My Name Is Frank, And I’m A ‘Swiftie’

By Frank S. Costanza “So, you’re a Swiftie, huh?” The pointed question – it wasn’t until much later that I picked up on the dripping disdain that accompanied my oldest daughter’s unexpected query – caught me completely off-guard. I had just collected Shannan, who’s 10 and going on 17, and her younger sister from the …

Peaches And Smalls

I cannot recall when we first chatted, but no longer view that as unusual—not in a world where friendships can span hundreds, or even thousands of miles, and two people can be good buds even though they’ve never met in person. That said, I do know that the first conversation Joey and I had was …

“The Ghosts”*

By Frank S. Costanza It is usually around 3 a.m. when my ghosts arrive. My pre-dawn visitors, whose visits, coincidentally enough, tend to fall after I’ve eaten some type of fried Southern dish or spicy Mexican food the evening before, have traditionally taken the form of my deceased grandparents, jilted lovers and K.C., the 12-year-old …

First Day Jitters And Broken Promises

It’s 4:30 a.m. and I’m getting ready to make pancakes. Waking up at an ungodly hour is what happens when my brain kicks itself into overdrive though my synapses are not misfiring this time due to my ongoing quest to find gainful employment as a freelancer. Rather, it’s the new day of possibilities lying ahead …

Lava Melons And Kickin’ Chickens

It’s been a month since we’ve completed our move south and things are feeling “normal” again, and that has much to do with the start of soccer season. As any travel soccer parent understands all too well, the season is that magical time of year when there’s hardly ever time to sit down together as …

Frugal Fi’s First Lost Tooth

Even though she turned 6 on Monday, and her “birthday buddy minus one,” Joann, celebrated her 50th the day prior, the headline this week on Thistle Down Drive has been the changing status of Miss Fionna’s first loose baby tooth. As per my youngest’s daily updates, the tooth in question had been “wiggly” for weeks, …

In Memoriam: Louis A. Bahr Jr.

The headline is a tad misleading as I do not know all that much about my good friend’s late father, other than what has been passed on by his children and what I gleaned on my own from the two times I was warmly welcomed into the beautiful Kentucky home that he shared with his …

The Pros And Cons Of Southern Living

My wife makes a list whenever things get complicated, and it is one of the reasons why she’s a productive person, one who can juggle difficult tasks with ease and bring balance to our chaotic lives. On the flip side, I keep running lists inside my thick cranium, allowing them to fester, modify and multiply, …

The DMV–Part Deux

A week after torturing my daughters by dragging them to the first of two required trips to the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, a visit that ate up nearly four hours and that was just to procure my new driver’s license, I was forced to break the bad news to them again last night. …

Lowering The Boom

Though I still have a lot to learn about North Carolina, such as the best way to access “The Loop”—the nearly 70-mile-long highway that completely encircles the city of Charlotte—I already know one thing for certain. When it rains here, it rains hard. There’s been the risk of thunderstorms each of the past four days …