Meet the Mets … and Dory, Erin, James …

That trip to CitiField to see the Mets play the Nationals two weekends back was exactly what our family needed on the night before the services for my sweet middle sister Frannie. My dear wife Karen and I had planned for more than a month to drive down from Syracuse with terrific daughter Elisabeth and…

Rest in peace, my sweet middle sister Frannie

When the phone buzzes at work a couple of times in a row with voice messages from your baby sister, you check it. When her concerned voice asks you to call her back immediately, you do. And then she has to tell you words a big brother doesn’t ever expect to hear. Our middle sister…

Meet the Mets come Labor Day Weekend

My dear wife Karen came up with a great idea for Labor Day weekend, and I did my best to make it work for 10 folks who live hundreds of miles apart. Why not get terrific daughter Elisabeth and outstanding significant George Three to join us in Syracuse to travel to Citi Field in Flushing.…

A good place for Daryl

My dear wife Karen and I met with her terrific son Daryl and his beautiful family for dinner the other night. We hadn’t seen girlfriend Vicky and daughter Alexis and my stepson in too long. But at last he and she both were able to get the same Sunday off at Turning Stone Resort and…

A big smile is the best present

My terrific daughter Elisabeth let me pick out the place for our Father’s Day meeting, so I chose Mac’s Local Yolk, the joint that the Syracuse owner transformed when IHOP pulled up its stakes down the road from Shoppingtown. It worked for my dear wife Karen and I when we tried it our first time.…

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…

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,…

A shining moment for our student

We gathered at Kelley’s 15 strong Wednesday night to break bread for Elisabeth, to show this amazing young woman how proud we all are of what she’s accomplished these past two years. The food was good. The smiles were better. We were thrilled to then head down the road apiece to Onondaga Community College. My…

A special meal coming for a Happy Easter

My dear wife Karen asked a couple of days ago what I’d like to have for dinner on Easter. A ham steak? My answer had that question mark on the end of it, but that’s the way we left it. Then in those nether moments before I drifted off to sleep that night, a better…