The Rooney Bin

“I’m passionate about old people because I am one myself.”—Len Goodman, Dancing with the Stars professional dancer Monday is International Day of Older Persons. The UN General Assembly established it as a global observance Dec. 14, 1990. It was celebrated for the first time Oct. 1, 1991with a “Universal Declaration of ... Read More

“Go Gators!” The University of Florida football season kicks off this month. However, another gator season got underway mid-August, with the start of Florida’s statewide alligator hunting season. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued more than 7,500 permits to control the Florida gator population believed to be about 1.25 ... Read More

The Rooney Bin social schedule is beginning to fill, and sometimes the day-squares on the calendar page aren’t big enough to list all the events there are to cover. I haven’t mastered entering appointments in my mobile phone, so I still work with a paper calendar. That puts me only ... Read More

“If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend.”—Doug Larson, journalist Now that school has resumed and Rooney Bin residents are back from an end of summer vacation, the pressure is on. There are only two more shopping days until ... Read More

“Old age isn’t so bad when you consider the alternatives.”—actor Maurice Chevalier I recently celebrated a really big birthday, although they’re all big at this stage. My first birthday card was from Betsy’s Hallmark. It included a $5 bonus coupon. The second piece of mail I opened was from the Neptune ... Read More

“Words in my humble opinion are the most inexhaustible source of magic we have.”—Dumbledore (Harry Potter series character) My spouse the Binmeister is a linguist fluent in three languages, and I envy the ease with which he is able to shift from one to another. Apart from a few words of ... Read More

“When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.”—Mark Twain It’s the time of year when the Hot Dog Hut in Jacksonville Beach sometimes offers a yummy watermelon pie to top off its diverse menu of jumbo hot dogs. I had a tasty watermelon salad at Three Palms in ... Read More

 This column is for the birds. The Rooney Bin recently added a wing to the garage…10 wings to be exact. A handsome red cardinal and his demure brown-feathered mate constructed a nest in the flowering vines on a trellis on the back of the garage a yard away from our ... Read More

Is it hot enough for ya’? We’re having a heat wave. It’s a scorcher. It’s hotter than Hades. It’s so hot the birds have to pick up worms with potholders. It’s so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog. No matter how you say it, there’s no doubt ... Read More

“Words have meaning and names have power.”—Anonymous After 60 years in business, IHOP has flipped a consonant and changed its name to IHOb. The change in its trademark caused quite a flap. Some folks think the new brand is only temporary, a publicity stunt of sorts. Before the official announcement there ... Read More