1. My wife Marilyn
“I’ve been married for 61 years. It would just be wrong not to have Marilyn at the top of this list.”
2. Yorkshire pudding
Every Christmas, Marilyn makes this wonderful English dish—Yorkshire pudding. We all gather around the oven just as the baking time is coming to an end to see how high it has risen. It’s a wonderful family tradition.
3. Gray cardigan
My assistant Mary gave me this cozy gray sweater with leather elbow patches several years ago. I wear it all of the time. When it starts to get frayed, we fix it because I love it that much. What’s that saying? You wear 20 percent of your clothes 80 percent of the time. That’s my gray sweater for sure.
4. A glass of merlot and the 5:30 p.m. news
I’m a man of routine. Each day after work, I pour a nice glass of merlot and watch the 5:30 p.m. news with Marilyn.
The wine makes even the bad news not sound that terrible.
5. My dog Toby
Toby is a rescue dog that we’ve had for about four years. He’s somewhat like a golden retriever and is just the best dog. He’s watched Apollo 13 three times with no complaints.
—Edited by Ann Marie Scheidler