When that school newspaper came off the ditto machine, I was hooked

My writing quest goes back to the days of the ditto machine. It was the eighth grade. I loved sports. I tried out for the junior high basketball team. I made it to the final cut before Coach Herb Friedman did not call out my name. We lived in a big school district on Long…

A throwback to what made my father happy

One look at this photo, and memories of what brought my father Frank joy smack me in the back of the head. Yeah, sometimes he’d do that, too, figuratively, with just one of his parental death stares. But not when we were tooling around the village of Stony Brook. Our father was proud of this…

Aw, shucks, I’ll accept that I’m still versatile

I let two weeks go by and I can hardly remember what awards have come my way of late. I do know the first thank you goes to Amanda Lyle, author of the endlessly interesting Inside the Life of Moi blog. Give that link a click, and Amanda’s work is sure to amuse you. And…

A snowy spring hiccup

That is not the sight I wanted to wake up to on April 16 in Syracuse, N.Y. Not when just a day ago when I took a good, long look at this garden in our city neighborhood of Eastwood front yard, I was noting the yellow flowers of this forsythia that’s the cornerstone of the…

How’d you like to see B.B. King play guitar for free?

Every time this gentleman walks to a stage to perform, he’s introduced the same way. He’s played a lot of shows and heard a lot of introductions. And, really, he’s a man whose recognizable face, ringing guitar sound and gritty vocals need no introduction. That’s “Mister B.B. King” to you and me. There’s been a…

First color in our yard beats the return of snow

It’s been awhile coming this spring. With the winter we’ve had here in our Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, it’s seemed like forever. Flower power arrived yesterday. We received the first burst of color. It came from the plant above, the one that we thought was from a tulip bulb that Karen missed when she…

Now that’s a front moving through

When my dear wife Karen and I pulled out of our driveway to drive an hour west to the Waterloo Premium Outlets early this afternoon, the car dashboard thermometer read 80 degrees. We enjoyed the last hour of the spring warmup, strolling the outdoor quad of stores in shirt sleeves. I wore shorts. But while…

Last Call for Blogging U.: Challenges Start Tomorrow

Here I come Blogging 201! I can’t wait to learn how to make this thing better.

Kevin Costner matures into the GM role in ‘Draft Day’

Kevin Costner long ago passed that movie star moment when some fans start to despise his work because … because … because … well, because he’s so damn successful, might appear a bit smug at most times, has the swagger to bring his rock band out on tour even though he might not be the…

Remembering a daughter and a husband on a grief day

There’s no shortage of joy in our home here in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood for my dear wife Karen and I, and Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle, too. We hope that the happiness with life radiates out to adult children Daryl and Elisabeth as well. Of course we have our share of pain…