A second star on my Blog of the Year award

The very busy man we all know and love by the name of Don Charisma has nominated me for the Blog of the Year Award 2013. I’d like to thank Don for diverting some time from taking those wonderful pictures, crafting words of wisdom and introducing topics for discussion on DonCharisma.com to include me on…

Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson bring us all back magically in ‘Saving Mr. Banks’

On an early Sunday afternoon in Syracuse, N.Y., the movie theater was filled with people who remember the magic of “Mary Poppins” on the big screen and “The Wonderful World of Disney” on the small screen. “Saving Mr. Banks” took us all deliciously back to those grand times. People even sat through the credits, which…

This Santa may have been very bad

The weekly garbage pickup in my Syracuse city neighborhood comes every Tuesday morning. My neighbor across the street got hers out this afternoon. Talk about timing. On Christmas Eve, this Santa will say bye-bye. I am certain my neighbor is not a Grinch, by the way. Her house is decorated for the holiday. She bakes…

Oh, you, Winter Solstice: Darkest day throws off my clock

My dear wife Karen and I sat eating our Chinese food for an early dinner treat on Saturday night. Dark had gathered outside our windows. Between bites, I told her how I was glad I’d decided to take the trip when I did, because thick fog had greeted me to and from the dozen or…

The Christmas gift question: Hide or entice?

‘Tis three days before Christmas And all through the house My dear wife Karen need not scurry For once wrapped, I place all her presents in full sight Does that make me a louse? OK, enough with the prose. There is a reason you will not find poetry as a category or a tag on…

Lovely Christmas Tree, happy skaters in downtown Syracuse

My friends and former co-workers threw a happy hour party last night, so I parked my car downtown and headed off on foot to meet my dear wife Karen. Everybody was gathering at a nice joint by the name of J. Ryan’s, to honor Michelle, who’s leaving the big daily at the end of this…

From the mailbag: The Easy Ramblers, ESP, and Beatles anniversary tribute

As promised and without further hesitation, here’s your next installment of my From the Mailbag feature. Maureen Henesey filled my home metal box with a hard copy of her group’s new CD as quickly as she promised. And so I post. The Easy Ramblers, “Country Livin’ “ Maureen Henesey once again shows off her lovely…

Ron Burgundy does the American Hustle with Mary Poppins …

Tough choices abound in the movie theaters starting Friday. You can laugh to the silly stuff that comes out of the mouth of Ron Burgundy and his news crew, or you can root for the good guys and bad guys or you can find out what Walt Disney was like as ‘Mary Poppins’ was shooting.…

Catching up with ‘The Voice,’ our tree and doggie spa day

Tessanne Chin had the ear of the prestigious panel just now on “Today.” Earlier this week, the performer from Jamaica experienced an audience with Celine Dion. On Tuesday night, Chin was announced as the winner of season five of “The Voice” on NBC because she was the top vote-getter after Monday’s finale. The viewing populace…

A spa day for our dear dog includes nails, bath and even tooth brushing

My first chore of this day was to open the car door for Ellie B, aka Dogamous Pyle. I drove her a dozen or so miles to the east, feeling much like a chauffeur when she stayed in the back and entirely like a one-armed rodeo wrangler when she attempted to jump the console to…