Celebrate Freedom Day!

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By on February 10, 2011

[This Commentary originally appeared in the February 8, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

 

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259This coming Monday we celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Actually, we used to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, now we just celebrate President’s Day. How unfortunate Lincoln chose to come into this world a mere week or so before George Washington’s birthday. I’m sure we would still celebrate Lincoln’s birthday had he been born in, say, March or June.

We cannot discount the gigantic symbol the Father of Our Country has become. Neither can we forget the courage embodied in Lincoln and his quest to promote freedom and equality for all. Maybe we can still recognize this great man by combining his birthday Continue Reading “Celebrate Freedom Day!”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged

“Remember, You are Just a Man!”

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By on February 6, 2011

There’s this part of the Catholic Mass called the “homily.” It’s like the “sermon” of other denominations, albeit usually a lot shorter. For whatever reason, I tend to 1242681_27218650_roman_statue_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300do my most creative thinking during homilies. That’s probably true of most people. According the Catholic Encyclopedia, the homily, in brief, intends to mix the specific practicum of everyday experience with the generic spiritual/philosophical treatise offered by the Gospel. It’s said to be the oldest form of preaching. These inspirational words must therefore prod one into reflexive thought; hence, my tendency to brew ideas as the priest speaks in the most general of terms.

Today was different. Not only was it Scout Sunday and I was dressed in uniform to accompany a small covey of Boy Scouts as they brought up the gifts, but today the priest didn’t communicate merely in generalities. Today he named specific names. Today, he pointed to me and proclaimed Continue Reading ““Remember, You are Just a Man!””

Posted in Boy Scouts, Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life Tagged , , ,

Japan Inc. Buys the Moon

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By on February 3, 2011

[This Commentary originally appeared in the February 1, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

 

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Born in the 1960s, I might be called an Apollo Child. The term, of course, has nothing to do with any astrological myth. It aptly describes that first generation which fully expected to read of space travel as history, not as science fiction.

The intricacies and loftiness of heavenly flight glorify the post war success of America. NASA drove into our psyche the thirst for reaching ever upward. No problem – no matter how complex, no matter how new, no matter how large – lacked a solution.

Please don’t misjudge this zest for youthful idealism. While one can almost always solve a problem, one must recognize all solutions have a cost. Sometimes we simply cannot Continue Reading “Japan Inc. Buys the Moon”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged , , , , ,

The Greatest Game Ever… So Far!

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By on February 1, 2011

The game has come to define my life. You won’t find my name in any record books or even on many rosters, but the game flows through my very blood. Indeed, the Peter_Sports_Cover_300fact I don’t appear within any organized log tells you most of the story. But this, this is a different story.

Gary Trudeau once said we have become a nation of play-by-play announcers. We see life as a narrated live action event. It therefore doesn’t help things that, among the many paths I’ve taken, includes that of actually serving as a play-by-play announcer. But, rather than dwelling on a “voice of God” describing the action, what stands out in my memory remains the visions of modest, yet self-satisfying, glory. Picture not the booming baritone of NFL Films, but the dramatic slow-motion dénouement of a Hollywood picture.

It’s the littlest things I remember: The enormous body floating silently above me that Continue Reading “The Greatest Game Ever… So Far!”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life Tagged , ,

Terror at the School Bus Stop – A True-Life Story (Part III)

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By on January 27, 2011

[This Commentary originally appeared in the January 27, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

(The following is loosely based on a real life adventure as told by an eight year old.)

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259The Verdict: Accused, I stood before the Older Guys face hung low. “Kid,” Jimmy rendered in a solemn but professional tone, “We’re gonna hafta beat you up.” A silent hush fell upon all the kids at the School Bus Stop that cool winter morning. The sentence did not surprise me. With sad, martyred eyes, I looked up to face Jimmy and Danny.

As Older Guys, none came much stronger than Jimmy and Danny. For fourth-graders, Continue Reading “Terror at the School Bus Stop – A True-Life Story (Part III)”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged , ,

“Back to the Future” or “Goodbye to our Future”

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By on January 25, 2011

While we’ve been listening to a good game from our various leaders, Western New York’s best and brightest have been buying one way tickets to better 1261463_38725556_puffing_old_train_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300climes. According to a recent editorial (“The plight of upstate,” The Buffalo News, January 20, 2011), over the past twenty years, the job growth in our state as occurred mainly downstate. Indeed, a national magazine (“If You Need A Job, Move To New York!” Forbes, January 10, 2011) lists New York City (the “New York” referred to in the title) as among the best places to go look for a job. This emphasis on the Big Apple isn’t lost on The Buffalo News editorial writer, who suggests state lawmakers “drive twice each year along the Thruway from Schenectady to Niagara Falls.” Maybe that’s the only way for them to see our plight.

Worse, this ignorance has mortgaged our future. We are losing our brightest young Continue Reading ““Back to the Future” or “Goodbye to our Future””

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged , ,

Terror at the School Bus Stop – A True-Life Story (Part II)

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By on January 20, 2011

[This Commentary originally appeared in the January 20, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

(The following is loosely based on a real life adventure as told by an eight year old.)

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259The Day: The day began as usual. My little brother and I trudged up our long street through the cold winter air. It had snowed the previous night and the moderate temperature provided perfect packing conditions. We learned the concept of “good packing snow” as Little Kids. It usually meant we could expect to be ambushed by a flurry of snowballs from virtually any direction. As two solitary figures walking sluggishly in the middle of a long street, we had all the makings of fine targets

Sometimes the Older Guys would sneak down behind us and try to pelt us with snowballs. Every once in a while they would score a direct hit in the back of my head and cold icy snow would melt down my neck and behind my shirt. We felt much safer Continue Reading “Terror at the School Bus Stop – A True-Life Story (Part II)”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged , ,

Leon Tec’s Targets – The Book That Started It All

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By on January 16, 2011

Target_300“Dreams will get you nowhere, a good kick in the pants will take you a long way.”
– Baltasar Gracian

Like most undergraduates, I enjoyed college. I viewed those four years as a time of experimentation, a release from the staid banality of suburban pabulum.

But not in the way you think.

Some people collect nostalgia. Some people collect materials. I collect experiences. And it started almost immediately upon setting foot in a courtyard surrounded by walls of ivy. And my parents reacted like most parents of university students. They told me to stop it.

But I couldn’t. As I explained at the time, I was like a shark. These carnivorous Continue Reading “Leon Tec’s Targets – The Book That Started It All”

Posted in Book Reviews Tagged , , , ,

Terror at the School Bus Stop – A True-Life Story (Part I)

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By on January 13, 2011

[This Commentary originally appeared in the January 11, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

(The following is loosely based on a real life adventure as told by an eight year old.)

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259The Start: The focus of my formative years had to be the School Bus Stop. That – and summer vacation – provided the best opportunity of non-structured learning. School and my family both taught me very important things I needed to know, but only places like the School Bus Stop allowed me to begin to practice that knowledge and learn for myself.

My School Bus Stop lay at the top of a half mile long dead end street. I knew the exact length because we had the last house on the street. Each day would begin with my mother pushing me and my little brother out the front door and into the real world. She would always leave us with nice thoughts in hopes of spurring us on to academic achievement. Little did she realize, once we reached the end of our driveway our small Continue Reading “Terror at the School Bus Stop – A True-Life Story (Part I)”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged , ,

Blizzard Envy

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By on January 11, 2011

96692_7551_blizzard_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300_240Snow is fun.
Snow is great.
But still a
Snow Day I await.

I’m spoiled. I grew up in the famous Snow Belt south of Buffalo. Like clockwork every winter the blustery weather blew in off the lake, dumping several feet of snow atop our community. School closed. Dad stayed home. It was a fun family time.

And how I miss it.

While we’ve seen record breaking snowfall, it’s been far too long since we’ve had a real winter emergency. Indeed, I think the last time we had a 3 foot drop I was (ironically) Continue Reading “Blizzard Envy”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged , , , ,
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