Columnists

Last week I found myself exploring streets graced with gingko trees (Gingko biloba). Their fan-shaped leaves rustled in a welcome breeze that for a moment offered respite from thick humidity of New York City.

My father was sick for several years before he died. Dad told me that he and my mother were leaving their entire estate to me, their only child. He even showed me their wills.

There is an interesting line in the preamble to the movie of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, The Lord of the Rings.

Any parent knows that it can be a challenge to get kids to eat vegetables and some fruits. We’ve learned all the tricks: smothering broccoli with cheese sauce, putting peanut butter and raisins on celery sticks and calling it “ants on a log”, convincing kids that eating spinach will give them Popeye muscles.

Dear Annie: I have been married to “Vic” for 22 years. Our marriage is solid. We have an 18-year-old daughter, “Kara,” who is totally in love with her father. Vic is, in turn, greatly attached to her

Some people never have enough covered roof space for storing all their outdoor stuff. I’m one of them.

What is your opinion of Wii, Xbox, Play-Station and other types of video games?

I had to chuckle when I read the letter from “Holding My Breath in North Dakota,” who said a woman in her Pilates class passed gas.

An employee of a local firm invited my husband and me to a very nice restaurant. Our hosts were two men from a large company.

Microsoft has taken the unusual step this week of releasing information on a security hole in Windows XP that it hasn’t fixed yet, so I am using my space to help secure your computer.