Remembering a daughter and a husband on a grief day

There’s no shortage of joy in our home here in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood for my dear wife Karen and I, and Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle, too. We hope that the happiness with life radiates out to adult children Daryl and Elisabeth as well. Of course we have our share of pain…

And it was you

Once upon a time, a dad-to-be climbed into bed after another night of work and fell asleep to the world. After five or so hours, the mom-to-be shook her husband’s shoulder. Not used to opening his eyes this early in the day, the man may have grunted. The woman said it was time. The man…

A family resemblance can sneak up and floor you

Sometimes the pieces to complete a startling vision sit pages apart in the scrapbook of your mind. For all my life, I’ve been comfortable with the premise that out of us three kids, my youngest sister, Dory, had the most family resemblance to either of our parents. My sister Fran, the middle one, kind of…

The biggest star at this concert was the Dalai Lama

Just the other day when I was reading a post from my friend at Peace, Love & Great Country Music, recounting a blog conversation we’d had about the band Train, the thought hit me again. I had some truly great moments in the 21 years that I covered music and entertainment for the big daily.…

At the end of the line was a Train concert

I thought my days of standing in line to buy concert tickets were decades in my rear view mirror. Then the announcement that Train was coming to the New York State Fair Grandstand this August flashed before us. And I saw the look in my dear wife Karen’s eyes. I was No. 3 in line…

Where should I put a ring on it?

So Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle and I were circling past a Syracuse Housing Authority complex a half-dozen blocks from our home in the city neighborhood of Eastwood. Ellie B’s nose was down as we strolled past the halfway point in our walk. My eyes were down, too. And I spotted a couple of coins…

I’m not a big fan of foolish pranks

Now that we’ve made it to April 3, I’m pretty sure I’ve now gone another year without somebody either scaring the crap or making an ass out of me. I am not a fan of April Fools jokes. I saw the big pile of posts about the April 1 tradition on Monday and thought to…

Add local music to this giant mall’s ever-expanding menu

Once upon a time, the halls inside a mall were the last place I’d expect to find a growing local music scene. It’s happening at Destiny USA, the mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex in Syracuse. They call the expansive new wing The Canyon. And that’s the way it looks from the rails of all…