Welcome to March at the Syracuse St. Patrick’s Parade

The happy times will roll down Syracuse’s Salina Street this afternoon. The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a really big deal. For hours and hours, bands will march, floats will be pulled, vintage cars will roll slowly so dignitaries can wave from inside, fire companies will show off their shiniest truck. Dance schools will…

Knock down, stay up

If I don’t get out there with the shovel right quick, my dear wife Karen will have to bob and weave when she walks out to her car a few minutes from now. Yes, this time I’m talking using the shovel reaching up. On the roof of our side porch right this 7:53 a.m. second…

For those who like to go fast and those who like to join clubs

Can a movie trailer get you car sick? I felt somewhat on the verge watching the cut-cut-cut to the chases in the preview for the racy “Need for Speed.” But I did feel assured by the fact that never have a had to race myself for the big bucket at a theater, not even during…

I’m tired of the red truck and the unleashed black dog

This is our beloved rescue mutt Ellie B, aka Dogamous Pyle. Isn’t she a beauty? It is my responsibility to keep her safe and sound, and I take that job seriously. In the winter, she tends to love sprawling in the living room. I know, though, that a daily walk is good for both of…

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.…

Icing on the cake for fellow blogger’s birthday?

While commenting with my fellow Syracuse blogger Christopher S. Malone yesterday, the subject of snow came up. No surprise. I did mention Syracuse, right? In any case, Chris said it always snows here on March 12. And he would know that because … drum roll, please … it’s his birthday. Happy birthday, interesting fellow. If…

Generations of Syracuse musicians celebrate past and present

A band from the 1950s, The Madisons, took home a trophy from the founder Frank Malfitano. A band that started in the 1970s, The Flashcubes, took home a trophy for induction into the Hall of Fame. A band starting out, Rabbit in the Rye, took home the trophy for the Brian Bourke Award for best…

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…

So be it, but I will say a quick hello to the green

When the morning newspaper puts a forecast for a foot of snow the next day on the top of the front page, I have to take notice. Especially on the second straight day when the temperatures in Syracuse have cracked 40 degrees, spurring a good melt and a measurable rise in my spirits. I’m about…

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…