I won’t hold it against you if you were absent that day —

Alone ≠ lonely — In order for you to understand my frame of mind in writing this piece, I need to begin by offering you two pertinent bits of information: First of all, I am an introvert. …

Coming soon: a companion piece showing written English words and phrases that people need to stop using — These things bother me, but they probably don’t bother you I get it! Trust me; I get it! I am annoyed by everyday utterances that most other people never notice or are so used to that they don’t care. It probably comes from my having been an English major in college, and then going on to teach English at what…

[It’s definitely not the card from the famous commercials.] — On the surface of it, I understand why people would wonder about the usefulness of a membership card from a San Francisco museum when I travel domestically outside of my home territory. The key to the mystery lies in all those little stickers on the back of the card. These…

They are missing an important metric, which could move San Francisco to #2 — San Francisco has placed #7 in the ParkScore® rankings published this year by the Trust for Public Land. The survey compares five metrics, as described below, across the one hundred most populous cities in the country. Parks are crucial for the health of every city’s residents Parks help to make people healthier, improving both physical and mental health. …

Trust me: it definitely wasn’t Plan A — Earlier this month, our East Coast travel to Washington, Philadelphia, and White Plains [NY], was supposed to conclude with a five-night home exchange in Brooklyn. Three cheers for five free nights in New York City! Before I go any further, if you are a Globetrotter who is unaware about the…

You never know where you’ll make your connections — I have written twice so far about having joined a Village. For those who have not heard of the Village movement, I am referring to intergenerational and multicultural communities that come together as a means of helping seniors age in place, which is to say, continue living in their homes…

Rest of the week in Tallinn, then onward to Tartu —

A shaky start upon arrival in Tallinn from Helsinki — Monday: arrival from Helsinki to Tallinn The trip to the ferry and the crossing were just fine. It was a huge ship, with 2,060 passengers! We had left Helsinki at 10:30 and arrived in Tallinn in two hours. Upon disembarking, there was no procedure for checking passports. I imagine that all of the entry requirements were…