The Rooney Bin

For the past 50 plus years, the Rooney Bin kitchen has been my exclusive domain. My biggest problem was what to prepare for the evening meal until an illegal alien cook invaded my turf. I’d announce that I’m going to the grocery store and ask “what do you want for dinner?...Hello-o! What do you ... Read More

  “Long ago, when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it’s called golf.”—an old Irish saying Green is popping out everywhere; it’s a sign of Wednesday’s vernal (spring) equinox. ‘Tis the month to wear green, if only a wee shamrock on Sunday for St. Patrick’s Day. Green is the ... Read More

The Rooney Bin is filled with relics, including its residents. There was a time when antiques were valuable, and folks collected them because they evoked happy memories of days gone by. Today you can’t give them away. Take telephones for example.             Sunday is Land Line Telephone Day. Who has a landline anymore? The Rooney ... Read More

“I do not believe in using women in combat, because females are too fierce.”—Margaret Mead             March is the month to celebrate American women. In 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Rep. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., co-sponsored a congressional resolution proclaiming Women’s History Week. Following that lead, in 1987 Congress declared March National Women’s History Month, ... Read More

“Birds of a feather will flock together.”—Roman poet Martial Tweet, tweet, tweet. There’s a lot of tweeting going on at the Rooney Bin lately, and not all of it is on mobile devices. Indeed, a mid-February fly-over by a flock of hundreds of noisy robins announced an early spring. It’s time to pull out T-shirts and ... Read More

Romance is in the air. Now is the time for all good men to remember that another gifting day is rolling around, and if momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. Thursday is the day when Cupid armed with bow and arrows, flies down chimneys to leave boxes of chocolates, roses and fancy cards bearing love ... Read More

As with most Rooney Bin projects, it started out innocently enough. Routine wood-rot repair on the house prompted my spouse the Binmeister to call a carpenter; he did a fine job, so Binmeister was inspired to conjure some other projects.             “We need to replace the bi-fold shutter doors on the kitchen pantry,” he said. ... Read More

“When a habit begins to cost money, it’s called a hobby.”—Jewish proverb             January is National Hobby Month, a time for folks to celebrate their favorite hobbies and try out new ones. A “hobby” is defined as a pursuit, other than your regular occupation, engaged in for pleasure and relaxation.  Most people have a hobby of ... Read More

 “The future ain’t what it used to be.”—baseball great Yogi Berra It’s January, so dust off your crystal ball, shuffle that deck of Tarot cards, gather round the Ouija board and drag out your prescient cat. Cat? Yes, cat. That famous prognosticating groundhog Punxsutawney Phil is but one example of animals that predict the future. Since time began, ... Read More

Thanks for everything! It’s Jan. 5 and there are only 360 days until Christmas. I’ll never make it. In fact, I’m not yet ready for Christmas 2018. We didn’t fully deck-the-halls, and much to No. 1 daughter’s dismay the stockings weren’t hung by the chimney with care; they were draped on a chair next to ... Read More