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The Inseide Dope, by Bob Seidenstein

Reservations on the Astral Plane

My family, though mostly undistinguished, are world-class leaders in one realm — worrying. And among the generations of worriers, I’m an all-time standout. It’s nothing I learned or practiced or somehow acquired. Instead, while all other babies are born crying, I hit the light of day ...

When reason is out of season

We all like to think of ourselves (though not necessarily of others) as rational creatures. You know the drill: All the other animals are our intellectual inferiors, be we — good ole evolved We — are, to mix the metaphors, either the bee’s knees or the cat’s pajamas. Of course, ...

On patience, impatience, and outpatients

It’s Tuesday morning, at the ungodly hour of 10:45. Instead of chillin’ in my Lay-Z-Boy, sippin’ my my java, as befits a man of leisure like me, I’m plotzed in the waiting room of The Kaiser of Cardiology hisself, Terrible Tony Tramontano. People complain constantly about having to ...

May the circle be unbroken

About two months ago, Barb Heller asked me to do a gig in a variety show at the Edwards Opera House. The opera house is a beautifully restored 19th century building, a performer’s dream-come-true. It was my vision of heaven, except — best of all — to get there, I wouldn’t have to ...

The Transaction

There was a hit song in the ‘50s called “Mutual Admiration Society.” I can’t remember what year it was popular or who sang it. Matter of fact, the only thing I remember is its title, which is because it describes perfectly one of my favorite — and rarest — kind of ...

Jackie Mackey was no lackey

We all have inborn skills. They vary in degree and kind, but we’ve got them from the get-go. For example, there are those history-making, one-of-a kind, blazing geniuses like Einstein, Shakespeare, Marie Curie, Muhammad Ali, Jane Goodall, Mozart, Da Vinci and Michaelangelo. No one is in ...