Growing up in central Virginia, I understood from an early age that nothing captivates the region quite like NASCAR’s arrival each May and September at Richmond International Raceway. I remember my first race in the fall of 1993, watching Jeff Gordon, the upstart rookie sensation, battling Dale Earnhardt, the most polarizing — and most talented […]

Picture the scene: A little girl dressed in a Sleeping Beauty costume emerges from dinner at Cinderella’s castle and skips across the streets of the Magic Kingdom clutching her prized princess balloon. Happiness incarnate! Then, just as quickly, as she is changing out of her dress-up glass slippers, the unthinkable happens: She loses her grip […]

was out of the office last week attending the funeral of my grandmother. In her mid-eighties, this woman had survived the Great Depression, raised 5 children and lived long enough to dote on and enjoy 13 great-grandchildren. Over the years, she hosted countless parties and holiday gatherings for huge numbers of people. Her door was […]

I’ve got a problem. My wife and I are shopping for a car, but the brand we have purchased for our last 4 cars (yes, we may have been obsessively loyal) no longer exists. So what brands to consider now? And why? And while I pondered these deep questions, I also began wondering what made […]