Far From Being Obsolete, Braille Is Essential

by Tracy Conly    (Tracy Conly is a longtime friend from our days at the Ohio State School for the Blind, a great Braille reader and advocate for the blind. This is her reaction to our March 15 story “A New Tool In The Fight For Braille Literacy.”)    “Braille changes lives. It gives thousands …

Little-Known Facts About McDonald’s

by Kevin Burton    I used to think I liked McDonalds chicken nuggets – until the time I forgot to ask for barbecue sauce.    Oops!    McNuggets are my choice at McDonalds because I hate everything else. McDonalds in not our restaurant rotation.    When we travel to beep baseball tournaments this summer we …

Gerry Rafferty Was Born 77 Years Ago Today

by Kevin Burton    The headline to an article in The Independent called Gerry Rafferty a “bipolar alcoholic industry misfit.” His biographers including his daughter Martha dispute none of that.    The article was printed on the occasion of the 2021 release of “Rest In Blue” an album of Rafferty demos polished and completed by …

Brewing A Big Pot Of Knowledge About Tea

by Kevin Burton    Somebody, either me or my wife Jeannette, went a little crazy buying tea in a discount store some years ago.    Guess which one.    We had visited her parents in the county west of us. On the way home we stopped at one of those discount stores. I found tea …

More Genius Phrasing From Shakespeare

by Kevin Burton    Shakespeare’s genius influenced many phrases and idioms we unknowingly use every day. That’s why Dictionary Scoop put together a list of common expressions that were either created or made famous by Shakespeare and his characters.    We listed five of them yesterday on Page 7. Today, five more.   “American literary critic …

Some Phrases We Got From Shakespeare

by Kevin Burton    I feel bad that I haven’t read anything by Shakespeare all the way through.  Don’t know why I feel that way.    The next person who asks me if I have read Shakespeare, will be the first. So it doesn’t really matter.    Ask me in public, “Shakespeare or Steely Dan” …

Driver Saves Children From Schoolbus Fire

by Kevin Burton    Kia Rousseve’s job change came under fire. But not to worry. This is a happy ending.    And she is being called a hero.    Some other heroes in England are saving food from being wasted and feeding hungry people. These are our two happy stories today, from reporter Andy Corbley …

My Shifting Sports Team Allegiances

by Kevin Burton    Time and location, location, location, can change even the most fervent loyalties when it comes to sports fan allegiances.       On ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption, Tony Kornheiser talks about the New York Mets as “the team of my youth” to differentiate it from his current favorite, the Washington Nationals. That is …

More Bilingual Americans Than You Think

by Kevin Burton   There was a time when I had multiple dozens of penpals from around the world. More than once I heard this joke:    What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual.    What do you call a …

The Hopes And Dreams Of Two Blind Students

by Kevin Burton    Those of us with limited vision don’t have to have limited lives. Often we do, for reasons to numerous to tackle today.    Today, stories of two blind students. The first has reached an important milestone to reach her educational goal. The second wants to fill her life with sights and …