It’s time to name our teasing backyard gopher

The saga of the backyard gopher, Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle and I continues. Call it Chapter Too Many. When my dear wife Karen and I returned from a full and satisfying day of activities on the first day of summer yesterday — a 3-year-old’s birthday party, our annual trip to the Parade of Homes…

On June 21, a full day for the sun

The summer solstice puts an extra bounce in my step. Really, the first official day of the season doesn’t mean much in Syracuse, N.Y. It’s been warm awhile. It’s staying warm awhile. (Knock on wood.) But that’s the cynical way of thinking, and I’m no cynic when it comes to June 21. So this year,…

Searching for a Solution: How Two Dads are Making a Big Difference

Originally posted on I didn't have my glasses on….:
my brother, scott, who is also the father of my nephew, hazen, who i miss every single day. on aljazeera america. once again, trying to spread the word and not giving up the fight. https://www.facebook.com/SolvingKidsCancer In case you missed the segment Solving Kids’ Cancer which…

You have to try the Polish beer, the guy said

My dear wife Karen and I enjoyed the sights, sounds and tastes of the 60th Polish Festival last night in downtown Syracuse’s Clinton Square. No, contrary to a rumor circling the square, I have not been to all of them. Ed, a city firefighter I’ve known for more than two decades, asked me if I…

How much crime and decay should we tolerate?

Originally posted on Jim McKeever:
The night the cops raided the apartment below us, we no longer felt safe here. My girlfriend’s apartment building is in a city neighborhood that not too long ago was relatively peaceful and stable. But that has eroded in recent years, and the signs that this is a “transitional” neighborhood…

Another round of color as we wait for the gopher

More color is popping out in the backyard butterfly garden in the home of my dear wife Karen and I in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. In this small section, the border lilies, dianthus, daisies and lupine are all looking dapper. The day lilies are the crowded bunch on deck in the background. The…

How can a song from Syracuse sung in French end up in an Amsterdam scene?

When I watched “The Fault in Our Stars” a few weeks ago, I did not know that 50 seconds of a song titled “Bonjour, Bonjour” would connect the dots between a movie I would love and the city where I live. Then octogenarian Phil Klein called me Wednesday morning and told me he and singer…

I miss James Gandolfini, ‘Enough Said’

The characters played by James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus sure did look happy and comfortable together after those uncomfortable first date moments in “Enough Said.” I wanted to see the romantic comedy when it came around a year ago, but it opened against something more pressing, and in the one-a-week film blogger world that I’m…

Bad news in black and white makes me look inside again

A New York State Attorney General’s report carried discouraging statistics about discipline and the Syracuse City School District, I discovered when I read a story by James T. Mulder, a friend and former colleague of mine at the big daily. Included was the statistic that black students are disciplined at twice the rate of white…

An old school hat at the golf league

Bird got a birdie after a gorgeous iron tee shot on a par three as I was back to my informal little formal golf league at Northern Pines in Cicero, N.Y., last night. He narrowly missed a second namesake. He was in a very good mood as the five of us filed into the clubhouse.…