Ad Hudler's Blog, page 44

Bad sign for Detroit ...

-Just got back from orientation at Denison University in Ohio, where my daughter is going to college this fall. It's filled with, among other people, children from wealthy Midwestern families.

I was sitting next to two young ladies and asked them where they were from. They both answered, "Michigan."

"Where?" I pressed them.

They both told me the names of their hometowns, which I recognized as affluent Detroit suburbs.

"Where exactly is that?"I pressed, knowing very well.

"Close to Canada" said one.

"B

How to save some $$$: Get that second opinion!

I'm pricing out a fence because of the new Devil Children who have moved into my neighborhood, and because I live in a historic district the city code laws are pretty strict as to what I can put up in the front yard. It has to be decorative aluminum, which, I've discovered, is kinda pricey.

It's often tempting to go with the first bid you get with such a project because, well, it's just easier, but I'm GLAD I got a second bid. First one came in at $1,800. Second one is more than $2,500 ... and it

Gift of a liteime ... literally

My daughter graduates from high school today, summa cum laude (in both unweighted and weighted GPSs) in the International Baccalaureate program at Fort Myers High School. She's also speaking at graduation. Very, very proud of this girl who is going to Denison University to study this fall.

What to give as a graduation gift to such a great kid? Actually, I had no problems with this one. I'd been planning this present since she was age 2.

We learned early on that Haley Joy Hudler had a love of texti

Tropical Diary: Post #257TF (Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned)

I couldn't help myself, really. I pass her every day on my morning walk with my wife. And she is too beautiful to resist this time of year ... laden with fruit ... those leathery-skinned brown orbs so ripe they are pinkish-red. Already, I had tropical fruit on my mind, having passed a big tree of ripe mangoes just a block before. "Take me!" screamed the lychee fruit, hanging from the tree. "Eat me! ... NOW!"

It was obvious the owner didn't appreciate her. All that fruit, ignored! And if you've ea

When to say "thank you"

The graduation gifts for our daughter have started trickling in, and my wife has been hounding her to write thank-you notes ASAP. She says, "You should send a thank-you note within 48 hours of receiving your gift."

Ideally, of course, I agree with her. But these are self-absorbed 18-year-olds spending every possible second with their friends whom they're leaving behind as they enter adulthood indoctrination. My opinion: get the thank-yous finished before you go away to camp for the summer on June

A writer's quandary

What book to write next? I can't decide. My agent told me I should try a collection of first-person essays. And I have been working on them, but, alas, I hate all of them. Then she suggested I write about the upcoming empty nest my wife and I are going to have (daughter graduates next week), but I'm thinking: Empty nest? Who gives a crap? What can I say about an empty nest?

This was/has been my idea: After dropping Haley off at college, I would take off in my truck on some sort of odyssey, reflec

Trouble at the end of Coconut Drive

I've been fence-shopping. There are two new families with young boys who have moved onto the street, and the younguns are ... well ... gosh, how can I delicately put this ...

"THEY'RE SPOILED LITTLE BRATS FROM HELL WHO HAVE NO RESPECT FOR OTHER PEOPLES' PROPERTY."

These little farts have even taken to riding their mini-golfcart-jeep-thingy through my back yard, along the seawall ... fishing off my seawall ... helping themselves to my patio furniture ... throwing my rocks (used for fill against the

Kitchen Confession

Things I eat/snarf/inhale while standing over the sink:
1. Mangoes
2. Cold leftover Chinese food
3. pomegranates.

Any others?[image error]

Apple VS. PC

I've long been a PC person just because that's what I've always used. Most of my author friends have Apples and love them and have wondered why I stick with a PC. I've researched them, and I decided that the PC makes sense for someone who does more with a computer than use it for word-processing and email. They're great with graphics ... and perfect if you want to make movies ... but it just doesn't make sense to spend more money for something just because it looks SO COOL.

And the Apple products

A word about movie theatres ...

People have been talking about the end of the movie theatre for a long time. First they said the VCR was going to kill them. Ditto for the DVD. Ditto for the Internet. But they're still there. Here's why:

Think of how you feel when you leave that dark theatre, after the end credits have started rolling. When you emerge into the lighted lobby your senses feel slightly surprised (Oh! Light!) and there's this feeling of fresh calmness, like having just woken up from a nice sleep. You feel as if the