Lori Falce stories, Page 12

Every year, Pantone — a 70-year-old company in New Jersey that has built its business on the matching and mixing of colors — pulls out its crystal ball and makes a prediction for the coming 12 months. The company looks at the trends, analyzes the horizon and announces the Color...

On a fall day in Philadelphia when my mother was 13, she walked out of class and saw people sobbing in the hallway. “What happened?” she asked. It was the day that President John F. Kennedy was shot. School was dismissed. Everyone went home and glued themselves to the television...

I love a dramatic gesture. If you use a pregnant pause to build anticipation, I will eat it up. If you can make an entrance a little more grand, I fully support that. If you want to make turning in your two weeks’ notice a production worthy of Meryl Streep,...

We have it in us to be better. On New Year’s Day, televisions and social media ads will be filled with the same thing. They will offer a hundred different ways to sell self-improvement. Download this app and track your calories. Subscribe to that streaming service and learn a language....

In my mother’s dining room, an antique sideboard carved and joined by my great-grandfather usually groans with the silver and gold she treasures — the frames that show her four kids and six grandchildren, her parents and her sister and the two dark-haired men who got her to say “I...

Tick, tick, tick. The clock is counting down. Down to a line drawn in the sand — the minute that the federal legislators all pack up and leave Washington for their home states. Gotta love Christmas break, right? Except that the same thing happens every year. Something comes down to...

The box sat in the entry of the school like something someone had started to fill and then forgotten. It was big — about the size of a refrigerator but half as tall. Inside, it was scattered with various boxes, bags and cans. There were a few brightly colored rectangles...

I love a puzzle. Give me a stack of crosswords and a pen and I can entertain myself for hours. I am the reason they put those little peg brain-teasers on the table at Cracker Barrel. I have spent more than 30 years turning an unsolved murder over and over...

The best part of Thanksgiving is what comes next. Not the monthlong march toward Christmas. Or the Black Friday bacchanal of spending. Nope, I’m talking about something that we take for granted. Something that often gets overlooked or discarded. Something some people complain about being too plentiful. Leftovers. First, there...

My friend was alone in her house. Her husband and daughters had taken refuge elsewhere because she hadn’t only tested positive for covid-19 — she was clearly sick with it. She couldn’t taste or smell anything. She coughed and coughed and felt kitten-like weakness. She was scared for herself and...

Let’s just move on. It’s time. We have to put things behind us and get on with our lives. Some people are happy and some aren’t, but really, there are just two kinds of people in the world anymore. People who are ready for Hallmark Christmas movies to be on...

So when do we decide polling is just the 21st-century version of witchcraft? Regardless of what happens with the ballots and counts and final tallies of the 2020 general election, one thing is clear. The way it ended up doesn’t look that much like what the predictions were. There were...

“I know what that means.” The words were in response to an exchange with a friend on social media. I said nothing political. When it comes to Facebook and Twitter, I very seldom do. A quippy statement that was, ironically, about staying neutral ended up sparking a whole new squabble...

Polls seem like the worst measure of politics. Randomly questioning people to see how they feel about issues and how they feel about candidates, how they would vote and if they are likely to do so. They are a hodgepodge of numbers that puff themselves up and try hard to...

“I did it!” my kid said to his screen. The answer sounded approving, but I couldn’t really tell what she was saying. My son is taking a computer coding class. His teacher is a delightful woman from India who is encouraging and supportive. Neither of them really understand a word...

There are very few things as disappointing as a near miss. It is an honor just to be nominated, but runner-up seems to sting more than honorable mention because you were just that close to the crown. That’s probably part of why the office of the vice president of the...

It was the longest night of my life. The debate dragged on forever. And he continued to not answer the questions. Well, he did answer. His replies just didn’t have much to do with the questions that were asked. It was frustrating. It was annoying. I don’t mind saying, it...

A catafalque is decorated structure designed to hold a casket. It is to a funeral what the head table is to a wedding — the place where all eyes focus in the celebration. But the most famous catafalque in America is not elaborate. Draped and swagged in black fabric that...

Being part of a team means doing a lot together. It means you work toward a common goal. It means supporting and encouraging each other. It also means challenging each other to do better. It doesn’t mean everyone has to think the same thing. Putting on a uniform isn’t surrendering...

Why aren’t we the people we were 19 years ago? On Sept. 11, 2001, we were broken and bleeding, grieving and groaning in pain. The terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center and shredded the Pentagon and cratered a field in Shanksville stole thousands of lives and left...

If there is one thing we have learned in 2020, it is what a hero looks like. A hero doesn’t have to jump in front of a bullet. He might drive a bus. A hero doesn’t have to run faster than a train. She might admit patients in the ER....

Elections are often talked about in sporting terms. It’s a race. It’s a game. Who is ahead? By how many points? Play offense. Play defense. Home field advantage. Score big. But maybe the biggest similarity between picking our leaders and playing ball is in the timing. When my family watches...

Because my mother is a nurse, I have spent years having my television and movie viewing punctuated by huffing and heckling. “Those bed rails would never be like that.” “They would never inject that in a bicep.” “That’s not how you draw blood.” I may have rolled my eyes a...

The pyramids have stood for thousands of years, proclaiming the ability of Egyptian pharaohs like Khufu and Khafre to orchestrate projects of literally monumental scale. They tell us that there are deeds that are bigger than a person and that while a person’s life is short, history can have a...

A year ago, I was writing a column about school safety. I had just attended orientation for my son, learning the ropes and checking out the rooms at the middle school he was excited to start. The safety issues were guns and active shooter situations, with a side note of...