The Rooney Bin

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

“Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.”—Anne Geddes, photographer Tomorrow is Father’s Day. If you haven’t done so already, there’s still time to come up with cards and gifts to let the dads in your lives know how much they’re appreciated. The earliest known ... Read More

After 16 or so odd years writing The Rooney Bin—and some of them have been very odd indeed— more and more often I find myself at a loss for an introductory topic. Today, for example, marks 51 years of wedded bliss to my spouse the Binmeister. However, I wrote about ... Read More

“If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.”—Anonymous May is Older Americans Month. It’s also the birth month of my spouse the Binmeister, an old American, and until August I can enjoy saying I’m a year younger than he is. We are ... Read More

To paraphrase a quote by journalist Doug Larson: “If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be ‘TPC week on Florida A1A.’” What a difference a week makes. As I write this THE PLAYERS Championship is just getting underway, and I can’t ... Read More

The Boy Scouts of America recently dropped “Boy” from its name, which will be “Scouts USA” starting February 2019. With Mother’s Day looming tomorrow one wonders if the next move to use gender neutral language will be the consolidation of Mother’s Day in May with Father’s Day in June to ... Read More

“Jet lag is your soul trying to catch up after flying.” –Ryan Ross, American singer/song writer Blame it on the 2016 elections if you will, but the Rooney Bin has another theory about why Left Coast folks seem to be out of sorts; they’re living in the wrong time zone. Rooney ... Read More

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children.”—Native American proverb Tomorrow is Earth Day, established in 1970 by Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson to recognize the importance of educating folks about environmental issues and protecting the planet from destruction by pollution. As former Vice President ... Read More

“The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.”—H. L. Mencken, journalist Tuesday is tax filing day. Tax payers get a two-day reprieve this year, because April 15, the usual due-date, is Sunday and the 16th is Emancipation Day, a public holiday in Washington, DC. ... Read More