Hi, bud! I see you like your new location

Two weekends ago, we lovingly placed our new flowering Robinson Crabapple tree in the hole I’d dug in our front yard in Eastwood. Last night, my dear wife Karen burst through the door upon her return from work with one of those emphatic sentences that gets both a question mark and exclamation point. Did you…

This motorcycle club supports the military, good friends sharing a great day

Our Saturday afternoon walk took us past the green bar on New Court Avenue. Three Fat Guys was hopping on this sunny spring day. I told Ellie B, aka Dogamous Pyle, to be good as we approached from the north. Motorcycles lined the Syracuse street. Motorcyclists were everywhere, black leather catching the sun just right…

On this Kentucky Derby Day, I’ll raise one in memory of Brian Held

Brian Held adored horse racing. My dear friend was the first person I knew that actually owned a horse that ran in pursuit of prize money. The animal had the catchy name of Tax Credit. Taxi, as I came to call the beautiful beast from afar, didn’t run for the roses. No, this horse wasn’t…

A Robinson crabapple appears headed for a cheerful life in Eastwood

I look out the picture window this glorious May 1 morning and admire the new addition to our front lawn. A tree grows in Eastwood. A Robinson crabapple, to be exact. Two Januarys ago, we lost the olive tree that had graced our front yard since we moved in. It was an interesting-looking specimen, for…

Is April 30 too early to give up on the Mets?

It’s a long season. So true, for so many things. But today I come to talk about baseball. Tomorrow it’s May. One month will be in the books for baseball fans everywhere. I root for the Mets. Let’s Go Mets has been echoing through my brain since I started appreciating the thrill of victory and…

Ellie B’s first day at the ballpark wasn’t ruff at all

We took Ellie B to the park today. No, not Norwood Park in Eastwood. We walk our dear Dogamous Pyle there whenever we can. Not the Good Dog Park near Onondaga Lake, either. Karen and I have let our beloved adopted pet run with the pack there. But not today. As we ate our bagels…

I open the golf season, and life in Syracuse is good

Life and weather conspired to delay my first round of 2013 outdoor golf until April 23. Not good. In Syracuse, the golf season is short enough. The last couple of years, though, my go-to golfing buddy and I have been able to sneak out for a soggy start of the year before the first number…

The Boston Marathon Massacre crammed a lifetime of horror into a week. What now?

Seven precious days have dashed by since evil set off two bombs and changed the lives of too many people in Boston. I watched my TV every one of those seven days as the horror unfolded. Explosions at the finish line. Chaos on Boylston Street. Manhunt. Another murder. Car chase. More explosions. More death, this…

As a garden shows life in Eastwood, a junk TV sits in the weeds

The sun shines brightly on our sweet, little yard in Eastwood. I look over my dear wife Karen’s happy little garden oval out front. Every year, we put love into the ground. Little by little, the garden has widened. It shouldered a big change last year after winter winds toppled the centerpiece olive tree. Karen…

On the screen, ’42’ reminds us of the battle between hate and hope

A look around the Destiny USA theater on Sunday afternoon revealed a wonderfully mixed crowd ready and eager to take in “42.” Black people sat next to white people. Old people sat in front of young people. And once the almost endless previews ended, we all got to experience for a few hours what it…