Father.
Now there’s a word weighted with meaning.
For Americans indoctrinated in gender politics, father brings to mind the patriarchy, male domination, and oppression.
For others, the word father summons nightmares from childhood, abuse, slaps and punches, drunken rages, constant criticism, and neglect. Or maybe they remember Dad as the man who would come home from work, grunt a hello, pop open a beer, plop down in front of the television, and heaven help anyone who disturbed him
It’s warm outside, which is a nice change from our long winter, but I’m grateful for AC. There’s over-the-top hot and humid! We are in the doldrums time for flowers. Peonies and other spring flowers have bloomed, and late summer blossoms haven’t yet matured. I keep thinking I’ll add more biennials to the garden for this in-between time (canterbury bells, foxgloves, hollyhocks) --- but somehow, I have fragmented follow-through. The grasses along the roadsides are ripening; ranging in color fro
It’s a movie about a soul band. They’re from Ireland.
When it comes to describing the movie The Commitments, that’s a good place to start. The 1991 film is about a young Irishman’s dream of forming the best band soul band to ever come out of Ireland. An Irish soul band might not sound right, but in young Jimmy Rabbitte’s eyes, it makes perfect sense. If soul music is a product of the disenfranchised, then who better than the Irish to take a crack at it.
Or in his words:
With
Despite all the work to get ready, I really enjoyed being part of our Spencer-Van Etten Farmers Market yesterday, with a surprise video made (by a friend of my high school friend!) which introduced each of us vendors, shared to my Facebook page. It was great to meet friends I haven’t seen or talked to in a good while! One of our vendors introduced herself, saying she remembered me and my sister from high school in Owego, and graduated with my sister! Amazing! But what deeply touched my heart was
Late last week, after New York State reached a 70% vaccination rate statewide, Governor Cuomo ran with that benchmark as a reason to celebrate – fireworks included.
He didn’t declare the end of the state of emergency, keep in mind, or the executive emergency powers that he still holds. The governor just saw fit to gather a group of cheering supporters at the World Trade Center in Manhattan to kick off a daylong, campaign-style celebration of...Governor Cuomo and his administration’s charade
Father’s Day… a time to remember the dads we treasure. They’ve taught us well in the ways of life. And I remember a lot about my dad. In fact, it would be fair to say that I had put him on a pedestal while growing up… not a wise placement for anyone. But it seems he could do anything and everything, a jack-of-all-trades. Though none of us can measure up all the time, there is One who is perfect… who forgives all our failings… our heavenly Father.
There is so much my Dad, Ralph, taugh
First let me say I get no kickbacks from any of the places I review. So when you see me promoting the same eateries its because I like their food.
Here is some more delicious food courtesy of Julianna's Brickwood BBQ.
The first picture is the smoked turkey melt with bacon. Good thick pieces of smoked turkey. Meat was tender, not dry at all. Can't say anything bad about bacon. This was also my first time trying sweet potato fries and honey. I don
What wonderful golden days, even though steamy weather came too early! Here, in the Finger Lakes, it is strawberry season. This year I’m hoping to make jam as well as enjoying the fresh berries. Even strawberry-less gardens are starting to look good with their emerging rows of green seedlings. High school graduations are coming too. Because of standardized Regents tests, school endings in NYS are written almost in stone, but there seems to be no set season for graduations elsewhere; a neph
Did you know that Lukas Nelson is Willie Nelson’s kid? Yeah, you probably did. Did you know that Nelson worked with Bradley Cooper on songs for A Star Is Born and Nelson and his band Promise Of The Real played Cooper’s backing band in the film? You might have known that.
Or you didn’t know either of those things and in all honesty, hadn’t really heard of Nelson and his band. And that’s fine. There’s a lot of music out there. An act or 500 are bound to slip through the cracks. You are not al
I love taking walks in the fields and through the woods, and miss those walks from years ago. Actually, for our first date on Christmas Day 1973, Ed took me for a walk up the hill on what used to be his family’s farm, now the Hollybrook Country Club golf course. We followed a steep path upward that once upon a time was used to access a hayfield, presumably by a team of draft horses. From the top, standing in a grove of white pines planted in defined rows, we looked back down on the farm. I t
Sorry for the long hiatus took on a new role at work and I was focused on that for a few months.
I finally got the chance to try Campus Pizza/Pizza Pick Up. First and foremost I had to try the chicken wing pizza. Pizza Pick Up was always my favorite. This is the small size good for maybe 2 people perfect for 1 of me. Two for lunch and two for dinner, I got to savor the flavor all day.
I liked the sauciness most places are a bit on the dry side. I like the smaller almost shredded
Maroon 5 are set to release their seventh album on Friday. It’s called Jordi. The album features Megan Thee Stallion, the late Nipsey Hustle, Stevie Nicks, and a couple other people.
Wonderful.
I couldn't care less.
However, there was a time, a long, long time ago, back when George W. Bush was president, the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry was must-see TV, and CD books were a thing when I actually cared quite a bit about Maroon 5. It seems borderline nuts now, but the passage of time is n
The State Legislature’s 2021 regular session, which ended late last week, will have long-lasting ramifications for our region and for all New Yorkers.
Without question, it will be remembered as a year of turning points -- the biggest one, of course, being that we have finally started turning the corner on the COVID-19 pandemic with steadily dropping infection rates and rising numbers of vaccinations. I’ll get back to the pandemic emergency later in this column.
The new 2021-2022 state
Starting my early Saturday morning chore of laundry, I couldn’t help recall this article I wrote a few years ago. Doing the laundry is everyone’s favorite chore, right? Ummm… no! Even with modern conveniences, it’s a task I don’t think many of us look forward to. Sort the darks and lights, delicate linens from the jeans, pre-treat stains, use various cycles and water temperatures, to bleach or not to bleach, does it go in the dryer, on a hanger or the clothesline outside, does it need to be i
by Carol Bossard
June, the month of weddings, Father’s Day, Flag Day, making hay and weeding gardens. Days are generally warm and nights are still fairly cool. Grass grows overnight. But of course, one never knows what will happen with our yoyo weather patterns. The news that both poles have moved thirteen feet is a bit disconcerting; that’s the width of my kitchen. I suppose, considering the size of the earth and the vastness of space that 13 feet isn’t all that much. But it is well
by Jeff Minick
In the movie Casablanca, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) demands her brokenhearted former love, Rick (Humphrey Bogart), hand over some letters of transit that will allow her husband Victor to escape the Nazis. When he refuses, she pulls a gun and repeats her request, but Rick tells her, “Go ahead and shoot. You’ll be doing me a favor.” Ilsa then breaks into tears, confesses she still loves him, and the scene closes with the two of them embracing and then kissing.
The next shot sh
May 25, 2021 is the 25th anniversary of Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell’s death. This piece was originally written in 2013 but has since been updated. Optional music accompaniment can be found here.
Up-strokes on the guitar, but not as slow as reggae and not as fast as ska.
A bass line that had tinges of funk and hip hop in it. The bassist was usually the talented one.
Drums held together by sixteen notes on the high hat and high-pitched snare drum hits.
It’s the sound of Sub
From Arlington to Gettysburg to Woodlawn and hundreds of other national veterans’ cemeteries and monuments across this land, Americans will gather once again to observe Memorial Day.
The nation’s long-standing Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in the nation’s capital is highlighted by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, on which the following words are inscribed, “Here rests in honored glory an American solider known but to God.”
Therein lies
Approaching Memorial Day, my thoughts are of all who gave their lives in war that we and so many around the world might live in freedom. Their battles on the field and in the mind are not what we who have never been there can truly fathom. We can listen to or read survivors’ stories, hear of their fears amid tales of bravery, empathize with the sadness and trauma as they share the loss of buddies and who and what they might have become, consider questions relating to the whys and wherefores of
As we travel life’s path, we all manage to lose a few things… like special trinkets, and perhaps a few friends from another time and another place as life moves on. We even lose our patience a few more times than we care to admit. Though losing something special can be painful, it’s different from giving it away… releasing that treasure on our own is a whole other story, a gift of love. In this season of graduations, my thoughts began to travel in the direction of releasing our treasured yout
by Rachel Dworkin
As an avid diarist, I would be horrified if someone read my diary without my permission. As a historian and archivist, I really love reading other people’s diaries. Luckily, the Chemung County Historical Society has dozens to choose from. They range in date from the 1830s through the 1990s. Their authors are school children, soldiers, farmers, housewives, railroad workers, police officers, secretaries, carpenters, and laborers. Some are rich with detail and some are, well,
We are currently living amid the most ebullient, lush time of the year. Greenery grows inches every night. The cinnamon ferns in my shade garden are unrolling like so many bright green scrolls. Soon they will be high enough that I must peer through them to see the bird feeders. And baby raccoons and skunks will be out and about. We have an interesting variety of creatures in this region; opossums, raccoons, foxes, bobcats, black bears, skunks, fishers, coyotes, turkey vultures (four of whi
Over the past three years, the home security consumer awareness and research organization Safewise conducted a “The State of Safety in America” nationwide survey of “more than 15,000 Americans to see how safe they feel.”
According to the group’s final report, issued in March, “New York is by far the most concerned state.” New York is the “most worried about safety” state in the nation, the survey found, with 70 percent of New Yorkers reporting that they are “concerned daily” about their saf
