Columnists

Hello and welcome! I am proud to introduce to you my new column, The Flavor Chronicle. My name is Mitch L. Mariani II and some of you may remember me from my former column, Mixed Grill. This is another food column and I will continue to write about grilling and barbecue, but only seasonally. In The Flavor Chronicle, I have the unlimited culinary world open and unbounded. As my culinary interests go far beyond the grill, I’m very excited for all the possibilities.

Each new year, we resolve to lose weight, exercise more, or make some other pledge of self-improvement that usually withers and dies before January is gone. But sometimes, if the challenge has enough allure, and if we do it with the support and companionship of friends, we might follow through and maybe even come away with a lifelong memory.

When I was growing up, our family sat down to the dinner table for a feast of Mom’s cooking nearly every night. My brother and I may have sought out our softie father anytime punishment was required, but Mom was the go-to for a homemade meal or treat.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the parallel of the term “Christmas decorations” to words like “Titanic” or “Hindenburg?”

Q: We took Fiber, our terrier, to the vet for an injury to his eye. He scratched his cornea running after a ball in the bushes. The vet gave us some antibiotic ointment to put in his eye once or twice a day. But he’s not getting any better. The vet wants to see him again to do some tests and we’re not sure what to do. Should we take him to a specialist? Why isn’t the eye getting better?

This holiday season, show you care with special gifts that can keep family and friends healthy and happy.

“The Nutcracker,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” even “Mr. Magoo” and “Sesame Street” are traditional Christmas theatre toddies. But you must add “A Christmas Carol” if you haven’t already. This delightful and charming story by Charles Dickens is served up with our Christmas turkey every year somewhere, someplace, everywhere in the world.

The financial planning process is not merely a matter of numbers. When you meet with a financial advisor to map out a strategy for wealth accumulation or wealth preservation, you may find yourself intellectually and emotionally engaged on a level you hadn't anticipated. It may actually give you a better understanding of what you want from life.

Anyone familiar with teenagers knows they seem to follow a different clock than adults, preferring to sleep later in the morning and stay up later at night. In fact, some school systems have recognized this by delaying the start of the school day past the normal 8 a.m. Thus, I was surprised to find a classroom full of Gilroy teens voluntarily meeting at 5:55 a.m. on a Monday morning to study religion – and they do this on a daily basis throughout the school year.