Articles written by Dave Knechel

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About me - Dave Knechel

Hello, my name is Dave Knechel. Good luck pronouncing my last name. I grew up in Flemington, New Jersey, but moved to the Orlando, Florida area in 1981.

When I moved here, I got a job as a hard line/ad layout artist for the Belk Lindsey department store chain.

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Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Fishing: 2 of 46
Fishin' with Frank on Cable 68When I moved to Orlando from New Jersey, my old friends from up there came up with the idea that we should have an annual party, like The Big Chill movie. For years after that, many of my good friends would meet every summer at the beach house in Beach Haven, NJ. My best friend, Stew's, parents o... More..
Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Food: 9 of 139
The Mushroom IncidentEver since I was a little kid, I could spot a hair on my plate. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see it if it was halfway buried under the food. They were usually from cats or dogs, since we always had one or two of them running around the house.When I owned a restaurant in New Jersey, there were a co... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Ghosts & Paranormal Phenomena Pondering the existence of ghosts, demons and angels: 5 of 73
When I was living on Bonnell Street, in Flemington, NJ, back in the late 70s, I had several experiences that you could call strange. One night, lying in bed, I was dozing off, but awakened by the front door opening. At that time, I lived alone and my bedroom was the first one up the stairs. I heard footsteps, like female foot... More..
Creative Writing > Memoirs Testimonies: Deciding to euthanize a pet: 2 of 28
When It's TimeI believe it was George Carlin who observed that human beings are remarkably funny when it comes to pets. You get one, it lives for 15 years, it dies and you mourn. You get another one, it lives 15 years, it dies and you mourn again. And so on and so on, until you get so old you get a pet to take care of and com... More..
Creative Writing > Satire Satire: Things people do when driving: 4 of 29
Is that a Verizon on the horizon?When I was a young boy, one of my grandfathers was a TV and appliance repairman. Because of this, we had televisions before most people with money had them. My older brother and I shared a bedroom. We even had one. It was fascinating to wake up and go to that giant box with the little round sc... More..
Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Travel: 12 of 83
The Road TripA little over two years ago, my brother-in-law underwent a bone marrow transplant for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. (He has been in remission since.) He and my sister were living in Houston, where he was a long term patient at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. They'd been there for quite some time while he underwent c... More..
Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Air conditioning: 1 of 6
FACTORY AIRWhen I moved to the Orlando, Florida area in 1981, my best friend tried his best to coax me into moving back to New Jersey. "Why do you want to live in Florida?" he asked. "All you do is go from your air conditioned house to your air conditioned car to your air conditioned job." He was right, but so what?"So do you... More..
Politics, News & Issues > People in the News Will OJ flee the US while out on bail?: 6 of 32
How could OJ ever run away from a media circus? Seriously? To flee, he would have to admit guilt. Guilt of some kind. Somewhere in the back of his head. Nope. Never. When he ran during the infamous Freeway chase, he ran home. Slowly. Plenty of TV coverage. Whee! Look at me! ICOJ.One thing is certain about personalities like h... More..
Health & Fitness > Nicotine Dependence An overview on giving up tobacco: 2 of 9
Up In Smoke(Author's note: The date of this article is not important. Quitting smoking is always timely.)Tomorrow is a great day to celebrate a milestone. It will be one month since I stopped smoking after almost 40 years. For the longest time, I've wanted to, but it is not an easy task. People who have never smoked don't get... More..
Home & Garden > Home Repair (Other) How to fix common house paint problems: 2 of 8
Preparation is the key to exterior paintingWhen I was young, in the 70s, my boss used to lay me off during the summer months because he could get 3 school kids to work for what he was paying me. It gave me the opportunity to paint residential and commercial buildings. I took pride in my work and made pretty good money, too. B... More..