A Tribute to Gram
This past week we bid farewell to my wife’s grandmother, Virginia Domella Amato, who I affectionately knew as Gram. She was an amazing woman who will be remembered for her wonderful sense of humor, her...
View ArticleWeenies From Heaven
I’ve always had this vision in my mind of what it would be like the first time I took my kids to a Pittsburgh Pirates game. There’d be oohs and aahs as we emerged from the corridor out into the open to...
View ArticleKielbasa, Beans, and Tomatoes
“Mom just took Dad to the E.R.” said my sister. “He’s having trouble remembering anything. He doesn’t even remember going to work today.” I hung up the phone. Numb. Cass would be at yoga for another...
View ArticleDiscovering My Voice
This one’s an oldie but a goodie… My Name is Val Brkich, and I Am A Circus Freak (first published in 2004) Well…I had my first speech therapy session this week, and I have some startling findings to...
View ArticleAn Open Letter to Future Me
Dear Future Me, I hope all is well with you. Things are just dandy here. But, of course, you already knew that. I know you’re busy with book-signing tours, television interviews, and counting your...
View ArticleA Bad Case of the Runs – Part II
Recently I finished my very first marathon. It was a huge accomplishment for me, considering I retired from competitive running several years ago. But rather than bore you with a...
View ArticleSurviving Family Time
Back in the old days, extended families would live together under the same roof. Grandparents, grandchildren, sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins would all shack up in one...
View ArticleBurt Reynolds, I Am Not.
It attracts stares and arouses suspicion. Kids snicker and point at it. Mothers clutch their children and run when they see it coming. It’s my mustache. And it’s not a pretty sight. It started out as...
View ArticleKnock, Knock. Who’s There? Bigfoot.
“It was getting dark, so we had to go to the woods, and it sounded like Bigfoot knocking on the door, but it was just the ocean.” —My son’s recap of our Sunday afternoon hike at I.S. and Gertrude Sahli...
View ArticleThe Minister of Rock
I don’t know how it happened. One minute I’m saying goodnight to the bride and groom, the next I’m sliding across the dance floor on my back, air-guitarring to AC/DC. We were at my wife’s cousin’s...
View ArticleTake Your Kid Nowhere Day
So they tell me today is “Take Your Kid to Work Day.” This actually worked out well, since my kids didn’t have school today. (Actually, I think that may be the reason they didn’t have school today.)...
View ArticleSummertime…and the Livin’ Ain’t Easy
Ah, summertime… The long, warm days! The weekend BBQs! The kids coming inside to tattle on each other every five minutes and argue about who gets which lightsaber! I admit it. I was so looking forward...
View ArticleMy Epic Southeastern Road-Trip Adventure 2016
15 days. 8 states. 2 kids. 1 car. Whose idea was this anyway? Actually, our annual family road-trip turned out to be another amazing adventure. This year we decided to tour the great American...
View ArticleLord of the Fruit Flies
It’s a never-ending battle. Just when you think you have them beat, they magically reappear. And in greater numbers. The thing I want to know is…where in the heck are they coming from? Ever since we...
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Exploring Beaver County – Beaver Falls, Pa.
Beaver Falls, Pa. Stray Cat Studio – A major player in the Beaver Falls renaissance. (Note: Instead of bogging down my blog with scads of large photos, I’ve uploaded them to my Flickr page for your...
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Chillin’ in the Cemetery
Today might have been one of the last really warm and sunny days of the year. Therefore I decided to get away from my desk, get outside, and go to a place that never fails to make me happy: the...
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Ghost Hunting at the Farnsworth House Inn
The following is an account from back in 2010, when I went on a ghost hunt in Gettysburg with members of Robert Morris University’s Civil War Club. I thought it would be a fun thing to share again...
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My Favorite Day of the Year
It's not my birthday as you might guess, not Christmas or New Year's, or even Super Bowl Sunday. It's not when we spring ahead, or welcome summer, or cheer the arrival of fall. No, my favorite day is...
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Elf in a Jar
Today was a landmark day in the history of our Elf on the Shelf, i.e., Snowflake. That’s because, for the first time ever, Snowflake left the house. Oh, sure, he leaves every Christmas Eve (when I...
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Coming Clean
OK…something’s come up that I just can’t keep quiet about anymore… The other day a friend of mine was out and about and overheard someone talking bad about me and my family. Apparently the man said,...
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