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Month: June 2016

This bird was no chicken

June 29, 2016Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

I never took a good look at a female cardinal until there was one perched on the railing of my front porch the other morning. When I think cardinal, I think the red one. The one on the front of… Continue Reading →

Cardinals, Female cardinals, Redbirds

Tough Guy vs. Agnes

June 24, 2016Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

Jimmy O’Donnell, Jr. calls his dad “Tough Guy.” That’s because he is. I’ve known James O’Donnell, Sr., “Spot” to just about everyone, for almost 50 years and I’ve never seen him shy away from a challenge. Just the opposite. He… Continue Reading →

Hurricane Agnes, James "Spot" O'Donnell, The Wyoming Valley Flood of '72

Handy is as handy does

June 22, 2016Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

“You’re looking at the most un-handy guy in America.” That’s the way I’ve introduced myself to every clerk at every hardware store I’ve ever walked into. Particularly at Petro’s in Jenkins Township where I am usually holding a handful of… Continue Reading →

Left behind no longer

June 17, 2016Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

My Aunt Dorothy will be laid to rest tomorrow. Her death, at 91, brings down the curtain on a generation of Ackermans and Strubecks. She was the last member of my dad’s and mom’s families. While Aunt Dorothy was alive,… Continue Reading →

Death, Dorothy Strubeck

My dad is the flag …

June 15, 2016Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

… and vice-versa. That’s why to me Flag Day is sort of Father’s Day too. My mind used to wander during the playing of the National Anthem. I’d stand and put my hand over my heart and try to concentrate… Continue Reading →

Flag Day, Pearl Harbor, The National Anthem, Tropical Lightning

In praise of pickles

June 10, 2016Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

My first fast food experience was not at McDonald’s or Burger King. It was at the Stop ‘n’ Go in Kingston, Pennsylvania. Word of their 15¢ hamburgers reached us through my Uncle Buddy and it meant my dad was able… Continue Reading →

Pickles, Pizza with pickles, Sabatini's Pizza

Reminiscent of Steinbeck’s ‘Lennie’

June 8, 2016Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

Folks at the Cincinnati Zoo called gorilla Harambe “a good guy” and from the videos of him interacting with that little boy who fell into his pen Memorial Day weekend it sure seemed he was. Yes, the gorilla roughly dragged… Continue Reading →

Cincinnati Zoo, gorilla, Harambe, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck

It’s summer, book it

June 3, 2016Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

I just finished “The Defense” by Steve Cavanagh. (No, there’s no ‘u’ in his name. Although I keep insisting on putting one in.) And when I say “just finished it,” I mean five minutes ago. Had to get it out… Continue Reading →

"The Defense", Don Winslow, Harry Potter, Lolita, Ready Player One, Summer reading

Viva la time difference

June 1, 2016Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

I’ve been bounding out of bed at 5 a.m. Sometimes earlier. Partly because I like to play early morning tennis (typically on a court before 7) but also these days because the French Open is on TV. Live. You don’t… Continue Reading →

Andy Murray, French Open, Richard Gasquet, Tennis

About the Optimist

Ed Ackerman Ed Ackerman, a consulting editor and columnist for the Greater Pittston Progress, has served the people of Greater Pittston for 48 years, starting in the newspaper field at age 17. The Pittston resident will share his thoughts in this blog and in a weekly column published in the Progress. greaterpittstonprogress.com

RSS Ed Ackerman Columns

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