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Month: March 2017

I got yer fake news

March 31, 2017Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

Joe Hermitt pranced into the newspaper composing room, slapped a Sports Illustrated on a light table, flipped it open and began to read. We never saw him so happy and we quickly learned why: Sidd Finch. As we gathered around,… Continue Reading →

April Fools Day, Fake News, Sidd Finch

Bob, you crack me up

March 29, 2017Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

When we turn to radio in my Mass Communications classes I get to tell a Bob Dylan joke. No, not a joke about Bob Dylan, a joke by Bob Dylan. I know what you’re thinking. The Bob Dylan? Yep, that… Continue Reading →

Bob Dylan

A job finds you

March 24, 2017Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

I received an email from former student Michael Madry last week. He wanted to catch me up on what’s happening in his life. Mike was a Luzerne County Community College student a few years ago. He started out dreaming of… Continue Reading →

Jobs, LCCC, Luzerne County Community College

Aye, The Blarney Stone

March 22, 2017Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

Please suffer me one last item before we put St. Patrick’s Day to bed for this year. My friend James “Spot” O’Donnell, now in his 90s, is what I affectionately call a 365-day-a-year Irishman. He’s a resident of Wesley Village… Continue Reading →

The Blarney Stone

St. Patrick’s Day in our house

March 17, 2017Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

My mom’s side is the source of our Irish heritage. And the reason we barely celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in our house. My mom’s father, William Strubeck, died on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, in 1936. My mom was 13… Continue Reading →

St. Patrick's Day

Snow day

March 15, 2017Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

I remember my exact words when my brother suggested that as a newly divorced guy I buy the family house where our mom was living alone so that she, whose only income was a meager Social Security check, could spend… Continue Reading →

Snow day

What’s a pea?

March 9, 2017Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

My pal John Markarian and I were on a road trip. John will turn 100 on June 7 of this year. He was about 97 then. We pulled in at a convenient store for a pit stop and when we… Continue Reading →

Pee in swimming pools

He’s the real Teddy bear

March 8, 2017Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

He’s Uncle Paul to my kids, “Dad” to my niece and nephew, “Poppi” to his granddaughter and “Hun” to my sister, who happens to be his wife. To his friends and other relatives, of which I am both, he’s Paul.… Continue Reading →

Pittston parade, Teddy bears

Must love dogs

March 3, 2017Ed Ackerman Leave a Comment

I’m just getting to know my daughter’s father-in-law and I really like the guy. Don Mantooth (as far as I can tell there’s Dutch in his ancestry) is a genuine John Wayne type of guy. Born in Oklahoma, he’s spent… Continue Reading →

Dogs, Great Danes

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

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