Tom Gerdy

I didn't want it to come to this, but I have been pushed to my limit. I am announcing my candidacy for the presidency of the United States of America. Because I have never held or even run for any local, state, or national political office, many will want to...

Sometimes in life, we have to laugh to keep from crying. I was hit with one of those moments when I heard the now infamous "kosher meal" robocall from Newt before the Florida primary. As I heard, read the text, heard again, and reread the text of this...

One of the local high schools recently dedicated an area adjoining the gym as a sports hall of fame. I would like to tell you that I attended because I was inducted, and most of you would not know the difference. The problem is it would change this piece from...

Yearly, I take time before Christmas to watch It's a Wonderful Life. This year was no different. As George Bailey's brother, Harry, raises a glass to toast his brother, saying, "A toast to my big brother George, the richest man in town," I again had to wipe away some tears....

During the last two decades, we have witnessed the emergence of a phenomenon that has become known as reality television. Reality shows have become a guilty pleasure of many TV viewers. Some of us don't want to admit that we are hooked on one show or another, but many of...

Americans stopped briefly Monday to honor our veterans with Memorial Day services around the country. With that in mind, and as we approach the 10-year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I have a question. Where have all the flags gone?

In Arianna Huffington's...

"Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, welcome to the greatest show on Earth!" My guess is that most of your thoughts take you straight to the memories you have been given by the Ringling Brothers and P. T. Barnum. When the ringmaster with the deep booming voice speaks those...

Twenty-five years before the Revolutionary War began, Reverend Jonathan Mayhew was credited for having coined the rallying cry, "No taxation without representation." Fifteen years later, as the divide widened between England and the colonies, a Boston politician named James Otis reportedly added his own, stronger catchphrase to the debate, saying,...

As I sit here typing away on this piece, I do so with full knowledge that I risk offending anyone who doesn't believe in a supreme being. I am sure that some atheist will bash this article and me for even mentioning the possibility of a God. I also risk...

I have heard it said that we have a million laws to enforce Ten Commandments, a list of rules that several religions have adopted as the basis of, or at least an important part of, living a good life. Interestingly, much excitement and furor has been stirred up recently because...

Bribery, drugs, gambling, strong-arm tactics, cheating, stealing, and lies make for a full day in the life of a gang or organized crime member. One would think that living in a world that involves such things would make it hard to close your eyes and sleep at night. However, an...

As I start, I need to paint a picture for you. Try to picture a 57-year-old, 6'2", 250-plus-pound, green-eyed man sitting on the couch watching the end of "It's a Wonderful Life." As I have grown older, I have often been referred to as burly. I am not sure, but...

Democracy carries a great deal of weight in our country. It is so important to us that we have gone to war to protect and defend our democracy. Not only have people given their lives over many decades to protect our democracy, but we also have sent young men and...

I recently was able to hang out with Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert in Washington, DC. According to Fox News (and Personal Opinion), I was there with a couple dozen of my young lily-white liberal friends to bash the right wing. If you believe the right-wing accounting of the event,...

Most of us with a few gray hairs can remember Edwin Land's invention. What an amazing development! We could take a picture and see it in a few minutes. It was very helpful if your memory was extremely short. Within about a minute or so of taking the picture, you...

Electronic interaction has been laid on us as a way to communicate better with our friends, neighbors, and even strangers. We can share every detail of our lives without ever speaking to a living and breathing human. We text, e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook our way through the day. The anonymity...

This is an important message to all our elected officials from your sponsor, Tom the Carpenter.

I am a carpenter, a small-business owner, and a taxpayer. That being the case, I am your boss, and I want more input into what you are doing. Unfortunately, over the years, you have...

I recently sat down and watched the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams" again. For some unexplained reason, it spoke to me louder than it did the first couple of times that I experienced it. In a strange sort of way, I found it more powerful and relevant in relation to...

I was raised in a family that loved sports. My father coached high school football and refereed high school basketball for thirty or forty years in North Jersey. It was understood that his three sons would be involved in sports. Both my brothers played basketball at Davidson College. My younger...

As young people reach college age, they have a serious propensity to question most of the world around them. Thoughts, ideas, and assumptions that at one time seemed rock solid suddenly seem to be balancing on very shaky foundations. It is a time when they search for better answers to...