A lovely start for Jeff and Kristin at the Marietta House

Jeff and Kristin started their married life together a week ago today at the Marietta House. All signs point toward great success, taking their choices for this service and reception into consideration. In my 33 years living in Central New York, I’d never been to this spot some 25 miles southwest of Syracuse. My bad.…

Neighborhood joint advice

On a quick trip to Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood bar Shifty’s for a Saturday lunch with good friends Michelle, Kristin, Jeff and my dear wife Karen, I noticed a bunch of cool signs behind the bar. One struck me on this day as perfectly appropriate. It wasn’t just my glass of Merlot, no. Can…

No retreat from the comfort of old friends

Are you sure The Retreat will be open on Labor Day, Judy asked me via Facebook as we solidified our plans for the four of us to meet for lunch. I stopped by on my daily lap through the Village of Liverpool while on my break from the job at the library to be sure.…

The real payoff: Meeting Beth in person

I feel as if I’ve known Beth from I Didn’t Have My Glasses On forever. She’s been my friend in BloggyVille forever, one of the first people I met on WordPress, a writer of special note, a photographer of fine image, a person of great wit, a person fun and smart and easy to be…

Lunch with the old sports department crowd

You bet I was excited to see David Elfin for lunch last week. He and I worked together in the sports department of the big daily in the mid-1980s. I was his boss, technically, the assistant sports editor to his men’s basketball beat writer. In reality, though, we’d both come up here with time spent…

Meeting Roxy

Rescue dogs are special. I had the pleasure of meeting Roxy at Jeff’s 30th birthday party last weekend. She’s a little bit of a thing. I remember how Kristin was texting Karen back and forth with photos when she and Jeff were making the final plans for the rescue. Karen had been over to meet…

Happy 30th, Jeff

My dear wife Karen and I were honored to attend one of the best birthday parties ever Saturday afternoon. The sun was shining. The breeze made the warm air tolerable. Kristin had set up the backyard beautifully for the surprise party she so painstakingly planned for her significant Jeff. He loved it. His family and…

Melinda decides Santa Barbara’s call needs to be answered

For so many years, the smiling face and wise words of Melinda helped me through my days at the big daily. We investigated and co-wrote big projects together. She knew her fine arts. More than that, she’s wise in the ways of journalism. Best of all, Melinda is a smart friend about what’s right and…

Happy 35th anniversary, KP

I’ve written about my friend KP often here. In tales about our golfing rounds. In stories about my newspaper past. When I think about my life now and then, KP plays an important part in it. Of course my dear wife Karen knows this. And so when she saw the image above flash on the…

Sam watches the world go by on Sept. 9

Sam sits on the stoop, cup of coffee warming her hands, aroma stirring her senses, thoughts bombarding her brain. Another Sept. 9 in my beloved city. Happy Birthday to Me! Made it again. Would you look at those people scurrying here and there! The coming of Autumn may be robbing us of our daylight, but…