Blossoming crabapple and a good steak

I awoke to a good pour in the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood this Mother’s Day morning. And the coffee pot is still brewing to fill the cup the size of my head. No, I’m talking about the rain that was falling down loud and proud to awaken me this Sunday.…

I remember Dolores on Mother’s Day

She was a child bride, in all definitions of the word. Dolores was 18 when she wed 19-year-old Frank. I’m not sure if the magnificent photo of them above was at her high school prom or my Aunt Marion — my mom’s sister — and Uncle Chet’s wedding. Both would have been a year or…

Political Surprises

If We Were Having Coffee Your Barista – Paul Welcome to Willow’s weekly coffee and tea garden. My name is Paul, I’ll be your barista today and I’m happy to be here once again. This week Willow is unable to access her Internet so we’ll be meeting here at Mark Bialczak’s Little Bitty in Syracuse,…

The end of an era for the little program that could

Brian McDowell took the podium at his final year-end Journalism Convocation at the State University of New York at Morrisville last week. The professor looked somewhat happy to be able to pack away his books and belongings and go back home to spend more time with his wife. And he looked somewhat sad in the…

No irony-ing needed

The T-shirt caught my eye with a corner of olive peeking from the bottom of the shelf pile this warm and sunny Friday morning in Syracuse after a winter of neglect. My dear wife Karen had purchased it for my before my layoff from the big daily. Why, yes, I wore it to go view…

A beautiful Friday in May this second

The weather guy is calling for a record high on this Friday, May 8, predicting that it will reach 89º F here in Syracuse, N.Y. On “Today,” the stories from Al Roker and crew are of early tropical storms coming toward Myrtle Beach — first of the season, in particular, by the name of Anna…