Ever been to Ocean City, Maryland? It’s a summertime wonderland, and I was lucky enough years ago to get hired to do a seminar on hydronic radiant heating for a group of contractors who were having a conference there.

Before I retired in 2016, I’d get a lot of calls from lawyers who wanted to hire me to be an expert witness at a trial. They were almost always representing a building owner. I always said “no thank you,” because I like to keep stress out of my life.

Our daughter Erin, concerned about the heavy rains Maryland had been having, wanted to have some window wells on her basement checked out. 

Jane had given Teddy a coupon on his way out the door that morning. He was looking at it as he waited in line at the Burger King drive-through. 

I was sitting next to a 99-year-old woman in an auditorium. I knew she was 99 because she introduced herself as Irene and told me her exact age. Then she sat back and waited for me to say something.   

We have so many names for common things and tools that we use in this business; and because I have way too much time on my hands, I started wondering how those names came to be.