An Introduction: Why "The Inside Curve"?

Picture this: an 8-hour car ride in a late 80's station wagon with an 80-year-old grandpa who would constantly remind me: 

"Take the inside curve!" 

"Why the inside curve?" I said knowingly.  I just wanted to hear is reasoning.  Sometimes it was funny. 

"You'll save miles on your car - racers do it all the time!" 

Much of this road trip was grandpa letting out an "Ahem!" followed by grandma's "RAAALPH, you're teaching him to drive like a maniac, make him SLOW DOWN!!!"  And my mother?  Well...I'll just say this: like mother like daughter. 

This was Julius Raphael Landini - "Ralph" as family and friends called him. He was full of advice for the ways of the road: 

"You don't need to fill up now! You'll just be hauling gas!" (It makes sense, actually!)  

"Don't stop at that station - the tanker's refilling it! You'll be pumping dirty gas!" 

Whether that last one was true, escapes me. If this blog ever takes off - someone will Google it.

Though some viewed this behavior as overbearing and controlling, I never did. It was all quite amusing at the time. His commentaries ranged from; the best way to sweep a floor (short quick strokes), how priests should give their homilies (more on that, later), how to fix the Y2K bug (just change the time), ways to get the dog to stop humping you (change your soap), and my favorite - the best way to make a baby (always do it after a hard day's work.) 

So, The Inside Curve is what Grandpa always did - testify as to what makes life easier and what makes life worth living sometimes accompanies by a fine glass of whine (not a typo). But fair warning, it will contain posts of a religious and spiritual nature - so I hope you can stomach it. But I promise it will be amusing and not too churchy - ok maybe it will get too churchy at times. Thank God for the scrollbar. The same goes for any commentaries on history or current events I may bring up - I will try to keep it lighthearted and nonpartisan. But in all honesty, I lean to the left on some issues and to the right on others. So, if you need or want to be pissed off - look no further and just read on...

...and take the inside curve.