Janice’s Bicyle

Welcome to Paul Curran’s weekly Sunday guest column. Today he takes us on a trip to a truck stop and an encounter with a special hitch-hiker with a bike in tow. Take it away, superb storyteller Paul. Welcome to the weekly coffee and tea garden. My name is Paul, I’ll be your barista today and…

Ali would have loved ya, kid … and a guest column

I caught sight of a little kid wearing a great T-shirt last weekend at the Polish Fest in Clinton Square. Mom smiled when I asked if I could grab a photo of her kids, and they quickly lined up against the monument. Then I realized that the bigger boy on the left had the object…

My daughter’s got Soul

The text came in Wednesday night, with the happy photo. My terrific daughter Elisabeth was at the car lot. She’d been handed over the keys to her first brand new car. At 26 years old, Elisabeth drove home her Kia Soul, the one she picked out herself. Yes, wonderful significant George Three shared some of…

A beautiful day at the market, under a stark blue sky

We’re running a Farmers Market at the library three times this summer, and our chief organizer still hopes to sign up a vendor or three before the first edition on Monday, June 27. I volunteered to extend my lunch break a bit and run down to the first edition of the weekly downtown Syracuse version…

Coming up red and yellow

The reds and the yellows look quite nice sharing space in the hourglass garden in the front yard of our beloved Little Bitty in the Syracuse City neighborhood of Syracuse. And the red bush in the corner of the back porch is springing up rather nicely, too, despite the attention that spot gets from Ellie…

A good day for a parade (of really nice homes)

My dear wife Karen and I had always made it our custom to walk the Parade of Homes on a weekend day. That meant sharing the view of the bunch of new houses on display, decorated to the nines, with a whole lot of other curious Central New Yorkers. Even though there are three weekends…

Couple-up or it’s a mighty curious or-else in the wonderful The Lobster

Remember all that talk about your spirit animal a bit back? Well, Yorgos Lanthimos beats that animal kingdom by then-some in The Lobster, the writer and director’s first English-speaking film of his Film-Fest darling career. It’s a thoughtful satire on our society’s rush to pick somebody — anybody, really — to declare as The One.…

Polish Fest pride

As I worked a Saturday morning for the library, I tottered back and forth about plans for my dear wife Karen and I to meet my terrific daughter Elisabeth and wonderful significant George Three at Polish Fest. Dash down James Street to Channel Three in the rain to a morning newscast interview for Outreach Clerk…

Living with Cats

It’s been a few years since my dear wife Karen and I had a cat around the Little Bitty. RIP, dear Puffy and Toby. Take it away, Sunday guest columnist Paul, to handle the subject of the furry feline pets. Don’t get any ideas, Karen. Welcome to the weekly coffee and tea garden. My name…

Good dog at the park for, oh, 10 minutes

My terrific daughter Elisabeth set up the play date by text. She wanted her wonderful significant George Three’s pooch, Eenie, to meet Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle at Good Dog Park, the fenced-in roaming space with the optimistic title in Onondaga Lake Park. Tell her she has to be good because it’s in the name,…