The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Archives - Page 57 of 58

Twentieth Century Lorelei

By Chris Carosa on June 24, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 22, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

Manhattan beckons, a modern day siren. It summons the untested and ambitious. Dreamers flock to the Mecca of Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, Madison Avenue and Wall Street. Yet, only the most alert explorer can prevent the straggly rocks of reality from dashing his high hopes.

Of course, the sweet love song drowns the most rational into a luscious lull. Unlike Hollywood, which seduces the naïve children and renders them soulless, the City dulls even the sparky young with pleasant serenity.

Manhattan calls for me. I guess it always has.

Some say Paris truly represents the romantic world of the twentieth century. Indeed, Gertrude Stein and her Lost Generation virtually proclaimed it such. Ironically, though, Continue Reading “Twentieth Century Lorelei”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Growing Up, New York City, Sentinel, slice of life

Chaos and Opportunity on Capitol Hill

By Chris Carosa on June 17, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 15, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

A few weeks ago many of you read about Pete Rose and Jim Wright on this very same page. Well, folks, I admit to you now, the closest I ever got to correctly predicting the future was when I played the role of the Soothsayer in our eight-grade production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. (Remember him? He only had two lines, both identical: “Caesar, beware the Ides of March!”)

OK, so I was wrong about Wright (the jury’s still out on Rose). Boy, was I wrong! I was Continue Reading “Chaos and Opportunity on Capitol Hill”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged baseball, politics

Ties, Spots and Murphy’s Law

By Chris Carosa on June 10, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 8, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

Curse the foppish Duke whose vanity prevented him for enduring soiled shirts! His inability to control his sloppy eating habits has forever vexed modern day men. The nobleman’s pride forces a vestigial tradition upon us from which we have no escape.

I don’t know who it was – maybe the Earl of Sandwich’s brother-in-law – but the surreal waters of the Age of Discovery caused some crazy English lord to stuff a napkin under his collar. I suppose royalty exhibited a rather lavish behavior back then. Naturally, that particular napkin must have been manufactured from some ostentatiously colored silk rather than the modest white which today we have become accustomed to.

Unfortunately, in the Renaissance spirit of one-upmanship, a single unique event led to Continue Reading “Ties, Spots and Murphy’s Law”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged humor, Sentinel, slice of life

Excelsior!!!

By Chris Carosa on June 3, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 1, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

Latin. What a great language. I’m glad I took it in high school. I wish I had more time to study it now.

Excelsior. I first remember learning the history and importance of the word from Miss Dispenza in 11^th grade. After a many year hiatus, Gates-Chili High School brought Latin back to the classroom my junior year. I thought the course would offer insights into grammar, linguistics and history (particularly Roman history), so I took it. Thanks to Miss Dispenza, the class rewarded me – an upperclassman – and about twenty freshmen with a vast array of fascinating and useful morsels of the mind.

New York State chose Excelsior as its motto with good reason. For many, many years, New York State led the United States, (at least until everyone took the Continue Reading “Excelsior!!!”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Gates Chili, Latin, Lifetime Dream, motivation, philosophy

Mendon’s Secret

By Chris Carosa on May 27, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the May 25, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

I live in Mendon. I don’t live in Pittsford. I think that says a lot. Pittsford is a very nice town, but it is not Mendon.

A few years ago, I began searching Monroe County for a home suitable for my needs. I looked at a few houses in Pittsford, but something just wasn’t right for me. I didn’t know what it was then (and I still don’t). My quest for living space continued until I saw Mendon. “Wow, what a nice place,” I thought. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew Mendon was the right location.

I’ve had some time now to settle in and meet other people like myself. Mendon denizens really don’t talk about their community the way a high school cheerleader might enthusiastically root, root, root for the home team, but you can catch a certain Continue Reading “Mendon’s Secret”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Local, Mendon, Pittsford, Sentinel

The Difference Between Wright and Rose

By Chris Carosa on May 20, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared as Rose vs. Wright in the May 18, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

I spent my formative years growing up in Buffalo, home of the original Buffalo Bisons and an upstart American Football League team. By the end of the 60’s, football had taken hold of the city. The Bisons, who had been a farm club for the Cincinnati Reds, were on their way out. Naturally, then, I became a football fan prior to becoming a baseball fan.

The first baseball game I remember watching – the 1970 World Series – featured the Baltimore Orioles against the Cincinnati Reds. Without a favorite, I put my Continue Reading “The Difference Between Wright and Rose”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged baseball, Growing Up, politics, Sentinel, sports

Coke versus Pepsi

By Chris Carosa on May 13, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the May 11, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

Dateline: ROME, August, 1988

The third day had been the worst. The muggy Mediterranean weather combined with the smoggy sky to produce a parched throat. This searing summer air in the land of my ancestors’ roots evoked memories of hot hazy August days and my grandfather’s pizza stand at the Erie County Fair. Perspiring and exhausted, my mind drifted back to those 16 hour days when, as I stood selling saucy slices, the sizzling sun seared one side of me as the fiery oven cooked the other. Only the frequent Pepsi breaks could quench my body’s sweaty thirst (despite my grandfather’s complaint, “You’re drinking all our profits!”).

Walking among the dusty ruins under the torrid Roman sun created an unnatural thirst. The Aqua Minerale (senza gas), offered only temporary reprieve. I knew my ultimate Continue Reading “Coke versus Pepsi”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Italy, Pepsi, Yale

Lemonade, Minimum Wage and Daddy’s Tough Decision

By Chris Carosa on May 6, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the May 4, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

Many people in the Mendon, Honeoye Falls and Lima area have been reading in the national news about the minimum wage. Like most of the people in our country, they are sympathetic with increasing the minimum wage, but remain anxious about the impact the boost will have. The threat of an increasing wage-price spiral worries everyday folks the most. Unfortunately, we see Democrats saying one thing and Republicans saying another, with no one trying to take the time to explain what the real effect will be.

Being trained as a scientist, I never took economists seriously. Still, the issue of minimum wage and inflation provided too much confusion to go unanswered. “Sure,” I said to myself, “it seems fair to up the level given the increased cost of living over the past eight years. If it appears so fair, then why do so many people say it will actually Continue Reading “Lemonade, Minimum Wage and Daddy’s Tough Decision”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged economics, Honeoye Falls, Lima, Mendon, politics

An Open Letter to Governor Cuomo

By Chris Carosa on April 29, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the April 27, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

Governor Mario Cuomo
c/o New York State Executive Chamber
State Capitol
Albany, New York 12224

Dear Governor Cuomo:

HONEOYE FALLS – Wednesday, April 18, 1989 (5:30am). Despite accidentally erasing the final two pages from the computer an hour earlier, a couple of exhausted devotees put the April 20^th edition of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima SENTINEL to bed. Once again, the desire to serve the public call causes another sleepless night, but knowing the importance a Continue Reading “An Open Letter to Governor Cuomo”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged HFL, Honeoye Falls, Lima, Mendon, politics

Paper Airplanes: Pure Americana

By Chris Carosa on April 22, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the April 20, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

I made a paper airplane today. It felt good. The act satisfied me even before I lofted the plane into the air. I made it at work while I waited for a printout. This is not the sort of thing I am normally paid to do. It felt good.

I used no ordinary paper. I used a confidential memo. Upon completing the folding, I flung the flyer purposefully towards members of the operations staff. Of course, I first requested “clearance” (i.e., asked somebody if the Boss was around). It felt good.

The flight lasted all of one second. The papyrus plane gently rolled over after leaving my fingertips, then nosed speedily down into the floor. It travelled all of six feet. The Boss’s Continue Reading “Paper Airplanes: Pure Americana”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Growing Up, Honeoye Falls, Lima, Mendon