In two choices, one is honest

July 13, 2024

It was not a debate. One prepared to debate policies. The other did not. The other shamelessly attacked with lies and misinformation, as much as 50 lies according to some accounts. There was no fact checking. The moderators only asked questions. There was no accountability. The debater was immediately on the defensive. Should he counter the lies and the misinformation or proceed with policies? He tried doing both and did so very poorly. It was difficult to watch. He should have been prepared for the onslaught because this is the attacker’s style. The attacker had no intention ...

Berry fond memories

July 12, 2024

Yesterday I spent part of the morning picking red raspberries. My son had told me they were ready so I went down for some. They were not as nice as I hoped but I got about a quart of them. They reminded me of Don. He had a patch of red raspberries at his house before we got married. He would pick some and bring them up or he would call me to stop and pick some up. They were beautiful and so tasty. By the time we married he was tired of the weedy patch and mowed them down. I also thought of Linda, a neighbor who had a lot of red raspberries near her home. She made jelly and pies with ...

Lifelong infatuation with those wing things

July 11, 2024

This story came across my email and it tickled my funny bone. It related back to my old airline days, still an ongoing source of fun and curiosity for me. Enjoy the quick read — my comments follow. “An Airbus 380 is on its way across the Atlantic. It flies consistently at 800km/hour at 30,000 feet when suddenly a jet fighter appears. The pilot of the fighter jet slows down, flies alongside the Airbus and greets the pilot of the passenger plane by radio: "Airbus, boring flight isn’t it? Now, have a look here!" He rolls his jet on its back, accelerates, breaks through the sound ...

Let’s respect all choices in coming election

July 6, 2024

Democratic yard signs are already disappearing from lawns around Warren County. Previously there was a bullet hole in one of the billboard signs. While canvassing as a Democratic volunteer, I’ve heard Warren Democrats say they are uncomfortable displaying a sign because they are a teacher or a business owner and they fear repercussions, or that their neighbor or family member would be angry. I’d like to reach out to the community to respect your neighbors as they support their choice of political candidates. Politics does not have to be contentious, even if politicians are. We ...

View from Hickory Heights: The little hot dog stand from past

July 5, 2024

I remember this little hot dog stand that sat at the corner of either Swan or Dove Street and Lake Shore Drive in Dunkirk, N.Y. The streets in that part of town all had the names of birds. Probably the reason I remember it so well is that my girlfriend’s brother owned it. It was nothing fancy. It was just a place for us to meet our friends. I know it was there when I was in high school, but I am not sure when it first started. Once we got our licenses, we were able to visit it by ourselves. This was probably one of the first food trucks. Although it did not have a place to ...

Hometown Fourth of July always special

July 3, 2024

Wonderful Warren has been my home for the last 46 years. When I try to explain what my adopted home town is like, part of my bragging is always about our Independence Day celebrations. “It’s not all barbecues and fireworks. I was thrilled when I first learned that we have a BIG Fourth of July parade every year. My children were ages 3 and 7 when we moved here and I thought about how much fun they would have.” Over four decades later, it certainly has been that way. Very few towns have a major parade for the Fourth. It took a while before I caught on to why the parade was such a ...