Nothing quite like the sound of a snowmobile on a city night

Once, twice, three times my dear wife Karen and I heard the unmistakeable sound outside our living room window tonight. A snowmobile, going fast, with that trademark engine whine, around our Syracuse city neighborhood. We had almost a foot of snow today. The enthusiast who lives anonymously among us would not let the opportunity slide.…

Syracuse gets ready to experience the ACC Tournament

Folks around Syracuse have grown quite comfortable with their Orange’s role in the Big East Tournament. The march down to Madison Square Garden was always something to talk about in Central New York. Syracuse was a charter member in 1979. The rivalries with Georgetown, Villanova and Connecticut seemed to crank up even higher during the…

The flip side of daylight savings

I do admit that I dig the extra hour of daylight after dinner. But as I opened my eyes to face the morning side of Daylight Savings Time, I was again reminded that it’s just one big Ponzi scheme. I had waited all winter for daylight to greet my opening eyes, day by day, minute…

‘Mr. Peabody & Sherman’ reinforce some timely lessons

Sure, bring the kids to “Mr. Peabody & Sherman.” They’ll get into the funny dog and silly boy. The Dreamworks animation will satisfy the most savvy modern youngster. Pay attention, mom, dad and grandparents. There’s plenty of humor and plot aimed to your level, too. I was wondering if they could match the wit and…

Breaking up is hard to do

. The Maryland fans in Comcast Center Sunday afternoon were prepared to witness something special during the Terrapins’ final regular season basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The students carried signs that trumpeted “61 Years.” That’s the amount of time Maryland has played against the Dukes and North Carolinas of the sporting world as…

In March, there were three birthdays in our house

My older younger sister celebrates an almost-milestone birthday today. Happy birthday, Frannie! Her big day used to start a parade of cake and candles when we were growing up. Father Frank was born on March 13; mom Dolores on March 21. Youngest sibling Dory (September) and oldest sibling me got to sing and eat. That…

Red Carpet treatment at the Syracuse Area Music Awards

The organizers of Friday night’s Syracuse Area Music Awards made sure the guests felt welcome. The lobby of The Palace Theatre in Syracuse included a red carpet staging area. They put a banner with the event’s sponsor logos on it, and pushed a big replica of the Sammys trophy on the side, too. In other…