Gray Matter Musings Archives - Page 3 of 18

How Will You Repay Your Debt To Humanity?

By Chris Carosa on November 7, 2023

What legacy will you leave to mankind? Your answer may very well depend on how one asks the question. Be warned. The particular framing of the query I just posed can lead you mistakenly astray.

What’s the difference between the lead question and the question in the title?

Take a look at them both. How do the specific words used make you feel when you read them? What does “leaving a legacy” conjure up in your mind versus “repaying a debt”? And how does your picture of “mankind” contrast to what your mind sees when reading the term “humanity?”

It’s all about connotation, not denotation. Denotation means the raw dispassionate facts. Connotation favors the emotion. And, being a human, emotion rules. (Sorry to all you Continue Reading “How Will You Repay Your Debt To Humanity?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Aristotle, debt, humanity, Legacy, mankind, Neil Armstrong, Normandy, Sir Edmund Hillary, Spock, The Nicomachean Ethics

Life (With Strings Attached)

By Chris Carosa on October 17, 2023

Sitting in the balcony at the First Presbyterian Church on North Main Street in Honeoye Falls, I couldn’t help but wonder. It was Ray Milne’s funeral service. He was an amazing man. Long ago, during my term of public service, he offered sound and wise advice. He was a man many could look to as a community role model. I only wish I could accomplish half of what he did.

But that’s not what I was wondering about. The setting itself took me back. When I first moved back to Mendon in the late 1980s, I joined many civic groups, hoping to discover what I could offer my adopted hometown. Several of those groups convened in the meeting rooms of the church.

That was a time long ago. I started thinking about all the people I knew back then. Some of them were in that church celebrating Ray’s life. Most of them were celebrating with Ray.

The solemn but sweet music coming from the organ helped place me in the mood to Continue Reading “Life (With Strings Attached)”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged A Tune A Day, Beatles, Beatles Medley, Beethoven, Breeze-Easy Method for Strings, Carnival of Venice, Curley, eleveth grade, First Presbyterian Church, Gates Chili, Herman Dilmore, Honeoye Falls, Larry, Miss Avalon, orchestra, Pop Goes the Weasel, Ray Milne, Red River Valley, Santa Lucia, Song of the Volga Boatmen, Suzuki, third grade, Three Stooges, violin, Volga Boat Song, Woodlawn

The Eclipse That Changed History

By Chris Carosa on October 10, 2023

As you read this, assuming the post office delivers the paper on time, a partial eclipse of the sun looms. This isn’t the big one. That’s coming on Monday, April 8, 2024. It’s a total eclipse of the sun that begins roughly at 3:18 PM and lasts for almost 4 minutes. The center line of that eclipse goes through Batavia, so that’s about as close as you can get.

Assuming it’s not cloudy.

The eclipse I’m talking about now is a partial eclipse of the sun. This is an annular eclipse. That’s the one where the moon doesn’t quite cover the entire sun. It leaves a bright ring. Pretty impressive looking. Pretty scary looking. It’s scheduled to happen on Saturday, October 14 right around 1:13 PM as a partial eclipse.

Assuming it’s not cloudy.

But let’s go back to the scary part for a moment. In history, cultures that didn’t understand Continue Reading “The Eclipse That Changed History”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court, Age of Discovery, Age of Reason, annular eclipse, Christopher Columbus, Columbus Day, Ferdinand Columbus, Francisco de Bobadilla, Hank Morgan, Jamaica, John Noble Wilford, King Ferdinand, lunar eclipse, Mark Twain, Queen Isabella, Santo Domingo, Solar Eclipse, Spain, The Enlightment, Washington Irving, Wilson Quarterly

Where Does The Term ‘Fallen Flags’ Come From?

By Chris Carosa on September 26, 2023

Are you a fan of The Big Bang Theory? Do you remember Sheldon Cooper’s hilarious “Fun With Flags” podcast? It’s a comedically inane spoof of those mindless YouTube shows. It’s all about vexillology.

You say you have never heard of the term?

Vexillology, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, means “the study of flags.” It comes from the Latin word vexillum, which translates to drape or flag. Vexillum itself derives from the Latin velum, meaning “sail.” At some point in the 1950s, someone attached “ology” to vexillum and—voilà!—vexillology.

It’s not clear where and when the word was first used. A 1968 UPI article that ran in several papers, quotes Nathaniel Abelson, then head of the United Nations’ library map department. Abelson claimed the UN’s terminology unit invented the term, but Continue Reading “Where Does The Term ‘Fallen Flags’ Come From?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged American Revolution, fallen flag, Francis Scott Key, Greek, Harvard, Latin, Nathaniel Abelson, Robert E. Lee, Roman, Sophie Lee Foster, The Big Bang Theory, United Nations, velum, vexillology, vexillum, Whitney Smith, Yale, Yann Le Bohec

Jack Kemp: All American

By Chris Carosa on September 19, 2023

A lot of people were much closer to Jack Kemp than I, but a lot more people did not know him as well as I did. Only a few remaining Americans can say what I can: “I was there at the beginning.”

Jack Kemp, who passed away in 2009, emerged on the national scene not in the political arena passing historic legislation, but on the gridiron field and into passing history. He was forged in a time when most Americans believed in and followed the Boy Scout Law. He played among those people, he lived among those people, and, eventually, he came to represent those people. I know. I was one of them.

Friends, conservatives, liberals, and countrymen, I write not to rebury Jack Kemp, but to Continue Reading “Jack Kemp: All American”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1964 Topps Football, Allentown, Bethlehem Steel Plant, Billy Joel, Buffalo Bills, Chubb Fellow, E Pluribus Unum, Jack Kemp, New Haven, Ronald Reagan, Shining City on a hill, Woodlawn Elementary, Woodlawn Intermediate, Yale

Bring Back Dodgeball! Why ‘Too Big To Fail’ Failed

By Chris Carosa on September 5, 2023

“Whatza matter you, big toe?” Danny incomprehensibly teased, egging me to wing the ball at him. His flaming red hair and daring blue eyes proved a compelling target. Danny wasn’t stupid—but neither was I. As all fourth graders knew, Danny caught every ball thrown his way. And in Dodgeball, that means you’re out, he wins. The cool lake breeze evaporated the sweat from my forehead as the sun beat abnormally hot that spring day on the elementary school playground. With the recess bell moments away, I made my decision quickly.

Using the deft eye of a future quarterback, my face feigned throwing the ball into Danny’s broad chest and stocky arms. He bought the ruse and, as I cocked my arm back, I could see his biceps tense. Kids usually thought if they threw the ball hard enough right at him, Danny wouldn’t catch it. Danny always caught it. With a snap release, I flicked the ball directly at… his feet!

Stymied by the misdirection, Danny froze. The ball bounced harmlessly off his shoe. The bell rang. I had won.

* * * * *

Six years later, on the hardwood deck of the high school gym, I found myself in Danny’s Continue Reading “Bring Back Dodgeball! Why ‘Too Big To Fail’ Failed”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 2008/2009 recession, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Danny, defining deviancy down, Dodgeball, dumbing down of America, fourth grade, Gates-Chili High School, great recession, Madoff, participation trophy, Ponzi Scheme, self-esteem, success, tenth grade, too big to fail, winning, Woodlawn Intermediate

‘How Do I Know I’m Truly Free?’ What’s Your Answer?

By Chris Carosa on July 4, 2023

The last glowing embers of July Fourth fireworks float gently down from soaring heights. Satisfied with your annual exhaustion of “oohs” and “aahs,” you lean back to relax comfortably in your chair. Friendly conversation renews and life goes on.

But do you ever wonder about what went into that independence you so enthusiastically celebrate? What are its vital elements? More importantly, how do you know those ingredients haven’t passed their expiration date?

It begins with freedom. Or does it begin with liberty?

Thomas Jefferson doesn’t even use the word “freedom” in his Declaration of Independence. He does refer to “Free and Independent States” twice and to “free people” once. Of course, the one time he uses the word “liberty,” Jefferson gives it top billing in his phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

This latter triumvirate of terms goes back to classic times (see “How to Live the Good Life with No Regrets,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, August 25, 2022). Aristotle said the Continue Reading “‘How Do I Know I’m Truly Free?’ What’s Your Answer?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Aristotle, Declaration of Independence, Four Freedoms, Fourth of July, Franklin D. Roosevelt, freedom, Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, John Locke, liberty, life, Pearl Harbor, pursuit of happiness, Thomas Jefferson

How Far Do Private Property Rights Go?

By Chris Carosa on June 6, 2023

Many see Thomas Jefferson’s iconic “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” as having derived directly from Aristotle’s “Life, Liberty, and Eudaimonia.” For those of you not familiar with Greek, eudaimonia literally translates to the state or condition of “good spirit.” It represents the combination of the eu (meaning good) with daimon (meaning spirit).

Aristotle used the term in his Nicomachean Ethics, his tome devoted to the “science of happiness.” As a result, we commonly equate eudaimonia with happiness. Aristotle was all about living the good life, and by “good life” Aristotle alludes to a morality of higher Continue Reading “How Far Do Private Property Rights Go?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Alan S. Waterman, Andrew Cuomo, Aristotle, asylum, Covid, Crossroads Hotel, Declaration of Independence, Eric Adams, Eudaimonia, Founding Fathers, home rule, Hudson Valley, illegal alien, John Locke, Kathy Hochul, liberty, life, New York City, Newburgh, Nichomachean Ethics, Orange County, property, pursuit of happiness, Ramada by Wyndham, refugee, rights, Sanctuary City, State of Emergency, Thomas Jefferson, Veronika Huta

‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It’

By Chris Carosa on April 4, 2023

Remember the day. Remember the time.

Thursday, March 30^th. 5:03pm.

At least that was the date and time for me. I had just come out of the quarterly board meeting of the New York Press Association. Ironically, during that meeting, we had no idea of any breaking news. It’s likely the news didn’t break until we adjourned.

Perhaps, given the participants, the timing of the release was out of respect.

Not likely.

If you haven’t guessed by now, the event I’m referring to is the first time there was ever Continue Reading “‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It’”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Al Franken, Andrew Cuomo, anti-Trumper, Asa Hutchinson, banana republic, Ben Franklin, Democrat, Donald Trump, Duke lacrosse, Elizabeth Willing Powel, Hillary Clinton, indictment, Manhattan District Attorney, Mike Nifong, Nancy Pelosi, never-Trumper, politics, Rasmusson Poll, Republic, Republican, Rick DeSantis, Robby Mook, Rubicon, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Yahoo News/YouGov

There’s A Reason For That Spring In Your Step

By Chris Carosa on March 28, 2023

Can you feel that? I can. But I can’t describe it.

It’s somewhere between a tinge of excitement and elated joy. It’s anticipatory and present at the same time. It’s a satisfied grin, a certain bounce in my step.

Or, should I say, a certain “spring” in my step.

That’s it! It’s spring.

Disregard the fact the weather still thinks it’s winter. It’s not the precipitation that matters, Continue Reading “There’s A Reason For That Spring In Your Step”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries