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[This Commentary originally appeared in the August 9, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
No Carosa Commentary appeared this week. In its place appeared an unsigned “Editorial” concerning the school budget vote.
Next Week #71: Happy 4th of July! (originally published on August 2, 1990)
Next Week #73: More Silly Thoughts (originally published on August 16, 1990)
[What is this and why is here? See Interested in Discovering My Time Machine? for more details.]
[This Commentary originally appeared in the August 2, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams bickered constantly during their lives. I don’t know too much about what they argued about. From the little reading I’ve done on the matter, though, it seems they agreed to disagree on just about everything.
We do know they agreed on at least three important things. First, they agreed the American colonies should be free from the reign of King George of Britain. This led to perhaps their best known Continue Reading “Happy 4th of July! (?)”
[This Commentary originally appeared in the July 26, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
Part two in a series discussing the ramifications of the announcement in June by President Bush to increase tax revenues.
In the spirit of last week, let’s begin with some expository gibberish which permits the reader to know exactly where I stand:
I grew up in the heart of a Democrat stronghold in the shadows of an old fashioned blue collar steel mill. All that was fair, all that was honest was taught to me by my grandparents and their friends in the name of FDR. All that was innovative, all that was accomplished by youthful zest was brought to me by my parents and their friends in the name of JFK.
Of course, my elders rendered these common sense philosophies without the burden of Continue Reading “The Great Tax Battle of 1990 – Winner #2: The Democrats”
[This Commentary originally appeared in the July 19, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
Let’s get one thing out quickly. I don’t like taxes. I don’t think the government does a good job spending our money. When it comes to the national budget, I think I could make better decisions in three minutes than some Washington Bureaucrat can make after a three year study. I hate taxes. I believe they suck the blood from an otherwise vigorous nation.
Of course, I am rational enough to realize the government must provide services (like Continue Reading “The Great Tax Battle of 1990 – Winner #1: George Bush”
[This Commentary originally appeared in the July 12, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
Our society excels at noting matters of record. These milestones can brighten up an otherwise dull journey. Whether they be points of interest while traveling or anniversaries of historic events, we enjoy inducing structural comfort into our lives. Structural comfort implies our choice of markers can be arbitrary. We pick them only because the milestone ends in five or, even more often, zero.
Think about it. How many people celebrate with fanfare their twenty-third wedding anniversary or their ninth year since graduation? Most folks go wild on their twenty-fifth Continue Reading “Milestones”
Here’s what strikes me right away: the landscape. Leaving the confines of the Leonardo DaVinci airport finds us quickly on an expressway heading towards Rome. Being a good distance from the city, farm land and open fields surround the airport. It’s that landscape which first struck me twenty-one years ago that entices me once again. I 
can’t tell you what it is. I’ve only been here once before but I feel so… at home. Maybe it’s the soft hues of subtle shades of green and aromatic amber. It’s like the feeling is on the tip of my tongue, and then I see it.
It’s a string of umbrella pines stretching across a small hill to our right. These trees. These trees have been part of me my whole life. I don’t know why I say that. They’re not indigenous to Western New York or even America. They are native to Mediterranean climes. Vague memories stir within the oldest parts of my brain. I faintly recall a home movie – perhaps from my grandfather? – shot through a window of a moving car, showing this exact scene. It’s odd. I don’t know if it’s Continue Reading “Day 2: Saturday, July 9, 2011 – Roman Connection Comes Through”
I had my doubts about this whole thing. With my ever present fear of flying, I worried I unnecessarily placed the safety of my family at risk for some pipedream. I worried the 
office couldn’t survive my absence. I worried my writing schedule would suffer. I worried and I worried and I worried. And now the day is here.
Among the more typical travel worries, however, include the typical last minute packing and the eternal question, “Why does it feel like we forgot something?” Incredibly, we stand posed to leave on time, approximately 10am, but not without the usual squabbles.
Continue Reading “Day 1: Friday, July 8, 2011 – All Planes Land in Rome”
[This Commentary originally appeared in the July 5, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
I love the summer. Longer daylight hours means we can do a lot more. It also means, after a good day’s work, we can still spend some relaxing time with our family and neighbors.
Sitting on the porch gently taking in the sights and sounds of nature and our community, we savor the twilight of the day. The last lick of sunlight long since set, we slowly mellow with the sky. Our light conversation goes as smoothly as the transition from dusk to dark.
It is this time of day I enjoy the best. Surrounded by close comrades and all the chores done, I can now look heavenward. For some reason, I still get a kick out of finding the Continue Reading “Summertime Stargazing”
[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 28, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
School’s out… Forever!
– Vincent Furnier (a.k.a. Alice Cooper)
Or so to speak, especially for those going to college in a couple months. But for now, revel in the new found freedom of no more homework, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks. You have completed the first job your country has given you – getting a high school diploma. That in itself deserves a celebration.
As music can often be found in most celebrations, maybe a graduation song would be appropriate. Since a newspaper doesn’t offer the proper medium for carrying a tune, the most one could hope for out of this song would be melodious lyrics. But, since this Continue Reading “A Graduation Song”
Did you ever have a dream you kept putting off? A place you always wanted to visit? A story you always wanted to tell?
So did I. (Notice the past tense.)
This site might give you a clue about how I accomplished this. Who knows? It may even reveal to you how you can realize your own greatest goals.
Interested in learning more? Find me on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed.
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More Silly Thoughts
[This Commentary originally appeared in the August 16, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
The Stereo. Why does the stereo always stop playing the music you put on just when you’re finally relaxed and ready to Continue Reading “More Silly Thoughts”