Chris Carosa

When I Learned I Was A Writer

By Chris Carosa on August 22, 2023

Yes, I hated English class. All the way from Middle School through College. That didn’t mean I didn’t like to write. As demonstrated by my 10^th grade novel, I treated writing as a form of teenage rebellion. Teenagers must rebel, and it’s a lot safer using a pen than some other tool.

Truth be told, I wrote constantly, especially when I wasn’t supposed to. I even used English class as an excuse to write. It’s called “free writing” or “stream of consciousness writing.” It’s the kind of nonsense writing that fills journals.

In December of my senior year in high school, my father gave me an appointment book. It wasn’t as fancy as the ones they have now. His company (Hartford Insurance) printed them up for their employees. My father must have had an Continue Reading “When I Learned I Was A Writer”

Posted in Great Writing Tips, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries

Why I Started To Write

By Chris Carosa on August 15, 2023

I’ve seen this quote all over the news lately. Funny thing, but I remember the quote and not the news story that prompted its use. The quote is from Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. In it, Bill asks how Mike went bankrupt. Mike responds with the now literary meme, “Two ways. Gradually and then suddenly.”

It turns out this “gradually then suddenly” concept applies to a lot more than bankruptcy. Think about how the Roman Empire fell. This applies both to the OG empire centered in Continue Reading “Why I Started To Write”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Armageddon, chain reaction, critical mass, English class, Erie County Fair Museum, Ernest Hemingway, first grade, freshman year, Herbie the Helicopter, high school, I think I can, Joseph Conrad, Kirk, Mary Lee, Miss Jackson, Mr. Clauss, Mr. Harvey, Mr. Polito, nuclear fission, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Spock, Star Trek, The Enemy Within, The Secret Sharer, The Sun Also Rises

The Never-Ending Apple Wars of Summer

By Chris Carosa on August 8, 2023

The dynamics between the kids on Abbott Parkway were complex. There was always this “boys against girls” thing.

It started in school. By fourth grade, it got to where boys intercepted notes girls tried to pass to one another. Sometimes the boys would read them. Sometimes the boys would pass them to our teacher, Miss Powell. Miss Powell didn’t take too kindly to note passing.

This tension spilled over to the neighborhood. Several girls from our grade played on the Continue Reading “The Never-Ending Apple Wars of Summer”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Abbott Parkway, Angelo, Apple Wars, Babsie, Cindy, Dad, Debbie, fourth grade, grandpa, Johnny, Karen, Kenny, Markie, Miss Powell, peach tree, Shari

Simple Summer Mornings In The Years B.C. (‘Before Chili’)

By Chris Carosa on August 1, 2023

If the summers of Dortmund Circle were filled with sports of all sorts, flingable fruit filled the summers of Abbott Parkway. That wasn’t the only difference.

While nearly all the kids my age on Dortmund Circle were boys, girls dominated the peerage on Abbott Parkway. There were a lot more kids on Abbott Parkway, in part because the street was twice as long. That length also changed our venues of play.

On Dortmund Circle, all us guys lived within a few houses of each other. Our playing fields (mostly the street and our driveways) lay right outside our doors. Given its substantial length and the location of most of the kids, Abbott Parkway presented a different avenue to fun.Continue Reading “Simple Summer Mornings In The Years B.C. (‘Before Chili’)”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 3-d Football Card, Abbott Parkway, Angelo, bikes, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Dave Thomas, Dick Butkus, Dortmund Circle, grandpa's house, Highland Parkway, Kellogg's, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Kenny, Kirk, Life cereal, Markie, Mary Lee, McCoy, mom, Quake, Quisp, Raisin Bran, Rocketship 7, Spock, Star Trek, Trix

The (Too) Short Season Of Fun In The Sun

By Chris Carosa on July 25, 2023

Do you remember what you did during summer vacation? Note how I refer to it as summer “vacation” and not summer “break.” There’s a reason for this.

Summer “break” connotes that time between spring and fall semesters during college. You usually have a summer job or some sort of internship. Summer “break” entails a break from the routine. You travel from your college either back home or to whatever city you end up working or interning in.

While a break from schoolwork, it’s not a break from work. After all, you do have to pay for college somehow.

Now, a summer “vacation” means something totally different. It evokes memories of a Continue Reading “The (Too) Short Season Of Fun In The Sun”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 300, baseball, Basketball, Dortmund Circle, football, summer, summer vacation

The Black List Listless Series Finale Disappoints

By Chris Carosa on July 18, 2023

I don’t usually review movies or television series, but when I do…

If an image of a smart looking older man just dripping of Mexican aristocracy blossoms in your head, then you’ve been influenced by the same advertising campaigns as I have. No, in case you’re wondering, this column is not a Dos Equis beer commercial. But it is about the most interesting man in the world.

Or at least the television world.

Before I leave the advertising realm, chances are the image you conjured was that of a well-tanned but weathered gentleman with graying hair and an even grayer beard. He looks like a modern-day Don Quixote. It’s an allure that’s hard to turn away from.

Incidentally, the actor Jonathan Goldsmith portrayed this character from 2006 through 2016. In his final ad, Dos Equis launched “the most interesting man in the world” on a one-way trip to another world—Mars. His final epitaph was the fitting, “His only regret is not Continue Reading “The Black List Listless Series Finale Disappoints”

Posted in Movie Reviews, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged bull, bullfighter, Death in the Afternoon, Don Quixote, Dos Equis, Dr. Richard Kimble, Elisabeth Keen, Ernest Hemingway, Gilligan's Island, Hogan's Heroes, James Spader, Jonathan Goldsmith, M*A*S*H, man in the arena, most interesting man, Reddington, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Star Trek, The Black List, The Fugitive, The Sun Also Rises, Theodore Roosevelt

What Are The Best Opening Lines For Letters To Editor?

By Chris Carosa on July 11, 2023

Do you have a rant? Is there someone or something you want to rave about? Or maybe you have a new idea that you just want to share with the world.

What’s the best way to let your voice be heard? A way that gets the most substantive “views” over time. A way that endures. A way that never faces the risk of getting cancelled.

Sure, the quickest way is to just blab it all through your favorite social media account. But how do you know how many people will really see it? Even putting it on your own blog doesn’t guarantee eyeballs. Unless you’re an expert on Search Engine Optimization (SEO), chances are your thoughts will make the same sound as that proverbial tree that falls in the forest when no one is around.

There’s a better way. It’s a way used for centuries. It’s a way that’s proven more effective Continue Reading “What Are The Best Opening Lines For Letters To Editor?”

Posted in Great Writing Tips, Media, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged cartharsis, complaint, compliment, entertaining, first sentence, informative, letter to the editor, persuasive, SEO

‘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

Lunch With Father

By Chris Carosa on June 27, 2023

It was a different time. A different place. Too far back to remember. Too far ahead to imagine.

He was a busy man. Each day, he went to work. But the work never ended. When he left his desk at work, he went right to his desk at home. He was proud of that desk. It was really not much, but it served his purpose. He polished it up regularly, keeping the surface he worked on clean. Beyond that, piles of papers consumed the rest of the surface area. His wife complained about the mess, but he assured her he knew where everything was.

And he did.

If you ventured anywhere near those piles, he quickly admonished you. “Don’t touch anything! You’ll mess up my filing system.”

Not that he didn’t have a proper filing system. It was meticulous. But it was actually easy Continue Reading “Lunch With Father”

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

Reflections On The Last Day Of School Past

By Chris Carosa on June 20, 2023

A warm summer day. Cozy warm. Not hot.

The trees and grass twinkle silently in the soft unseen wind, lush from the recent rains. Green. Not that dark green of July. Closer to the lighter greens of the Spring’s new growth.

The bright sun brings out the yellows in that green. But those brilliant rays wash out the sharpness of all color, much like you would see in an overexposed photograph. The effect only brings more tenderness to the scene.

Windows open in the moving school bus allow a gentle breeze to circulate the fresh temperate air.

It’s the last day of school. The last bus ride home. You can feel the excitement. Everyone is Continue Reading “Reflections On The Last Day Of School Past”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team, Anniversary, Bethlehem Steel, Big Tree Fireman's Carnival, birthday, bully, Dad, erie county fair, Ford Stamping Plant, Fourth of July, Fran-n-Ceil's, friends, Ice Cream, Kenny, LAke Shore Road, last day of school, Mike Eruzione, Miracle, peace treaty, Route 5, school bus, strawberries, summer vacation, Tom Tomaka, Woodlawn Elementary