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Tom Purcell

Stories by Tom

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My 13-year-old goddaughter still can’t understand how telephone busy signals used to work.

By Tom Purcell March 27, 2024
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A growing number of Americans think the American Dream is out of reach, but I think they are wrong.

By Tom Purcell March 19, 2024
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Piglet! My Irish surname means piglet!

By Tom Purcell March 13, 2024
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Get this: Men and women’s brains are different.

By Tom Purcell March 5, 2024
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President Joe Biden recently sent an email to 153,000 student-loan borrowers reminding them to vote for him this autumn.

By Tom Purcell February 27, 2024
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When I read about the “silent book club” trend, it filled me with instant calm and hope.

By Tom Purcell February 21, 2024
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With all the changes modern life is bringing us, here’s one that makes me sad: romance is dying.

By Tom Purcell February 14, 2024
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You had a great 100-year run, AM radio, and your demise is breaking my heart.

By Tom Purcell January 31, 2024
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The City of Toronto is in the news for outlawing sled and toboggan riding on 45 of its hillsides.

By Tom Purcell January 23, 2024
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I forgot what it was like to experience a good old common cold.

By Tom Purcell January 16, 2024
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Here’s a great New Year’s resolution: Get a pet.

By Tom Purcell December 27, 2023
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The best Christmas gift I ever gave anyone was the one I gave my father about 20 years ago: a Lionel train set.

By Tom Purcell December 20, 2023
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I love pumpkin pie. It reminds me of so many happy family gatherings when, after clearing the Thanksgiving table, we’d enjoy pumpkin pie, coffee and deeply satisfying conversation well into the evening.

By Tom Purcell November 22, 2023
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Well, that didn’t take as long as expected.

By Tom Purcell November 15, 2023
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Finally, the press is doing some hard-hitting reporting about our upcoming presidential election.

By Tom Purcell November 8, 2023
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Hopefully, the rugged beard I’ve been sporting will motivate at least one of my fellow men to take better care of his health this November.

By Tom Purcell November 5, 2023
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Halloween is upon us, which means you’d better be cautious about the costume you choose.

By Tom Purcell October 24, 2023
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When I read a news piece about the passing of longtime California senator Dianne Feinstein a few weeks ago, some of the comments left at the bottom of the online article made me sad.

By Tom Purcell October 10, 2023
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I suppose it was just a matter of time before casual dress hit the U.S. Senate.

By Tom Purcell September 20, 2023
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There’s a lot of sad news to go around, but this Vox story really breaks my heart: animal shelters are overflowing with abandoned dogs and cats again.

By Tom Purcell August 28, 2023
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Declining attention spans have reached epidemic levels. ... That’s certainly the case with me.

By Tom Purcell August 15, 2023
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Goodbye, incandescent light bulb. You had a heck of a run before the government decided you wasted energy and effectively outlawed you out of existence.

By Tom Purcell August 8, 2023
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As a heat wave hits America from coast to coast, it’s hot outside - but cool inside, thanks to the triumph of air conditioning.

By Tom Purcell July 25, 2023
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I dream of recreating some of the epic bike hikes I enjoyed as a kid back in the 1970s.

By Tom Purcell July 18, 2023
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I dream of the day I will be 100% debt-free!

By Tom Purcell July 11, 2023
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The national debt broke the $32 trillion barrier this week. It’s a number so huge it is incomprehensible to the average citizen.

By Tom Purcell June 20, 2023
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Modern dads are portrayed as fools in television sitcoms and commercials. Lucky for me, they are the polar opposite of the loving, strong and decisive father who raised me.

By Tom Purcell June 14, 2023
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It’s a positive trend that I hope continues: the resurgence of summer picnics.

By Tom Purcell May 30, 2023
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Every year, polls show that a large number of Americans don’t know why we celebrate Memorial Day.

By Tom Purcell May 23, 2023
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There is a loneliness epidemic in the United States, but there are some simple ways we can address it.

By Tom Purcell May 16, 2023
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She was only 18 when rheumatic fever damaged her heart. The doctors said she’d be lucky to live into her 40s — that she was no longer strong enough to bear children. Lucky for my five sisters and me, she ignored them!

By Tom Purcell May 10, 2023
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Earth Day is coming April 22, and I can’t think of a better opportunity for Americans to get their hands dirty.

By Tom Purcell April 19, 2023
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Tax returns are due next week and many Americans are surely stressed out as they scramble to get their financial records in order.

By Tom Purcell April 11, 2023
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IQs have dropped for the first time in American history, and the experts aren’t quite sure why.

By Tom Purcell March 28, 2023
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The St. Patrick’s Day spirit has arrived, and we sure are in need of Irish levity.

By Tom Purcell March 15, 2023
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There are no small number of accusations lately that — shocking as it may be — some of our politicians are lying to us.

By Tom Purcell February 15, 2023
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All my father ever wanted as a young man was to marry my mother and start a family — plans that were interrupted when he was drafted into the Army during the Korean conflict.

By Tom Purcell February 8, 2023
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I love my gas stove — almost as much as I love my Weber gas grill.

By Tom Purcell January 18, 2023
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Earmarks are back and they’re costing American taxpayers a bundle.

By Tom Purcell January 3, 2023
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I’m filled with a renewed sense of hope all of the sudden.

By Tom Purcell December 21, 2022
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I read a great piece in the Tribune-Review about the nostalgia many Pittsburghers hold for their favorite old suburban shopping malls — especially around the holidays.

By Tom Purcell December 14, 2022
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Vinyl records are making a comeback, and it’s not just nostalgic old fogies who are driving the trend. According to Readers Digest UK, millennial and Gen Z consumers are digging the distinct sound of vinyl ...

By Tom Purcell November 28, 2022
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This week half the country will be upset by the midterm election results and half will be elated.

By Tom Purcell November 9, 2022
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I’m already anxious about the outcome. I speak of next week’s elections, and a modern malady the Mayo Clinic refers to as “Election Stress Disorder.”

By Tom Purcell November 1, 2022
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It was one of the most awesome experiences of my childhood.

By Tom Purcell October 19, 2022
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With the “fall back” clock change coming soon, one thing makes me especially grumpy and confused.

By Tom Purcell September 27, 2022
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“No problem.” That is how I used to reply to people who thanked me for holding the door open for them or for offering some other small gesture.

By Tom Purcell September 13, 2022
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A long time ago I watched a documentary about poet Emily Dickenson’s life and writings.

By Tom Purcell August 16, 2022
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My father is turning 89 this week, and he’s getting especially sentimental of late.

By Tom Purcell July 26, 2022
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It’s been way too long since I lit a sparkler as the sun goes down on the Fourth of July.

By Tom Purcell June 29, 2022

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