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…

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…

The snow story never ends in Syracuse

So at what point exactly does snow cease to be a story in my life here in Syracuse, N.Y.? When does the day come when another layer of the white stuff ceases to gain my attention? I’ve lived in Central New York for 30 years. I stare out the window and say, bring it on!…

Give me my Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and get that Starbucks away from me

My coffee-drinking career started at gas stations. Every once in a while, I’d pull in during my 35-mile drive to work those days and buy a cup of pick-me-up. I was already an adult, on the north side of 30. Why, after all those years of sodas, I experimented with cup ‘o joe, I’m not…

Food and toys make for one wonderful birthweekend

When we brought our beloved puppy Ellie B, aka Dogamous Pyle, to doggie day care three years ago, they told us that she was Food Oriented and Toy Possessive. Where did she get that from, I wondered about our rescue mutt. Which brings me to my recap of my birthweekend. We shall take it plate…

On my 56th birthday, I wonder about my birth day

I just googled This Date in History for Dec. 14, 1957. The site dayoftheweek.org tells me it was a Saturday. A slow day, according to historyorb.com. A play titled “Most Happy Fella” closed after 678 performances at New York City’s Imperial Theater. “Rumple” closed at the Alvin Theater after 45 performances. An American author by…

To my wife, summer is never too far away

My dear wife Karen was happy after we received the good news that our furnace could be fixed by tightening some loose parts yesterday afternoon. I sent her a text explaining how our home, sweet, home was indeed warm and toasty during this bit of a freeze in Syracuse, N.Y. Not that the whining, grinding…