With the Union Pacific's Big Boy 4014 making a run this summer/fall, I'm sharing my blog from several years ago. I fell in love with that train, and referenced it when I researched and wrote this blog on the old steam locomotives with input from my Dad a few months before he passed away. He grew up next to the railroad tracks in Clifton NJ and had a life-long love of those old trains, passing that love on to me. The Big Boy's agenda for this fall can be found in this recent news release: 1.2 mil
August is named for Caesar Augustus, and it’s also my birth month. The green peridot is the gem for the month. These are stones found in some lava deposits and stand for history and strength. Brown-eyed Susans are the month’s flower according to Native American lore, and I prefer those to the gladiolus usually attributed to August. Gladiolus are stately, colorful and lovely, but the wilder, cheerier brown-eyed Susans seem to fit me better. This August has two full moons; the sturgeon moon and
Several weeks ago, I highlighted in this column that a long-awaited report on New York State’s COVID-19 pandemic response, first commissioned by Governor Hochul more than two years ago, was finally released.
It’s a report that cost state taxpayers more than four million dollars and it hasn’t exactly drawn rave reviews. Far from it, in fact.
Remember that the governor released the report at the beginning of July with very little fanfare, to say the least. No press conference. No reassur
Some of us know the depths of depression and despondency. Some of us know the lack of physical healing or the pain of incurable disease. Some of us know the sorrow and grief of losing a precious loved one. Some of us know family dysfunction. Some of us know abuse that no one else can see or fathom. And we question how this could be…
How could a loving God leave us in pain by not healing us, even after much prayer? How could a loving God allow so much evil to go on all around us?
State government spending has continued to spin wildly out of control over the past several years while, at the same time, it has failed to address many key priorities for all New Yorkers.
One of the top priorities, in my view, is the future of local roads and bridges. A recent state comptroller’s report found that one out of every 10 locally owned bridges in New York State is rated in poor condition.
“Ensuring safe and reliable public infrastructure is an ongoing concern for local gov
Phish has been around for some time now and as a result, the band has no shortage of original material. They have songs they’ve recorded, songs they haven’t recorded, multiple versions of songs, etc. My friends, Phish has a lot of songs.
But despite having a bevy, a boatload, and bushels of their own songs, Phish also has a penchant for performing cover songs. They’ve been including covers of everyone from Led Zeppelin to the Talking Heads, Bob Marley to Jay-Z in their shows since they star
I grew up in a great church full of my “own kind” – i.e. Dutch immigrants and their first- and second-generation families born in the U.S., the Christian Reformed Church. I felt a bond and a love for my family and friends from both communities in Clifton, N.J. and East Palmyra, N.Y. As my family moved back and forth between the two church and Christian school communities, friendships were made with some lasting a lifetime.
I treasure the churches of my earliest memories. I treasure ha
Now are “Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer” *that Nat King Cole used to sing about. The lakes; Seneca and Cayuga, Juanita and Lomoka, are sparkling, the temperatures are balmy. Thunder storms come through frequently, often bringing considerable damage with them, via wind and hail but also clearing the air. Soon tomatoes will be ripe in our garden and sweet corn (not in our garden) ready to eat on the cob, freeze or put into corn fritters. One of my sisters-in-law made delectable corn frit
I recall a buddy of mine saying that, probably more than once, many years ago. Since that time, it’s been sort of a mantra I’ve taken on as my own. When all signs point to something you should be doing, you do it. When Life presents you with a situation, seek to embrace it.
Two of the most common questions I get are, first, “How the f–k do you sleep at night?” or something similar. That one is common after someone is finished reading one of my books. The other, more common question is, “Wh
The drumbeats of doubt have continued to grow louder throughout the past few weeks as reality sets in over the ongoing, utopian plan by Albany Democrats to impose sweeping clean energy mandates on all New Yorkers.
Since the enactment several years ago of a far-reaching climate agenda known as the “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act” (CLCPA), as well as the approval of other mandated actions since then, the governor, her energy czars, and a Democrat-led state Legislature have be
What is our worth, our value? How do we even measure such an entity? Have we been so downtrodden that we feel like a failure… like we’re unworthy of the love of others? Or do we hold our head up knowing we have inherent worth among the rest?
Feeling unworthy is not new to any of us. We’ve all been there at times throughout our life. Haven’t we at one time or another made a simple mistake, yet were left feeling so ashamed we just wanted to disappear? I have. Frequently belittled in th
by Walker Larson
Recently, I was in search of trout, but my search resulted in more than just fish.
I’ve been a fly fisherman for over a decade, but when I moved to Wisconsin a few years back, I lost easy access to my favorite haunts. So I was searching for a new stretch of untouched waters to fish near my home, a journey that led me through the winding backroads of the coulees in my area, as the evening summer sun soaked the little fields in liquid bronze and made the tree line gliste
Not that we needed another poll to tell us that New York State is getting increasingly more unaffordable, but recent statewide polling from the Siena Research Institute offers a telling look at the state of affordability in New York.
It’s a concern, of course, that many of my legislative colleagues and I have steadfastly pinpointed throughout the past few years as New Yorkers have consistently let it be known that the prohibitive cost of living in this state is driving them away.
The t
Somewhere deep down inside, each one of us has regrets… for something we said… something we did… something we did not do or say… and we long to go back to do it all over again… only better this time.
But we can’t go back. What’s done is done. It’s marked in indelible ink on the pages of time. Yet, there is One who offers forgiveness and peace when we bare our soul to Him of hurts and pains… as we take responsibility and ownership of our mistakes and sins. For years, my errors festered
Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day…”
Such a happy song from “Oklahoma,” and so appropriate for a lovely July morning. It might be lovelier were the temperature ten degrees lower, and no storms were lingering, but that’s summer. Being mindfully grateful is an intelligent way to begin a day, even knowing that there’s every possibility our plans will move unexpectedly from Plan A to Plan Q before the day is over! In later years, it has become sort of entertaining to
Now that Governor Hochul and Albany’s band of Green New Dealers appear ready to finally begin rethinking their strategy to impose far-reaching energy mandates on all New Yorkers, it will be important for the rest of us to keep highlighting exactly what needs to go back to the drawing board.
At the top of any list, in my view, is a concern we spotlighted earlier this year that could very well be the most costly unfunded state mandate ever imposed on New York’s local school districts and scho
I was as shocked as anyone else at last night’s happenings where our former President Trump was shot in an assassination attempt. And I thank God that his life was spared by a fraction of measurement. My heart and prayers go out to Donald Trump and his family, to the family of the innocent gentleman in the crowd who was killed, and to the two who were critically injured. We need to get back to respecting everyone, regardless of who they are.
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“Am I my brother’s keeper?” Unequivoc
You’ve heard it and read it time and again over the past several years since the enactment of New York’s far-reaching climate agenda known as the “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act” (CLCPA): Governor Hochul and her energy czars are moving too far, too fast to impose sweeping clean energy mandates on every state citizen.
Since the CLCPA’s approval in 2019, we’ve watched Albany Democrats move at world record speed to pile one unaffordable mandate on top of another unworkable man
Oh, the countless blessings of God! He is so good to all of us in so many ways! And my heart sings in praise and thanksgiving for all that He has done in my life!
Recently, I flew out to visit my daughter and her family. And I gotta tell you, they were so good to me! I don’t like flying, but the flight from ELM to DET left way more than a bit to be desired. Taking generic Dramamine, I learned the hard way it is not as effective as the real deal. So, gripping that little white bag kindly
“Thirty days hath September, April, June and November….” And the 30th of June is coming right up! Foliage is fully out making good hiding places for birds and small creatures. I see chipmunks slipping beneath the comfrey leaves and a rabbit skirting the current bushes. Mysterious paths are evident in the grass, where a skunk or squirrel has traveled to the sunflower seeds. We are just one week from Independence Day ---- July 4th. The Solstice is past, so summer is here in all its fullness. We
In case you missed it – which would be no surprise since its release was largely kept quiet by Governor Hochul -- a long-awaited report on New York State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has finally gone public.
It arrives two years and more than four million taxpayer dollars later after the governor first announced its undertaking.
Here’s the verdict from the Empire Center for Public Policy: “Hochul had commissioned a $4.3 million after-action review of the crisis, saying she wante
by Rebekah Bills
We are under the influence of our stuff—home décor and furnishings, fast fashion, modern art, and too much more—and it’s slowly gnawing away at our contentment and human potential.
What prompted this realization?
Some old Sears catalogs, actually. And a love for antiques, the reason for which I couldn’t quite put into words.
But let me try now.
While flipping through an old Sears catalog, the beauty of its illustrations and the quality of the items depi
by Susan Zehnder
Street grader in Chemung County
Driving during the summer can often be frustrating. Sometimes it feels like every road you come across is in the process of being built, or badly needs to be repaired. To add to the frustration, drivers navigating construction zones, summer weather, and road conditions often have a short supply of patience. It’s as if the smell of asphalt goes along with hot air and hot tempers.
In its purest form, asphalt is the hardened form
