Polish Fest pride

As I worked a Saturday morning for the library, I tottered back and forth about plans for my dear wife Karen and I to meet my terrific daughter Elisabeth and wonderful significant George Three at Polish Fest. Dash down James Street to Channel Three in the rain to a morning newscast interview for Outreach Clerk…

Living with Cats

It’s been a few years since my dear wife Karen and I had a cat around the Little Bitty. RIP, dear Puffy and Toby. Take it away, Sunday guest columnist Paul, to handle the subject of the furry feline pets. Don’t get any ideas, Karen. Welcome to the weekly coffee and tea garden. My name…

Good dog at the park for, oh, 10 minutes

My terrific daughter Elisabeth set up the play date by text. She wanted her wonderful significant George Three’s pooch, Eenie, to meet Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle at Good Dog Park, the fenced-in roaming space with the optimistic title in Onondaga Lake Park. Tell her she has to be good because it’s in the name,…

Done for one day

The peak is covered again. I’m a pro at piecing our increasingly old vinyl siding back up there after it falls down when a big wind blows past the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. It’s been, oh, seven or eight years now since that contractor Patrick put in our “new’ windows…

The peak and the porch

You don’t own your house, your house owns you. Or something like that. Anyway, the darned peak of our vinyl siding fell off the top of the front of the Little Bitty again. Damn, I wish that phone number of the contractor who put the stuff on the house worked. That guarantee he sold us…

You’re on a diet, Ellie B

My dear wife Karen took our cherished rescue mutt Ellie B to the vet last week for her scheduled shots, check-up and nail clipping. I had a late meeting at the library, but managed to squeeze into the examination room before it was all over. Yes, despite my increased walking routine in the park and…

My ukulele-playing fingers don’t bend like that

My Saturday assignment at the Liverpool Public Library fit neatly into my bucket list. I took photographs and shot videos at the monthly Ukulele for Beginners workshop led by Pat Doherty. Earlier this year, my dear wife Karen surprised me with the gift of a ukulele because I’d told her I’d like to learn to…

Me Before You Carries Much More than Romance to the Table

Love stories should come in all shapes and sizes. I’m glad when we get one that dares to stray from the oh-so-popular, inspired-by Nicholas Sparks and The Notebook formula, trickling down for 20 years now. Me Before You brings its share of stereotypes, yes. Scripted by Jojo Moyes from her own novel of the same name…

Fiction: The kid and the job search

The car pulled up to the front of the big box store, and the young man jumped from the cold pavement into the warm passenger seat. He looked over at his mother, who smiled genuinely as only somebody who loved and protected this fiercely could. “How’d it go, Stevie?” she finally managed through a tight…

David’s Offer

My dear blogging friend Paul writes about snowstorms in June for today’s weekly guest column. I always said he’s one cool Canadian. We dig Paul, right, like a snow shovel cutting through drift. Leaving the Hospital in a Snow Storm Welcome to the weekly coffee and tea garden. My name is Paul, I’ll be your…