Uncle Leo passed away this week. If you’re a Seinfeld fan, you remember his signature line “Hello!” Nobody got more mileage out of a simple greeting than Len Lesser, the actor that played Uncle Leo. Although he only appeared in 15 episodes, he was a fan favorite.
I viewed Uncle Leo/Len Lesser as sort of a hero.  He appeared in 167 movies and TV shows. And he did so while being… ummm how do I say this… significantly less than handsome.

It’s here! Icemageddon is upon us. The stores are being raided by terrified Midwesterners as the “Catastrophic” Storm of the Century approaches Indiana. I’m ready. I’ve got Pez.

Have you ever noticed that romantic comedies are never set in Iran? Have you ever seen a chic flick set in the Mashhad or Tehran? Of course not! Why, do you reckon that’s the case? It’s because Iran hates Valentine’s Day! And when I say hate, I mean officials actually banned Valentine’s Day in Iran!
Now I’m sure there’s an exec at Hallmark thinking, “Hey, it’s no big deal. Iran isn’t a big greeting card market anyway.”  But, I am deeply troubled by this! Over 70% of the Iranian population is under 30! …

There’s a holiday tradition that frightens me. It’s the drinking of Egg Nog. Humans weren’t meant to drink a liquid called Nog. Nog should be something that you keep in your garage. It should only come out for sealing your driveway or filling in the gaps in your bathroom tile. Nog has no business at a Christmas party commiserating with the cookies and other deserts.
The history of Nog dates back to the early pioneer days in America. It …

For those under the clouds
Staring up in awesome wonder
As tears come slowly down
Reaching up a needful hand… ~Jars of Clay
There are many of them in the Indy area —needful hands of every race, religion, and background. There are more of them this year than ever. So many, it seems overwhelming. I’ve been working for the Salvation Army for over 8 years. I’ve never had so many people come to me directly for help. People that were volunteers or donors a year ago, are out of work, wondering where the next …

It’s good to be an American today. We have this wonderful tradition called Thanksgiving. It’s a day of family and food and football and more food. It’s a day of remembering our blessings. So, I thought I would provide this little public service as a way of saying thanks to all the Citizens who read my blog. I wanted to give you the real history of this holiday —not the well researched stuff you get on History Channel. I wanted to give you the Jeff version of history. It’s much …

Are you looking for a unique gift this Christmas? Are you intimidated by the Black Friday lines and the early start times?  Well I have a shopping tip for you. There are hundreds of bargains to be found at my house! That’s right, I’m putting most of my junk -I mean highly valuable and sought after items on sale! And, you don’t have to be up at 4am to get the deals. In fact, if you show up at 4am, you won’t even get in. I’m thinking this sale will …

I’ve been moved by how many of my Twitter followers are looking for a job. So many people are out of work and I’m just not grateful enough for being employed right now. So, I thought I would do a little something to help.
If you are Citizen (follower) on Twitter, email me a photo, a resume, and a short bio (being funny is a plus) and I will post it on my blog. Be creative. Be remarkable.
I don’t want anything in return, just throw some change in one of the …

Some people drive really fast because they are perpetually late. Some people drive really fast because they lead stressed out lives —filled with more to-do’s than time.  I drive really fast because I drive like my Grandma.
That may seem a little odd to you. Don’t grandma’s drive really slow? Not my late Grandma. Before Danica Patrick, before Sarah Fisher, before Janet Guthrie, there was Roxy. Roxy never got to drive in the Indy 500. She lived and died long before women could compete in auto racing. But if you talk …

One of the people I follow on Twitter, Harrison Painter, asked an intriguing question today: What is the number 1 reason people give up on their dreams? It got me thinking about a lot of things, not the least of which being my own dreams.
Some of the top reasons I could find in no particular order:

Running out of energy or motivation.
Inability to get through the walls that will eventually come up. Seth Godin refers to it as The Dip.
Criticism
Fear
A sense of adult responsibility.