Chris Carosa

Remembering Father Latus

By Chris Carosa on September 10, 2024

Father Charles Latus presides over the first Wedding Mass celebrated at the new opened St. Catherine’s Church in the hamlet of Mendon, NY on September 28, 1991.

My father and brother erected the family estate with their own hands. After a long search my parents found a perfect parcel on which to build. While I toiled away deskbound in some distant cubicle, the other men in the family conveyed materials in a beat-up Ford pick-up to the site. Reminiscent of “Carosa and Son” (the masonry business started by my grandfather with my father riding shotgun), the two constructed a home of their dreams.

Oddly, it wasn’t their dream home. That would come decades later.

Coincidentally, they located both homes in the Town of Mendon. The first was the ideal family home. The second was the ideal home for retirement.

That first home was more than the “ideal” family home, it was the last home that housed the entire family – Mother, Father, two adult sons, a high school daughter and an elementary school daughter. We were all there. Until the company my father worked for decided to shut down the Rochester office and transfer him to Albany.

But that’s another story. This is a story about melding into a community.

We quickly adopted Mendon as our home. There are three things that make a community a Continue Reading “Remembering Father Latus”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Andrea, Betsy Carosa, Carosa and Son, Catholic, Charles Latus, Chris Carosa, Chuck Latus, Dad, Father Latus, Hamlet, Heidi, Kenny, Mary Lee, Mendon, Mendon Community Preschool, Mendon Fireman's Carnival, Mendon Youth Baseball, mom, Monsignor Schnacky, Monsignor Schnacky Players, Pack 105, Pre-Cana, St. Catherine's, wedding

Faith, Reason, And The Shroud Of Turin

By Chris Carosa on September 3, 2024

Image of Shroud of Turin showing positive and negative displays by source: Dianelos Georgoudis, CC BY-SA 3.0 https:creativecommons.org licenses by-sa3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

As the “science guy” in school, I got a lot of questions. They weren’t science questions, unless it was for answers on the high school chemistry exam. (And they were asked during the actual taking of the exam!) No, my friends usually asked me questions about science fiction.

That irked me.

OK, so here’s something many people didn’t know about me back then. As much of a Trekker that I was (and still am – but only for Star Trek: TOS), I was no fan of science fiction. Sure, I liked 2001: A Space Odyssey (the movie, I hated the book). Yes, I read Isaac Asimov’s I Robot (during catechism class at St. Pius because I was bored, and it was on the bookshelf I sat next to).

But, in general, I found most science fiction too dystopian, too depressing, and, well, too Continue Reading “Faith, Reason, And The Shroud Of Turin”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alexander Friedmann, Arthur C. Clarke, Big Bang, Catholic Church, Charles Darwin, Faith, First Vatican Council, Fred Hoyle, Friedmann Equations, Galileo, God, I Robot, Isaac Asimov, Jesus, On The Origin of Species, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John Paul II, Pope Pius XII, reason, Red Giants and White Dwarfs, religion, Robert Jastrow, science, Shroud of Turin, Star Trek, Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas, yang, yin

The Day ‘The Democracy’ Died

By Chris Carosa on August 27, 2024

JFK Campaign Poster. Source: Unidentified Artist, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Two hundred years. It was a great run while it lasted.

I wrote eight years ago how the establishment Republicans’ alienation of Donald Trump signaled the end of that party, (see “The Night the Grand Old Party Died,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, April 14, 2016). A week ago, their counterpart decided to return the favor.

To fully appreciate the significance of this, understand I was raised a Kennedy Democrat, pretty much like every other Catholic who grew up in the 1960s. Every home in my family and every home of my family’s friends had two pictures hanging somewhere among their walls. One was of the Pope. The other was of John F. Kennedy.

How effusive was the Kennedy aura in our family? My brother’s name was “Kenneth.” We called him “Kenny.” My great-great aunt Zia Pepe (that would be my mother’s great aunt and my grandmother’s aunt) watched us when my mother had to substitute teach. She called my brother “Ken-eh-dee.” It was a badge of honor for him. He collected all things Kennedy, at least for a short time.

Zia Pepe was babysitting us when JFK was assassinated. The three of us watched it on TV. She cried. We didn’t know why Zia Pepe was crying. As we were watching, our mother Continue Reading “The Day ‘The Democracy’ Died”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1980 Presidential Election, Buffalo, California, Catholic, Cheryl Hines, Democrat, Donald Trump, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Grand Old Party, JFK, John F. Kennedy, Kenny, New Hampshire, Reagan, Republican, RFK Jr., Ricky, Robert F. Kennedy, Teddy Kennedy, The Democracy, Zia Pepe

The Joy Of ‘Mission Accomplished’ (With A Lafayette Bonus At The End)

By Chris Carosa on August 20, 2024

Includes never before published chapters. What are they? Click here to buy your copy now.

The wild whirlwind wound down last week to a satisfying conclusion. The following column reveals the inside story of what really happened over the last eight months.

Okay, truth be told, it all started ten months ago. I was in the middle of producing a series of “The Greater Western New York Minute” and decided I needed to beef up my studio hardware and upgrade my software. That took a little longer than expected, making it difficult to continue production of those sixty second vignettes.

Well, there’s no such thing as a void in my life. There are merely a never-ending series of windows of opportunity forever opening and closing. It seems like when one window closes, I find another window opening. It happens all the time.

Does that make me special?

No.

Actually, this same situation exists for you, too. You have to look for it, but it’s there. Always.

Do you want to know the secret to discovering these open windows of opportunity? It’s Continue Reading “The Joy Of ‘Mission Accomplished’ (With A Lafayette Bonus At The End)”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged interest stack, Lafayette, opportunity, talent stack

On Fried Dough and Kettle Corn

By Chris Carosa on August 13, 2024

Loud and proud in familiar environs, hawking books in the Historical Building at the Erie County Fair on Saturday, August 10, 2024. Source: Author

It’s a ritual that takes place every August. For me, it started when I was too young to remember. It later intensified when I just turned old enough to learn. Then, after a long period of dormancy, it came back not just with gusto, but with the pleasant perfume of honeyed nostalgia.

We create routines that become habits that end up as traditions. They seem quite random at first, a series of oddly connected dots with no obvious meaning. Later, their regularity brings comfort. Finally, they emerge as rites of passage.

Think about your own life. If you’re like most of us, you can map this template onto certain Continue Reading “On Fried Dough and Kettle Corn”

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

A Pugilist’s Elegy – In Memory of Mr. Polito

By Chris Carosa on August 6, 2024

Photo by vierdrie on Freeimages.com

It seemed like fate, but it was duty.

My first question was, “Why didn’t you fail me?”

His first question was, “Would you like some iced tea?”

I had been at war with the English Department since 8^th grade. I don’t remember why. I think my 8^th grade English teacher, Mrs. Coffey, enjoyed sparring with me, and I returned the compliment with zeal. It was always cordial. Being a science guy, I consistently argued against the humanities. Only once did I naively step over the line. The teacher wisely told me that there were such things as lines. I demurred and vowed never again to go over that unseen demarcation.

But that didn’t mean I stopped pushing the envelope.

In 10^th grade I took a stand against Continue Reading “A Pugilist’s Elegy – In Memory of Mr. Polito”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade, 8th grade, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Boxing, boxing gloves, Captain Kirk, chess club, chess team, English class, Gates Chili, James Joyce, literary analysis, Mr. Clauss, Mr. Harvey, Mr. Polito, Mrs. Coffey, poetry, school announcements, St. Pius X Church, U.A.P.E.S., Union of Advanced Placement English Students, Vice Principal

Film Vs. TV: A MAS*H Revelation

By Chris Carosa on July 30, 2024

M*A*S*H 1970 Film Poster Distributed by 20th Century Fox. Source: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A while back, a friend asked to borrow our copy of the movie M*A*S*H. He was so excited. He watched the TV series diligently and remains a fan of it to this day. He was so excited to see the movie.

Now, normally I don’t lend things from my library. I’ve learned that’s the quickest way to create a permanent hole in my shelf. But I trusted this guy, so I lent him the movie.

He returned the movie with no expression on his face. I asked him what he thought. He answered, “It was… different.”

Yes. Yes, it was.

The movie M*A*S*H feels more like Animal House. The TV series “M*A*S*H” may have started out like the movie, but it ended with a sense of “Little House On The Prairie.” Between the two, we saw our culture shift.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

We’ll start with the TV series. The television viewing world buzzed with anticipation when Continue Reading “Film Vs. TV: A M*A*S*H Revelation”

Posted in Movie Reviews, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 2010 Superbowl, Alan Alda, Alpha Male, Animal House, B.J. Hunnicutt, baseball, Boon, Catch-22, CBS, Colonel Blake, Colonel Potter, Delta House, Donald Sutherland, Drew Brees, Duke Forrest, Elliot Gould, Ernist Borgnine, film, football, Hawkeye, Hogan's Heroes, Indianapolis Colts, Joseph Heller, Korean War, Little House On The Prairie, Love Story, M*A*S*H, MASH 4077, MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, McHale's Navy, movie, New Orleans Saints, Otter, Patton, Peyton Manning, PT-73, Robert Altman, Sgt. Bilko, Sidney Freeman, Suicide is Painless, The Phil Silvers Show, Tom Skerritt, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Trapper John, TV series, Vietnam War, World War II

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Through Seneca Falls, East Cayuga Then A Masonic Welcome And A Final Adieu In Auburn

By Chris Carosa on July 23, 2024

Previous: Bigotry Cannot Defeat A Good And Honorable Man

In Auburn, Lafayette met at “Hudson’s Hotel” a.k.a. Western Exchange Hotel Genesee St. Image circa 1840. From the collection of the Cayuga Museum of History and Art, Auburn, NY

As early as May 12^th, 1825, the Village of Auburn expected Lafayette to travel through their growing community. Seventeen men, including two future governors of New York State were appointed to a committee charged with the purpose of preparing for the visit of the French general and American hero. They were “to make suitable arrangements for the occasion; and that they be requested to communicate the doings of this meeting, to the proper military officers, the masonick order, and the surviving revolutionary officers and soldiers, inviting them to co-operate with the citizens of the village, in the proposed expressions of publick attention, to the venerable ‘Guest of our Nation,’ and its early defender.”¹

A few days later, on May 16^th, the officers of the militia met at Strong’s tavern. Led by Brigadier General Henry R. Brinkerhoff, they, too, formed a committee to prepare for Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Through Seneca Falls, East Cayuga Then A Masonic Welcome And A Final Adieu In Auburn”

Posted in History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Alaska, Auburn, Aurora, Benjamin C. Cox, Cayuga, Cayuga Bridge, Dirck C. Lansing, E.T. Throop, Genesee Road, Geneva, Gerhom Powers, Henry R. Brinkerhoff, J.M. Sherwood, John W. Hulbert, Lafayette, Levasseur, mason, Revolutionary War, Seneca Falls, Seneca Turnpike, Seward's Folly, W. S. De Zeng, Waterloo, William H. Seward, Woolsey's Hotel

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Bigotry Cannot Defeat A Good And Honorable Man

By Chris Carosa on July 23, 2024

Previous: Wowed Waterloo Overcomes Tragedy To Welcome Hero

Dirck. C. Lansing, after his coal black hair turned white with age. Source: Adams, John Quincy, A History of Auburn Theological Seminary, 1818-1918, Auburn Seminary Press, Auburn, 1918

Why are people so mean? What prompts them to violate the rules of decorum just to get a dig in? How many good men do we lose because of this?

It turns out the Era of Good Feelings was less universal than we think. Or, rather, within those good feelings lay dormant seeds of discord that only needed time, and a good trigger, to flower into tension and, unfortunately, eventually into conflict.

But let’s not go there yet. Let’s harken back to the source of the unity that the Era of Good Feelings recalled.

While the Revolutionary War can be aptly described as a civil war, its aftermath brought harmony through the commonality of men who served in its victory. Not only did they share the wounds of war, but they also shared within the fellowship of it.

No better manifestation of the fraternity of commonness was the proliferation of Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Bigotry Cannot Defeat A Good And Honorable Man”

Posted in History, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Abolition, American Anti-Slavery Society, Auburn, Auburn Theological Seminary, Aurelius, burnt district, Burnt Over District, Calvary Presbyterian Church, Charles G, Church of Christ, Dirck C. Lansing, Era of Good Feelings, Finney, First Church, Freemasonry, Genesee Road, George Washington, Hiram Lodge No. 88, John L. Hardenburgh, Lafayette, lodge, mason, masonic, Morgan Affair, Presbyterian, Revolutionary War, Samuel Miles Hopkins, Second Great Awakening, St. Paul's Lodge No. 265, Yale

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Wowed Waterloo Overcomes Tragedy To Welcome Hero

By Chris Carosa on July 16, 2024

Previous: The Great Central Trail Becomes The State Road

Waterloo Hotel became the Madison House before being converting into Twin Brothers’ Yeast Cake factory (pictured here). The factory burned down in 1877. Source: Becker, John E., A History of the Village of Waterloo, Waterloo Library and Historical Society, Waterloo, NY 1949, p. 81

The party began early in Waterloo on the morning of Wednesday, June 8, 1825. It was like a festive holiday. A great anticipation thrilled the small village and those visitors who had come to town for the special occasion about to unfold. Revolutionary War hero and valiant icon of freedom, the Marquis de Lafayette was about to visit.

Excitement filled the air. And cannon smoke.

There was no way to contain the enthusiasm. Several villagers expressed this feeling by gathering at Earl’s tavern, as the Waterloo Hotel had been known. Ab Falling built the three-story brick structure in 1817. Located in the center of its west side, the main entrance faced the public square. The upper floor had a ballroom and a Masonic Hall.¹

That same year, Junius Lodge No. 291, F.&A.M. received its charter from the Grand Lodge of New York on June 5. The growing lodge began meeting at the Waterloo Hotel on July 1, 1819. By 1825, only one of the original petitioners—Dr. Jesse Fifield, Treasurer—held a leadership position.²

Captain Jehiel P. Parsons was a member of Junius Lodge No. 291.³ He wasn’t among the citizens celebrating at Earl’s tavern. Instead, he chose to have breakfast across the street at the Mill. The partiers at the tavern would show their delight for the joyous day by Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Wowed Waterloo Overcomes Tragedy To Welcome Hero”

Posted in History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Abraham Lisk, Caleb Fairchild, Captain Jehiel P. Parsons, Captain Lemuel Ruggles, Dr. Jesse Fifield, Earl's Tavern, Freemason, G.A. Gamage, Junius Lodge No. 291, Lafayette, mason, Oren R. Farnsworth, Rev. John Caton, Revolutionary War, Waterloo, Waterloo Hotel, Waterloo House