Category Archives: Uncategorized

     Our mood is always upbeat during the twisting, turning drive through Pennsylvania coal country, knowing that our two grandchildren await with smiles, hugs and a dozen or more readings of “Go, Dog. Go!’’     We prefer the hilly, local routes more than the interstate on the way to Reading, Pa., because they are lessContinue reading “Over the river and through the woods to a natural disaster”

     President Trump could best be described as a cigarette boat on a tranquil St. Lawrence River morning. In his wake, he leaves a din of noise and high waves crashing along both shores. The trouble is the swells are still pounding away on southern Ontario, and Canadians remain upset, “elbows up,’’ to co-opt anContinue reading “Icy relations with Canadians require a thaw at White House”

   The lakers and salties have returned to the Seaway shipping lanes. The sunsets over the Canadian shore remain picturesque orbs of gold set in orange and violet horizons. Soon we’ll be able to pull out a deck chair and enjoy warm, gentle breezes during peaceful spring and summer evenings on the St. Lawrence River.Continue reading “St. Lawrence still an infant but the romance lasts a lifetime”

  Someone once described retirement as becoming a teenager again – you have all the time in the world with few responsibilities … except this time you have money.    So as I planned my summer of playing golf, running the sunrise basketball game at the local gym, taking out the trash and mowing theContinue reading “My field of dreams became a nightmare of a comeback”

   Everytime a headline references Social Security, I wince. As a retiree, I’m wary of any plans to privatize the pension benefits of 56 million Americans who paid into the system all their working lives.   As the father of a developmentally challenged adult daughter, I cringe when I read about cutting staff, limiting consumerContinue reading “Making aging parent nervous with Social Security changes”

     Golf season began at 7:42 a.m. Tuesday, but I missed the call.    The fellow I play with most mornings at sunrise, Larry Kaiser, deemed that beautiful spring morning the start of the season, without advance notice. When I found his message two hours later, he never wavered. “Meet in an hour for theContinue reading “One of the rites of spring golf remains a trip to driving range”

   North Country winters are long enough, but retired OFA basketball coach Bill Merna might be a poster child for cabin fever.    He can’t go to Kiwanis meetings, he skipped the reenactment of the Battle of Ogdensburg, and stepped back from his duties as Section X basketball coordinator.    Such is life one monthContinue reading “Merna remains thankful for life-altering stress test”

   Traveling with my spouse was supposed to be a perk of retirement, not an airport obstacle course followed by a torture chamber at 35,000 feet.    Alas, air travel has emerged as a necessary evil to visit relatives, go on vacation, or visit an exotic destination.    If this sounds like whining about myContinue reading “Love reaching destinations, but airline comfort is a myth”

   The most famous rodent in the Northeast, Punxsatawney Phil, has never traveled to Ogdensburg, but he sure nailed the winter forecast three weeks ago.      If you thought the furry rodent had gotten sloppy after co-starring In Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, or that he couldn’t understand winters along the Southern Ontario-Northern New YorkContinue reading “The weather outside is frightful with spring sports 3 weeks away”

    My high school basketball season ended last Friday. Not as a player – that stopped at Morristown Central School in 1975. But 17 years ago, I donned a different jersey with black and white stripes.     For the past three months, I have been running up and down basketball courts, making instantaneous judgments, relyingContinue reading “After 36 games, ref has fill of unruly fans, snow, icy roads”