Today Is ...

I graduated from Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, in December 1984, with a bachelor of arts degree in communications with a minor in the French language. I spent my first 2 1/2 years in the pre-med program before changing my major. (In May 1988, I graduated with a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.)

My father graduated from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in the mid-50s with a bachelor of science degree in business. He entered the university at age 17.

My father and I frequented the same saloon in Philadelphia when we were attending our respective universities: Smokey Joe's. It's still in business.

I would also like the mention Zipperhead, a head shop in Philadelphia that I visited once in the early 1980s. It had a profound effect on me.

As per Google: "Zipperhead was a legendary Philadelphia clothing store known for its punk, gothic, and alternative fashion, particularly popular in the 1980s and 90s. It was a South Street fixture and a cultural icon. ... The store, originally located at 407 South Street, closed in 2005. A related store, Crash Bang Boom, now carries on the tradition in the same area."

... and I won't forget about the trotters and pacers at Liberty Bell Park with my friend Paul in the early 1980s. 

July 20, 2025, at home

Makoto Hagiwara, the keeper of the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, is often credited with inventing the fortune cookie. In 1914, Hagiwara is said to have put a thank you note inside a cookie to show his appreciation to friends who supported him during hard times and began serving them regularly at the garden.

July 20, 2025, at home

I don't particularly like lollipops, except for Tootsie Pops.

July 20, 2025, at home