No Submission #1

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By on January 26, 2012

[This Commentary originally did not appear in the January 24, 1991 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259No Submission #1

Next Week #94: The Name Chris (originally published on January 17, 1991)
Next Week #96: No Submission #2 (originally not published on January 31, 1991)

[What is this and why is here? See Interested in Discovering My Time Machine? for more details.]

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries

Who Killed Cock Kodak?

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By on January 24, 2012

Hearing the news of the bankruptcy of Kodak evoked the same sadness of the final scene in Godfather II. As the film draws to a close, a lonely Michael stares 386859_3649_kodak_film_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300into the cold waters of Lake Tahoe beneath the ominous clouds of a darkening winter sky. It was the end. It was the end of success. It was the end of the high life. It was the end of the family.

But then I briefly remember the heyday. I remember when high school classmates would preen proudly into the room as they announced they had just been hired by the Big Yellow Box. Like a clip from yet another gangster movie, Goodfellas, the new employee had the strut of a made man. His life was complete. His career determined. His place in the community cemented forever.

And now it is gone. We knew it was coming. Death for Kodak came not suddenly, but Continue Reading “Who Killed Cock Kodak?”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged , ,

The Name “Chris”

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By on January 19, 2012

[This Commentary was originally submitted to appear in the January 17, 1991 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259I returned to the Monday night volley ball courts of HF-L High School a week ago after a seven or eight month absence (night school can do that to you). It was an enjoyably sweaty time with lots of familiar faces and quite a few new ones. I liked the workout.

When playing on one of the back courts, I noticed the many paper basketballs and megaphones taped high on the wall. On each stood the name of a basketball player and cheerleader. I read the names of the boys and girls, looking for a Chris. (OK, OK, so I’m proud of the name my parents Continue Reading “The Name “Chris””

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

PAC-MAN – A Last Look Back

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By on January 12, 2012

[This Commentary originally appeared in the January 10, 1991 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Just over twenty years ago, a new game began sprouting among aging pinball machines in arcades across the land. Its instant popularity helped solidify the video game market. Two things distinguished PAC-MAN from its immediate predecessors and, especially, the granddaddy of all video games – Space Invaders.

Foremost, PAC-MAN employed a novel Continue Reading “PAC-MAN – A Last Look Back”

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

The Year in Review

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By on January 5, 2012

Or, Why Do We Go Through This Every Year?

[This Commentary originally appeared in the January 3, 1991 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Just as certainly as Jack Frost nips at your nose, the end of the year brings forth a cavalcade of year-end summaries. These reviews highlight all the top news stories we have, for the most part, so fleetingly forgotten over the course of the past 12 months.

I refuse to retrace the recent year. If you want a year-end review, I suggest you read one of the major newsweeklies or tune into your favorite TV news show. I will, however, offer you Continue Reading “The Year in Review”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged , , , ,

A Christmas Letter

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By on December 22, 2011

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

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Dear Gentle Reader:

As we find ourselves in the midst of the hectic holiday season, let us each make a personal commitment to enjoy the tranquil pleasance which surrounded that solemn manger scene some two thousand years ago.

Don’t get me wrong. In no way am I pressing piety on anyone. The aura of which I speak blesses all. The wonder of repose can – and should – be tasted by those Continue Reading “A Christmas Letter”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries

Ode to Curt’s Stop-In: An Era Ends

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By on December 15, 2011

Like a scene from The Wonder Years, I remember the feeling of youthful exuberance when, in the dark of evening, we crossed the six lanes of hectic highway as only Buffalo, NYreckless eight-year olds could. The thrice daily shift change left Route 5 abuzz with a cornucopia of cars – from speeding muscular sportsters to equally vigorous family sedans. I wasn’t looking at the traffic, though. Instead, my eyes fixed on the heavens above as I followed the path of a faintly glowing satellite arc through the starry sky blanketing us. I pointed it out to my friend, who also had a thing for astronomy. It was the early summer of 1968 and I was about to experience something I would never forget.

We survived the treacherous crossing and made a bee-line to a place I had never Continue Reading “Ode to Curt’s Stop-In: An Era Ends”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, Western New York State of Mind Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Goodbye My Leather Jacket

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By on December 15, 2011

[This Commentary originally appeared in the December 13, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259It came to me in a plain brown cardboard box as I prepared to catch a midday flight to Washington DC four years ago. The dark brown many-pocketed WWII Bombardier’s Flight Jacket had caught my eyes a few weeks before. I really didn’t expect it to arrive before I left for the political conference. Imagine my joy when the UPS truck pulled up into my driveway.

Since my earliest days the spirit and the zest of the fighter jock secretly boiled far down within my soul. To counter this inner desire lay a cautious sense of responsibility. Yet, I could not deny deep-seated feelings. I knew, just like most people, I had undertaken some “daring” adventures. While not life threatening, these encounters certainly Continue Reading “Goodbye My Leather Jacket”

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

The New Pearl Harbor

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By on December 8, 2011

[This Commentary originally appeared in the December 6, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Thirty-nine years ago, the United States government misinterpreted some very clear signals being sent by the Japanese. Depending on your point of view, a very naïve or very calculating Franklin Delano Roosevelt failed to prepare for the growing military aggression Japan would soon unleash upon an unsuspecting United States.

In his best-selling book At Dawn We Slept, Gordon W. Prange maintains the Japanese should have never surprised the Continue Reading “The New Pearl Harbor”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged , , ,

How to Declare War

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By on December 1, 2011

[This Commentary originally appeared in the November 29, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259What the Constitution says: The Constitution of the United States of America clearly states only Congress can declare war on another nation. Our founding fathers correctly determined the impropriety of putting an entire nation at risk as a result of one person having too much authority. Though naming him Commander-in-Chief, they astutely forbade the President from declaring war.

Constitutional scholars call this juxtaposition the separation of powers. The separation of powers between the three major branches of government creates a very durable system of Continue Reading “How to Declare War”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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