I finally submit to ‘Gone with the Wind’

The first time I had the chance to watch “Gone with the Wind,” I turned up my nose. My memory of walking into the crowded student union lounge sticks with me still. I was in hot pursuit of a bigger TV and comfortable chair to watch some football game or another. My initial thought as…

Watching the Rose Parade opens a window to memories

The Tournament of Roses Parade is must-see TV in our house. My dear wife Karen loves watching because the Jan. 1 tradition was part of her life while growing up in Los Angeles. I love watching because Karen’s commentary is better than the crews of NBC and HGTV (commercial free!). And, oh, yeah, the floats…

I will call 2013 life-changing

I am quite ready to say goodbye to 2013. It was the year in which I was told I had to change my last name. No more would I be “Mark Bialczak of The Post-Standard.” And yet life went on. Bring on the New Year’s Eve tradition for my dear wife Karen and I. We…

A new furnace enters my life in a flash

And so we start our first morning in the era I shall call Furnace II here in our city neighborhood house in Syracuse, N.Y. Thank you for a hard-working life, No.1. You fell a half-year short of a full decade of warming me and my dear wife Karen. I can sincerely say that I will…

The day after Christmas, no letdown allowed

No day-after-Christmas depression here. I won’t let it happen. Yes, it’s quite natural to feel some of the air gone out of the sails when the big holiday is gone. But this year’s two-day celebration was so very good. Elisabeth and boyfriend George shared their Christmas Eve with us. Everybody loved the full array of…

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…