Category Archives: Life in the United States

From time to time, ESL Podcast blog readers have asked where I find my ideas. The answer is really quite simple: every day, as I scan (look quickly at) the articles that come to my computer, I look for article … Continue reading →

Walt Disney. Salvador Dali. Strange bedfellows? Or kindred spirits? When we say that two people are strange bedfellows, we mean that we don’t usually connect them in our thinking.  The relationship seems odd (unusual or unexpected) to us. Shakespeare used … Continue reading →

More than 20 years ago – in 1988 – Bobby McFerrin wrote his song Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Before the year ended, the song had rocketed (risen quickly) to the top of the Billboard Top 100 Chart. The chart, published … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago I wrote about going to a traditional Midwestern (in the middle and northern part of the U.S.) fall festival, and described the types of games and events you might find there. Today we’ll talk about an … Continue reading →

Possibly the oldest lady in the U.S. celebrated her 125th birthday a few days ago. For many years she never said a word, but her message spread throughout (to every part of) the world. When she did speak, her words … Continue reading →

Many countries have a tradition of the harvest festival, a point we mentioned recently on ESL Podcast 723. Harvest refers to the food you take out of the fields (places where food grows) to sell or eat.  A festival is … Continue reading →

Los Angeles Stakes Its Claim as a World Art Center. That was a headline a few days ago in the New York Times. To stake a claim means to say publicly that you believe you have the right (authority or … Continue reading →

According to a recent study (research investigation), the closer teenagers (those ages 13 to 19) live to places where alcohol is sold, the more likely they are to binge drink. Binge drinking is when you drink excessively (too much) over … Continue reading →

Childhood memories are never far away. A New York Times article triggered (caused me to remember) one of mine recently. The article – about Ava Drug in Ava, Missouri – brought back memories of the corner drug store and, especially, … Continue reading →

You’ve probably seen it, usually after something exciting has happened, especially if you watch American sports. Two players approach (move toward) each other, raise their hands simultaneously (at the same time), and, when they are close enough, slap (hit with … Continue reading →