Hot April Night

Early on during his concert Saturday night in the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., Neil Diamond asked how many people had gotten their tickets as Christmas presents. Half the 16,000 or so folks there cheered. I hollered out “anniversary, Neil!” The wait from October was worth it. My dear wife Karen can now cross seeing…

Touched down in D.C.

Good Neighbor Tim was told the plans and promised to keep an eye and an ear on the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle is staying someplace close that she loves. My dear wife Karen and I boarded the big bird at Hancock International on Friday morning.…

Love in Ten Lines — Challenge

All you need is … Well, all I need is to write a 10-line poem about love, thanks to my friend Belinda, the marvelous mind behind the always interesting blog Idiot Writing. Belinda tagged me in the Love in Ten Lines Challenge. Poetry! Here are the rules. •Write about love using only 10 lines. •Use…

A community comes together to help a kind man

Friends come from many places in life, if you’re fortunate. My dear wife Karen and I met Dave and Pauline Togni when they joined the group of folks we take cruises with on the big ships. They know people who know people who we know. For several of these happy vacations, Dave and Pauline were…

Eclectic Corner: Splash of Color

This month’s edition of Eclectic Corner features the theme “Splash of Colour.” Justine has done herself proud once again, you’ll see if you click that link above, with a wonderful photograph, quote and haiku of her own to get our juices stirring to follow her lead. All we have to do is post a picture,…

Andrew Grau feels the groove in hip-hop and jazz

The Grautet is about to record an album with a bunch of musicians from New York City making the most out of a day booked in a New Jersey studio. The people of upstate New York — Skaneateles and Oneonta, in particular — should take notice. The band leader of the Grautet is bass player…

I’m not a big fan of foolish pranks

I’m tempting fate by reblogging my harrumph about April Fool’s jokes I held off until April 3 last year. Somebody’s sure to sneak up on me today now. … Convince me to believe something I want to be true but isn’t … Place the best-looking counterfeit hundred down on the street in front of me…

Big piles persist, and that’s no joke

Taking one last long lunchtime March walk Tuesday with Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle through our Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, we couldn’t help but notice how no matter how high the angle of the sun has become, those 119 inches that fell on our city since October have been just too much. And even…