Look Out! A Wasp!

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the May 17, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Everyone has their weakness. Achilles had his heel. Cleopatra had her asp. Winston Smith possessed the mortal fear of rats. Jim Stafford, well, he didn’t like spiders and snakes.

I, for one, despise wasps. It’s not that I hate them, I’m just totally afraid of the loathsome creatures. And I’m not talking about human WASPs. No. I refer solely to the insect – that silently buzzing summer pest.

I don’t recall when I first feared wasps. Certainly, I had some concern by my fourth year. During that summer, as my brother and I helped my father work on the flower garden in the backyard, we saw with horror an ugly wasp land on my father’s exposed Continue Reading “Look Out! A Wasp!”

Let’s Go Golfing!

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the May 10, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259

“Oh the weather outside is delightful!
and there’s nothing such as frightful!
as my tee shot…”

Let’s get one thing straight from the beginning – I am not a golfer. Sure, I play the links, but no more than four or five times a year. And don’t even ask me about my score. I stop counting after ten strokes – per hole. Heck, my aim in the game is what I call the low ball count – lose as few balls as possible.

As a kid, golf never fascinated me. The only club I swung had Willie Mays’ autograph and weighed 34 ounces. Golf seemed a remote game available only to people who lived Continue Reading “Let’s Go Golfing!”

Et tu, Espagnol?

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Cesar-sa_mort_wikipedia_public_domain_300

Students, teachers, administrators, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Latin, not to praise it.Continue Reading “Et tu, Espagnol?”

Mid-Winter Blahs

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the February 15, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259As we approach mid-February we enter the depths of winter. All in all winter is a fine season. The pleasant snow covers everything. Yes, it’s a pain in the neck when it comes to driving, but it’s especially beautiful when it outlines the branches of all the trees.

The variety of the seasons enlivens us. Even constant sunshine and warm weather can oppress. The quarterly changes allow us to regularly anticipate and experience beginnings and endings. This cycle brings emotional health.

Yet, for all the good things, we must endure one great burden: the mid-Winter Blahs. I’m not quite sure if psychologists have coined a catchy term for this mental morass. I don’t read a lot of those hip psycho-analytic magazines. (Although I admit once some Continue Reading “Mid-Winter Blahs”

The Faces of the Week

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the October 12, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Take a close look at the people you pass by every morning on the way to work. You’ll find most faces exhibit the same traits. I began my character study on the mindless Monday morning of last week (you know, the one where the cloudy gray dawn urged you to stay in bed until the last possible minute).

For years I have walked from the South Avenue Garage, through the Chase-Lincoln building, across the skyway (or is it the “shyway”), into and out of Midtown Mall before finally crossing Euclid Street and the reprieve of a solitary office. Facing people too early in the morning might lead to an embarrassing mistake (like forgetting their Continue Reading “The Faces of the Week”

From a Bachelor’s Cupboard

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the August 31, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259WARNING:                        BUTTER IS COMBUSTIBLE.

Such a message never graces the sides of butter packages. As a service to all culinary illiterates (like me), I must urge you: pay heed to this warning! But, more on that story in a moment.

As much as I hate to admit it, everyone has certain limitations. Like a recalcitrant halfwit, I often refuse to abide by such diminished expectations. I have, however, never Continue Reading “From a Bachelor’s Cupboard”

What If…?

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the August 24, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259A Collection of Potent Ponderables:

What if the Cubs and the Orioles both reach the World Series? Who will America’s hearts cheer for? Will they align themselves with the Chicago Cubs, the world’s favorite underdog, who haven’t won a World Series in over 40 years? Or will our nation take hold of the Horatio Alger Story embedded in this rags-to-riches season of the Baltimore Continue Reading “What If…?”

Adieu Fort A.P. Hill; Au Revoir Jamboree – Reflections on the Exciting 2010 Boy Scout Centennial Celebration

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Jambo Journal – Day #11, Wednesday, August 4, 2010 The Voyage Home.

Yesterday’s entry: Life Happens When You’re Having Fun

In the journalism biz, of 890532_16433007_Farewell_to_the_Sun_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300which I’ve had an off-again on-again affair with since my salad days, there’s a trade secret regarding writing non-news stories on a tight deadline: write the story before the event actually happens. That way, you can quickly tweak it for facts based on what really happened and still have an excellent piece before the editor demands, “The presses are running now! Give me whatever you got!”

I figured nothing says “tight deadline” than shipping out day, when chaos lords over the earth and misdirection rules the day. In that spirit, I figured I’d use that ol’ trade secret. Here’s what I wrote Tuesday with what I intended to serve as the first paragraph for this entry:

The day begins early after a dewy night. We’ve already positioned our gear in the staging area near Troop 314. Now we just wait for our trucks. The buses will be coming an hour later. There’s a chance the military may require the trucks to wait for the buses. This would prove problematic if true.

Events have overwhelmed my corner-cutting strategy and would soon have me Continue Reading “Adieu Fort A.P. Hill; Au Revoir Jamboree – Reflections on the Exciting 2010 Boy Scout Centennial Celebration”

Life Happens When You’re Having Fun

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Jambo Journal – Day #10, Tuesday, August 3, 2010 The Last Day.

Yesterday’s entry: Smitten Again By a Bug You Don’t Want

Last night at dinner we 1174317_40471385_early_bird_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300reviewed the progress the boys were making towards earning their Jamboree Rocker patches. Imagine the “diversity” requirements colleges have to make sure you don’t just take courses from one academic department. Jamboree officials created the rocker patches for the same reason. They don’t want the boys spending all their time at Merit Badge Midway or just the Activity Centers or just in the water. (I guess they didn’t count on the impact of patch trading, though.) They also want to encourage the boys to travel to every corner of the camp. (Wait, maybe that’s where the patch trading comes in.)

We haven’t prodded the boys on earning their rockers. One of the primary principles of Continue Reading “Life Happens When You’re Having Fun”

Smitten Again By a Bug You Don’t Want

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Jambo Journal – Day #9, Monday, August 2, 2010 A Day of Rest.

Yesterday’s entry: Have Fun: Do Nothing.

I finally did it. I didn’t want to. 1067182_slice_of_pizzaI’ve been there before and I know the consequences. It took a lot of years to go through detox. I have a family now. I don’t want to go there again. But I can’t say no. I am again consumed by this awful temptress.

But, more on that story in a moment. First, I’ll give you the lowdown on the current plan for the new Jamboree site.

I went to The Summit exhibition in the morning. We (my son and another scoutmaster) walked there after waiting a half hour for a bus. It takes a half hour to walk to the National Exhibits area from our camp site. The air was cool and comfortable while we waited, but the sun Continue Reading “Smitten Again By a Bug You Don’t Want”

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