The Optimist

When I was a tyke in the ‘50s, two-tone cars were popular. My Uncle James had a red Pontiac Catalina with a white top. You’d see lots of cars with black bodies and white tops, or vice-versa. There’d be the… Continue Reading →

We resume classes at the community college next week and as I do at the start of every semester, I wonder what surprises await me. One of the most memorable came five years ago this month. It was in one… Continue Reading →

In a town somewhat noted for its nicknames, Sugar Sciandra just may be the best of them all. It’s melodic alliteration alone makes it so. Sugar Sciandra (pronounced Shandra) is just plain lovely to say. But what truly makes it… Continue Reading →

(A repeat, with some revisions, of a regular January lament) If summer came right after Christmas how trim and fit I might be. I’d eat berries for breakfast, salads for lunch and then tackle un-trimming the tree. I’d pull on… Continue Reading →

My late Uncle Eddie, a man of class, dignity and humor who earned his living as a factory worker, used to say, “I think God made more Mondays than Fridays.” I thought of him yesterday every time I heard someone… Continue Reading →

Charlie Rokosz. Those two words come to mind every New Year’s Day and just the sound of them brings a smile to my face and surely to the face of anyone who knew him. Charlie Rokosz was Father Charles Rokosz,… Continue Reading →

A Greater Pittston Christmas tradition of more than 20 years is about to come to an end. I received an email from John Grill that this is the last Christmas he will light the 60-ft. evergreen tree in front of… Continue Reading →

Christmas fell on a Sunday in 1988 and that’s the first time I wrote “the football helmet” story in my column. I’ve repeated it from time to time, the last being 2016 when Christmas again fell on a Sunday. I’m… Continue Reading →

Christmas makes me think of bells. And bells make me think of a joke. A joke that has nothing to do with Christmas. But I’m going to tell it anyway. Credit, or blame, goes to Father Jim Nash, who told… Continue Reading →

This time of year presents an dilemma. It seems half the people are offended at “Merry Christmas.” And the other half by “Happy Holidays.” What’s a “person of good will” to do? Well, I was in New York City on… Continue Reading →