They cut down the tree Bobby Waitkevich fell out of and nearly killed himself. Yes, that Bobby Waitkevich. Whitey to some. Pedro to others. But I didn’t even know his name when it happened. He was just that little kid… Continue Reading
Arlington, 2014IMG_0196Don’t know about you but Memorial Day caught me by surprise this year. It still feels like it should be this upcoming weekend rather than the one just passed. This is the first Memorial Day in a good seven… Continue Reading
Born on a mountain top in Tennessee, greenest state in the land of the free Raised in the woods so he knew every tree, killed himself a bar when he was only three Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild… Continue Reading
“You’re old enough to kill, but not for voting’,” Barry McGuire sang to my generation in 1965. The song “Eve of Destruction” came out during a time when male high school grads who did not get themselves into college or… Continue Reading
There isn’t a person who makes a living painting pictures with words who does not identify with the old Dorothy Parker lament “I hate to write; I love to have written.” Except one. Jack Smiles. And because of him, another.… Continue Reading
Yogi Berra turned 90 Tuesday. I was never much of a Yankees fan but always a Yogi fan. Who isn’t? After all, Pittston is a town with an actual fork-in-the-road. Do you know how often I’ve repeated the Yogism, “When… Continue Reading
Fred Eshleman is nothing if not passionate. He never does small talk. He does big talk. Big, enthusiastic, love of life talk. Fred’s favorite topics include his native Avoca, his new home in Florida (especially if he’s hosted visitors from… Continue Reading
Tomorrow, May 7, 2015, marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania. A few commemorative events are planned, but, except for those who just read the sentence above, most Americans will not even know. Or care. And that’s… Continue Reading
Well, Greater Pittston Pittston Progress has given me my walking papers. For Saturday’s West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival Parade that is. A group of us from the paper will walk in the parade which starts at noon at the Blue… Continue Reading