Chris Carosa, Author at Chris Carosa

The Story of Abraham Parrish, Mendon’s First Tavern Keeper (Part I)

By Chris Carosa on April 6, 2021

Wyoming Forts A-Fort Durkee, B-Fort Wyoming or Wilkesbarre, C-Fort Ogden, D-Kingston Village, E-Forty Fort, G-battleground, H-Fort Jenkins, I-Monocasy Island, J-Pittstown stockades, G-Queen Esther’s Rock Source: Lossing, Benson, The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution, Harper & Brothers, Publishers, January 7, 1859, p. 353

In many ways, the life of Abraham Parrish wasn’t that different from any other person participating in the formative decades of the grand American Experiment.

In other ways, he lived a unique life that exposed him at an early age to the rarified frontier air that existed when Western New York emerged from its dense terra incognita forest. He witnessed firsthand nearly all the major personalities of our region and saw how they forged this thickly wooded region into an industrious civilization.

But let’s not get too far ahead…

Zebulon Parish represents a typical American story. He was born on February 12, 1726 in Windham, a town in the eastern half of the Colony of Connecticut between Hartford and the Rhode Island border. He not only shares a birthday with Abraham Lincoln, he shares something else – his descendants were active in the abolition movement.

There was a very good reason Zebulon’s family joined the fight against slavery – his grandfather, John Wattles, came to America as a slave.

Our story, therefore, begins in Scotland…Continue Reading “The Story of Abraham Parrish, Mendon’s First Tavern Keeper (Part I)”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Abraham Parrish, Battle of Worcester, Charles I, Charles II, Iroquois, John Butler, John Wattles, Mary Wattell, Mendon, Old King, Sakayenguaraghton, Scotland, Seneca, Westmoreland, Wilkesbarre, Wintermoot, Wyoming County, Wyoming Massacre, Zebulon Parish

Let’s Start Laughing Again!

By Chris Carosa on March 30, 2021

Everybody loves to laugh. So why don’t we anymore?

This isn’t funny. It’s true.

If you want to know the reason why, go to almost any social media platform. For that matter, read any headline. Whether from the right or from the left, you’re vilified once you stray too close to the shoulder of an ever-narrowing path.

Time was you could walk smoothly in a sea of honest humor. You’d laugh. You’d cringe. You’d get that awkward feeling. But it was all good. You accepted this variety of hits and misses because you liked to laugh. And there were enough hits to keep you laughing which made the trade-off worthwhile.

It seems today people would rather get angry than laugh. They’d prefer to take the easy Continue Reading “Let’s Start Laughing Again!”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged blame, Chris Rock, College, gag, gig, joke, laughter, self-depricating humor, stand-up comedy

Why Is New York State Trying To Kill Print Newspapers?

By Chris Carosa on March 23, 2021

Do you enjoy reading this newspaper? Do you enjoy reading anything in print as opposed to reading a screen on an electronic device?

If the answer to either of these questions is “yes” the State of New York is brewing a budget that will certainly disappoint you. And the clock is working against you to prevent this.

As you can read from the Letter to the Editor below from Michelle Rea, Executive Director of the New York Press Association, the Extended Producer Responsibility Act may soon make it financially impossible for newspapers – and especially small newspapers like the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel – to maintain a sustainable business.

That’s too bad. We recently asked our readers “In your own words (not to exceed 25), Continue Reading “Why Is New York State Trying To Kill Print Newspapers?”

Posted in Business Tips, Media, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Albany, democrats, Extended Producer Responsiblity Act, Michelle Rea, New York City, New York Press Association, New York State Senate, newspapers, republicans, Samra G. Brouk, Senate Bill S1185B

How Has Your Workday Changed?

By Chris Carosa on March 16, 2021

It’s been a year. For twelve months we’ve been (or at least many of us have been) working from home. Even those fortunate enough (or unfortunate enough, depending on your perspective) to have returned to the office have discovered there’s no going back to what once was.

If you can take a moment (do you even have a moment anymore) to sit back and consider the evolution of work, it may strike you we’ve come full circle.

Skipping caveman times, let’s accelerate right up to what is known as the “Agricultural Economy.” You remember learning about that in school, don’t you? It existed pretty much Continue Reading “How Has Your Workday Changed?”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Agricultural Economy, Content Economy, Covid, Covid Economy, Industrial Economy, Judeo-Christian, Middle Ages, Office Economy, remote work, Thomas Edison, virtual convention, virtual meeting, work from home, Zoom, Zoom fatigue

Who’s Really Going After Cuomo?

By Chris Carosa on March 9, 2021

Allow me to begin with this caveat: I am not a fan of Andrew Cuomo. I do not support the bulk of his policies. I do not condone what many call his “thuggish” behavior. Above all, I feel he is a discredit to all those Italian-Americans who have tried to live a life that transcends the Hollywood stereotype of our honored heritage.

If you doubt any of the above, then go back and reread some of my previous columns.

That being said, even I find it somewhat suspicious that this once-darling of the politically woke now finds himself dodging quite serious accusations against his policies, his administration, and his very character.

My first inclination might have been “couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” but the coincidences Continue Reading “Who’s Really Going After Cuomo?”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Andrew Cuomo, Grand Jury, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, New York State, nursing home scandal, Rochester

Forget About The Known Unknowns, It’s The Unknown Unknowns That Get You Every Time

By Chris Carosa on March 2, 2021

There’s an old adage that stipulates “generals are always fighting the last war.” This says more about the stultifying effects of age and experience than it does about military acumen.

As we live our lives, we accumulate knowledge. We use this knowledge to provide convenient short-cuts when we make decisions. That’s a good thing.

But those short-cuts assume a certain kind of status quo that cannot exist. That’s a bad thing.

Since we’re on the subject of old adages, there’s one from ancient Greece which warns “you can never step foot in the same river twice.”

At first that makes no sense. Why, just about any GPS will lead you to the same river time and time again. You can even dip your toe in each and every occasion.

Ah, but is it really the same river? Has not the water you touched that very first instance traveled far down the river and probably emptied itself into some larger body of water?

You see, a river is like time. It is constantly moving. The only way to make it stand still is to Continue Reading “Forget About The Known Unknowns, It’s The Unknown Unknowns That Get You Every Time”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged ad lib, Be Prepared, decision making, fork in the road, game theory, Greece, Heraclitus, improv, mad lib, Military, river, scenario analysis, war game

Blackballed Again: Are You Prepared?

By Chris Carosa on February 23, 2021

Be honest. If the title had been “Are you prepared to be cancelled?” would you be reading this first sentence? Or how about “Are you prepared to be de-platformed?”? Would that have lured you in? Or does it sound too geeky?

The fact is, those modern-day synonyms merely reflect an awful tradition that dates back centuries, if not to the beginning of man’s time on Earth.

Indeed, there’s a really bad 1986 movie called The Clan of the Cave Bear. It stars Daryl Hannah, whose main character is ostracized from her Neanderthal family. As far as I can tell, they blackballed her because, unlike all the brunettes in the clan, she had blonde hair. (Of course, being caveman times and the lack of adequate shower facilities, perhaps it would be more accurate to describe her as a “dirty blonde.”)

In terms of good cinema, there’s always Looney Tunes’ 1953 cartoon “Bell Hoppy,” featuring Sylvester the Cat voicing the phrase “Blackballed again” when the Loyal Order of Alley Catz Mouse and Chowder Club declines his membership.

Most of us have had the unfortunate experience of being left out. It usually happens when Continue Reading “Blackballed Again: Are You Prepared?”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Australia, cancel culture, Daryll Lamonica, de-platform, diversication, diversity, facebook, Google, media, The Clan of the Cave Bear, Trump, YouTube

How Divide and Conquer Works (And How To Avoid Falling Prey To It)

By Chris Carosa on February 16, 2021

While getting his MBA from Duke, a college classmate of mine was asked by a visiting speaker why my classmate thought he (the speaker) preferred hiring ex-athletes?

Now, my classmate was the perfect person to ask this question to. He’s played hockey from his youth to well into his adult years. He is the ultimate athlete, the ultimate team player, and the ultimate performer. I don’t know if the speaker knew his background prior to asking the question, but he could sure guess it once my friend offered his answer. This is how the young MBA candidate responded:

“You prefer to hire ex-athletes because of the following traits: alignment toward a common goal, teamwork, communication, trying to perform your best, etc.”

The speaker said that was all good, but it wasn’t the biggest reason he hired former Continue Reading “How Divide and Conquer Works (And How To Avoid Falling Prey To It)”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Buffalo Bills, business, Chinese, Commander, Duke, Henry Segal, Korean War, Marv Levy, politics, POW, Psy-Ops, psychology, Robert Cialdini, sports, war

Criminal Hubris: It Gets Them Every TIME

By Chris Carosa on February 9, 2021

Search for the term “criminal hubris” and chances are you won’t find anything (except, hopefully, this woeful column). We know what a criminal is. We know what hubris is. But there is no definition of “criminal hubris.”

Yet there is, and it’s staring at us right in the face. Metaphorically, it’s all around us. Cinematographically, it resides on the screens we watch. Its roots, however, lie within the body of literature – both philosophical and dramatic – we ought to be most familiar with.

Whether as a metaphor for real-life, a character in a story, or an actual crime, “criminal hubris” is easy to spot (if you’ve got a trained eye), hard to avoid (if you’re arrogant), and, best of all, wonderful to watch (because it hoists offenders with their own petard quite regularly).

Before I reveal the “7 Steps of Criminal Hubris” let’s explore the origins of “hubris” and Continue Reading “Criminal Hubris: It Gets Them Every TIME”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Aristotle, contempt, criminal, Greek, Hamlet, hubris, insolence, James Bond, James Cagney, Kuzco, Macbeth, O.J. Simpson, rhetoric, Shakespeare, slighting, spite, Superbowl, The Emperor's New Groove, Time Magazine, White Heat, World Series

So Long, Hal. We Hardly Knew Ye…

By Chris Carosa on February 2, 2021

The signs were ominous.

As I pulled into the familiar parking spot, I couldn’t help but notice the unbroken blanket of fresh fallen snow. No one had parked here. In fact, save for a long pair of footprints making a path in the snow to the door, there was no sign of life.

I glanced up at the storefront windows to see if the lights inside were on. But the blinds shuttered the windows completely, barring any spying eyes from the outside.

On one hand, the daily hours remained posted in their usual spot. On the other hand, there was neither a “We’re Closed” sign or a “We’re Open” sign.

That was strange.

I told my father to wait in the warm car and that I’d check out the situation. I got out of Continue Reading “So Long, Hal. We Hardly Knew Ye…”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged barber, Covid, Cuomo, Dad, erie county fair, Hal, Hamlet, Mendon, pizza