The other day, a friend of mine stumbled upon the expression "living vicariously" while reading a book and asked me what it meant. It wasn't the first time someone I had fielded this very question. Vicariously simply means that you're experiencing something indirectly, like when your friend's vacation feels like your own. Vicariously is the adverb form of the word vicarious, which also signifies experiencing something through another person. An avid reader, I'll be the first person to admit that I often live vicariously through the people I read about in books. I'm an avid American history buff and am always reading books that center on the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. There are two I enjoy reading more about than the rest, though: Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Not only did they found the nascent republic's first two political parties -- the Federalist party and Democ...

A lot has been made of the Blizzard of 2016, otherwise known as "Snowzilla," which has dumped much of the East coast with record levels of snow. But did you know a snowstorm that struck Virginia in the late 1700s was so potent that it forced a pair of founding fathers to stay indoors? Indeed, the Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm of 1772, which kept George Washington and Thomas Jefferson holed up in their respective Virginia plantations, walloped the colony from the 26th through the 29th of January. The storm is so named because both men wrote in their weather diaries of unprecedented levels of snow falling in the vicinity. When it was all said and done, the snowstorm may have dumped as much as three inches of snow on the region, making it one of the biggest of its kind to ever hit the Virginia/DC area. Had you ever heard of the Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm before? Have you ever experienced a snowstorm yourself?

I am pleased to share with you the first of many Quotes of the Day. This is just one of several new features I will be integrating into the blog in the new year. Without further ado, the first Quote of the Day comes from Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), who, aside from being one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was a respected writer, printer, inventor, scientist, statesman, and diplomat. "If you desire many things, many things will seem few." - Benjamin Franklin I love the meaning behind this well-known quote by the revered Franklin. I take it to mean that the more you yearn for material things, the less you'll be satisfied by them. You'll want something, grow bored of it, and angle for the next thing that grabs your interest. Rinse and repeat -- it's a vicious cycle that never ends. Unfortunately, we know far too many people that become locked in the tight grip of consumerism. Many factors are to blame, including advertisements and promotions ...