April 6, 2022 Moor or Less: Driving through the land of pumpjacks, pickups and, yes, roughnecks “Man, roughnecks galore,” I said as a constant line of pickups passed us by with various work cargo in their truck beds. “That’s not…
March 14, 2022 Mulligan Stew: No fooling, genealogists are giddy about this upcoming day This year, April Fool’s Day is no joke. There are two monumental events happening in my life. First of all, my bonus son, Rick, turns…
March 3, 2022 Moor or Less: Cowboys and cowgirls revisited Young female riders, their cowboy hats pulled down hard on their heads and their horses flying around as if they had wings, circled the…
February 22, 2022 Mulligan Stew: 17 aunts and uncles taught me everything one needs to know — and I miss them Today, my dad’s last surviving sibling, Unkajerry (as he spelled it), died. My parents, Don and Barbara Mullen, are still living near Bloomington. Not…
January 12, 2022 So, is this how you want your baseball card to look? I’ve had time to catch up on my baseball card collection, and that’s how I got reacquainted with John Ellis. Like most baseball fans,…
January 11, 2022 Moor or Less: Remembering Ross, following Eric, decluttering duty Notre Dame defensive end Ross Browner couldn’t get a grasp on Pitt’s Tony Dorsett as he dashed out of the Panthers’ backfield in the…
December 12, 2021 Moor or Less: Getting a driver’s license? Yeah, I remember My 15-year-old granddaughter — El-Bell to me, Ellie to most others — jumped for joy when she got her beginner’s permit a few months…
December 10, 2021 Notre Dame loses another athletic legend The list of football players that Notre Dame athletic trainer John Whitmer treated is an impressive one. To name just a few: Joe Montana,…
December 6, 2021 Moor or Less: Of guinea pigs, rookie coaches and selling trees Ten thoughts for the price of one: 1. We are currently in charge of our Indianapolis granddaughters’ guinea pig, Harry, during what could be…
December 1, 2021 A spelling bee (or B) wasn’t as much fun as this F We’re in a spell, more or less … Falda’s at fault. As students, most of us were taught to spell, a measure of disciplined…
November 28, 2021 Moor or less: Paralyzed at 15, Dan Badur still lived a meaningful life Dan Badur tumbled out of a tree when he was 15 years old. A broken limb was the reason; a broken neck was the…
November 23, 2021 Here’s the rest of the story about the basketball Iveys Fifty years ago, Paul Harvey was on the radio five days a week with a program called, “The Rest of the Story.” He would…
November 22, 2021 “Accept and move on” doesn’t have the same effect it once had One of my favorite stories is an old one, told by a friend of mine 20 years ago. His editor had had a terrible…
November 22, 2021 Moor or Less: There’s a lot to gain during Thanksgiving I call it my Seven-Pound War. From our Thanksgiving eat-fest to right after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, I usually gain about seven…
November 15, 2021 Moor or Less: Please don’t croak, Ribbit I thought Ribbit was dead. So I scooped him up the other day and hauled him into the house to show my wife. But…
November 5, 2021 Enthusiastic Notre Dame visitor gives pause to grumpy host It is really all about perspective My wife, Wendy, and I run an Airbnb, which is like a bed and breakfast without the breakfast. Instead…
November 5, 2021 A wonderful community that’s for the birds My wife and I bought our first home in the spring of 1975. It was in the Sunnymede area on the near east side…
November 3, 2021 Moor or Less: I wasn’t a fan of Barney Fife but never missed Marshal Dillon After Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) retired in “Law & Order” there haven’t been too many characters that have really grabbed my fancy on network…
November 3, 2021 My father, a WW II veteran, wasn’t a whiner I’ve been in a mood to write about my father lately. He died about 20 years ago. His memorial service was on the day…
October 25, 2021 Moor or Less: Every T-shirt tells a story I’ve never been much of a collector. Sure, I collected baseball cards when I was a kid, but failed miserably with stamps and coins….
