Juice up our air, please and thank you

Cough. Hack. Repeat. Glug that water. Once the temperatures around our part of the world go low enough that our forced air furnace is a regular part of the daily proceedings, we notice our reaction to the resulting lack of humidity in our breathing routine. My dear wife Karen ordered a new dry-air humidifier this…

Great artwork by my dear wife and terrific daughter

Off they went to create. My dear wife Karen and terrific daughter Elisabeth had been looking forward to the rock painting class at great friend Julie’s house for weeks. Better them than me, thought I. Elisabeth has been into the art of putting her soul into painting rocks for awhile now, placing her creations in…

The Aftermath reminds us of how much hurt there was to go around from WWII

So much healing had to be done after the powers that be decided who had won and who had lost World War II. On both sides. We’re reminded of the deep scars again by The Aftermath, a drama directed by James Kent that’s set in tense postwar Hamburg. The Brits are everywhere among the residents…

The swans were hanging out

A work break walk caught a couple of swans swimming very close to shore. They were appreciating autumn at Onondaga Lake as much as I was.

I’m at the top of the world

Oh, no, we thought. The Gateway Arch website won’t sell us any tickets. Five of us wanted to go fully appreciate the landmark after the Library and Marketing Conference 2019 had concluded. We’d witnessed the majesty from the adjacent Hyatt Regency at the Arch often during our stay. Let’s walk over and see if we…

Yes, there was a good spot to socialize

You didn’t think I’d go through a several-day stay at a very nice St. Louis hotel for a strenuous yet fulfilling Library Marketing and Communications Conference without checking out the joint’s pub, did you? I felt a special tie when I spotted the jersey of Keith Hernandez on the wall. Yes, I did realize it…

You gotta eat on the road

I wondered where I would eat my first dinner in St. Louis. My colleague from Onondaga County Public Library system’s Central hub, Cara, told me during day one’s LMCC19 sessions that she’d found a somewhat satisfying dinner on the night of her arrival from nearby Chinese takeout joint The Red Door. I Googled it, decided…

Top of the terrace to you

I thought I’d be taking a couple-minute break from an afternoon session in my room. The three fellow Library Marketing and Communications Conference attendees had a different idea. They asked me if I’d like to join them on an excursion to discover the Hyatt Regency’s top-floor terrace. Agreed. The door was unlocked. Our spirits soared.…

A new view from the conference

The person who checked me in at the Hyatt Regency at the Arch sent me to a room on floor 18. They didn’t go any higher. Yes, I thought when I pulled the curtains aside the next morning. That is the Mississippi River behind the Gateway Arch. I was as thrilled to walk into the…

They sure pegged this hotel’s name right

I told my cab driver to point the van toward the Hyatt Regency at the Arch, home of the Library Marketing and Communications Conference 2019 and also where I’d be resting my head during my stay in St. Louis. He dropped me off in the circle with my eyes wide and jaw dropped. On of…