Dear Readers, It's hard to believe but this month's issue of Packrat Today, the very one you now hold in your hands, marks our 20th anniversary. This milestone means that for all the loyal hoarder  

First Day of School: Kindergarten -- I grip my mother's hand tightly as we enter the large, open classroom. The smell of paste and crayons is oppressive. My anxiety is running high. Anxiety about c  

My story begins with a possessive. From there, it twists, through a series of dependent and independent clauses, as well as parentheticals (unavoidable in the course of a discursive narrative such   

The AAA Travel Guide to Rome: Revised and Updated for the Year 49 A.D. Today's Roman Empire is recognized as mankind's most successful and advanced civilization to date. (Sorry, Egyptians!) And t  

Reflections on a Schulzless Universe by Charlie Brown I lost my faith about six years ago, in a weird kind of convergent way. I woke up one morning and there, already in my head, loomed this prefo  

-- What's up? -- Manager down at the Empire Theater just called. Claims he just witnessed a comedy sketch being murdered. -- Damn. That's three this week. -- Lot of unfunny people out there. You   

I saw it. In a store. Or in an ad. Maybe on an infomercial. Or in a magazine. Like Time or Slate or 20/20. Or, for that matter, on a lifestyle or makeover show. Though I might have seen it while   

The Kiss of Pro-Death The street was chockablock with black-and-whites by the time Easy arrived. He'd heard the call on his police scanner and decided to cruise by, check it out. Approaching th  

Dear Mr. Woodiwiss, It has long been the goal of United Humanthema Healthcare to provide plan members with the maximum possible coverage for the lowest possible cost. Toward that end, UHH was firs  

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one person to dissolve the political bands which have connected him with the sole remaining superpower of the earth, jeez, what a giant   

In this Christmas season cheery, while out browsing, growing weary, Ent'ring chain and specialty shops with merchandise and products galore, I sought to purchase with my plastic, something utterly  

FOR: Dr. Adam Allupp, Professor of Mathematics, Stanford University Scientists seek to observe, gather and interpret quantifiable, empirical data as a means of understanding events, processes and   

Hillenbrand Industries Inc.'s Hill-Rom subsidiary has launched a new product. The Excel Care bariatric [hospital] bed is designed for morbidly obese patients who weigh up to 1,000 pounds. The bed h  

In the two-plus years since President Bush launched his war of choice on Iraq, I've seen countless "yellow ribbon" car magnets, quite a few bumper stickers and, more rarely but nevertheless regular  

The Creation Museum, currently under construction in Petersburg, Ky., will depict the Earth's history based on a strict, literal interpretation of the Bible rather than on the theory of evolution.