatGPT, and is the first time I have ever used it.. This might be the best thing I never wrote. The prompt was: Conflict and Scotch write a new post about dating. I hate AI and one day they are going to write us right out of the script of life.
Oh-oh, Yes, I’m the Great Pretender
Impostor Syndrome: The persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills.
It’s Cotton Candy, How Bad Could It Be?
Somerset County, New Jersey is having their annual 4-H fair (August 6 – 7 – 8) this week. As I drove passed the open field filled with tents last night it reminded me of a corporate event that happened more than twenty years ago.
