Technical difficulties with my laptop prevented the posting of my weekly blog last week. But this is a new week, and a new blog, and I'm back at it. Here we go.

It's been a good summer, a really good summer, and while there are still a few days to go I'm pretty certain it will be hard to top the day I had this past Thursday. Here's how it went.

Arrived at my friend’s house in Bourne, Mass., on Cape Cod Wednesday afternoon. It was a quiet and early-to-bed night. We had a busy day ahead...

Toward the end of each year, there’s always a tendency to look back, weigh your ups and downs, and then try to assess your fortunes for the year ahead. “Well, next year has certainly got to be better than the past year,” is one of the most common refrains, as if the two have any direct connection to the other and might somehow influence what lies ahead.

I try not to make that mistake, but still find myself looking back at the year gone by, assessing the good and the bad and pondering what...