Uncategorized
-
Shoot!
It’s interesting to me when a community claims to be the birthplace of an everyday item or product. There’s often an element of boasting civic pride that feels oddly out of step with the nature of the item itself. I lived for a few years in Shrewsbury, Mass., which many regard as the birthplace of… Continue reading
-
August
More than any other month on the calendar, August is a time of transitions for me. It starts with the weather. In many parts of the U.S., I know August is associated with the sweltering dog days of summer. But in my corner of Upstate New York, this is the time of year when things… Continue reading
-
The Odd Wardrobe
One of the formative television shows of my life is The Odd Couple (1970-75). I have memories of watching some original-run episodes with my mother when I was very young. Then, when I was a little older, our cable system featured WPIX, so the reruns were always available to me, and I took full advantage… Continue reading
-
Course Prep
For most Americans, the unofficial end of summer is Labor Day weekend. For me, it comes a week prior to that when the fall semester starts. The first day of classes is less than a month from this writing, which is my cue to slip into Course-Prep Mode. It’s a bittersweet process. By this point… Continue reading
-
Endless July Nights
It was hot today, around 90. After the sun went down, the temperature dropped into the 70s, but somehow remains uncomfortable. The air feels sticky and thick. Not great for sleeping. This night reminds me of times when I was a kid on summer vacation, and it was too hot to sleep. I’d stay awake… Continue reading
-
I Knew Her When She Was a Health Center
The medical building on the SUNY Oswego campus is called the Mary Walker Health Center. When I was a student there, we used to refer to it simply as “Mary Walker,” as if we were talking about a person rather than a building. If you told someone you were running a fever and experiencing flu-like… Continue reading
-
A Trip to Rudy’s
It was one of those summer nights. Too hot to cook, and nobody in the house had enough energy to prepare a meal regardless of the temperature. Fast food or pizza weren’t going to cut it. After a little deliberation, we did what folks around here do in the summer — we got in the… Continue reading
-
And to Think That I Saw It All on Wyoming Street
I work on Syracuse’s West Side, in a building at the corner of West Fayette and Wyoming Streets. The neighborhood used to be a manufacturing center back during Syracuse’s industrial peak. These days, it has transitioned into something of an extension of downtown with office space co-existing alongside some of the more poverty-stricken residential areas… Continue reading
-
Situational Philosophy
Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. No one to be. The three previous sentences express a concept I’ve come across in some Buddhist sources. The idea is that we have to free ourselves of thinking that we need to obtain something or become someone beyond the status quo in order to be satisfied. It is… Continue reading
About Me
Researcher. Marketer. Teacher. Father of adult children and dogs. 20th Century holdover. Central New York native. Long-suffering Buffalo Bills fan. History nerd. Traveler. Vintage advertising enthusiast. Hat wearer.
a.k.a. V.J. 