Giles Snyder

Remember when we were all wishing 2020 good riddance?  And looking forward to 2021? That doesn't seem to be working out so well.  We're just two weeks into '21, but it's already been a year. The riot at the Capitol last week led to President Trump's second impeachment this week. Thousands of National Guard soldiers are on the streets of Washington, D.C. to help discourage any more chaos ahead Joe Biden's inauguration as the FBI warns of armed protests in all 50 states. And the coronavirus is raging, more deadly than ever while the government vaccine rollout is being panned. Biden called it a dismal failure this week. America in 2021. As worrying as all of that is, it's the cut that hits closer to home that hurts the worst - our Big Dog Rodney is no longer with us. He let us know his time was up Tuesday morning. He had been teetering around on bad hips for months. They finally failed him completely this week.  I say OUR Big Dog Rodney, but he was really my wi

Things have been busy around my house for the holidays. There's been no time write, so I offer the following from 2014 - when I was still writing a column for my local newspaper.  I’m trying not to think of it as a harbinger, but it’s hard not to wonder what calamity the New Year holds in store for you when you kick it off with a numb face. Actually, it wasn’t my whole face that was numb, just the right side of it. But it doesn’t really matter whether it was the right, the left or the whole thing. It’s the fact that I essentially started the New Year drooling uncontrollably that has me uneasy about 2014. The turn of the year is traditionally a time to look toward the future with a positive attitude, with the optimism that inspires resolutions. But I haven’t made any for this year. It’s probably because I’m having trouble leaving the old year behind, hence the numb face - I had to have another root canal. Call it unfinished business from 2013. It was diagnosed a couple of months