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Career Advice for the Grads
High-school graduation season recently wrapped up here in Central New York. I don’t know any of this year’s grads, but seeing the signs and balloons around town makes me a bit melancholy. I felt the same way when I watched SUNY Oswego’s graduation ceremony last month. Graduations are hopeful times, but they can also be Continue reading
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Silas Towne, Mexico Point, & Spy Island
A couple weeks ago, I traveled to the Oriskany battlefield and Fort Stanwix. I didn’t know it at the time, but an interesting prelude to the Oriskany battle unfolded at a place called Mexico Point, just 15 miles from my home. The story goes that there was a patriot spy named Silas Towne who was Continue reading
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The Streak
I have a usage streak on the Duolingo app that’s coming up on two years. That is not a brag, but rather a confession — maybe even a cry for help. The truth is, I’d like to quit the damn thing and be done with it, but the psychologically manipulative gamification of the app has Continue reading
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Fog Haven
Yesterday was a sunny, warm summer Saturday. In theory, it was a perfect day to visit the beach. Jen and I decided to drive the Fair Haven Beach State Park for a walk on the pier at sunset. It was past 7 p.m. when we got there, so I wasn’t surprised that there were no Continue reading
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Natty Bumppo Slept Here
A fun fact about my hometown: it was the setting for a piece of classic American literature. Sort of. I say “sort of” because the novel in question, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Pathfinder, or, The Inland Sea, was set at a time when the patch of ground that is now Fulton was really just a Continue reading
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An Art Deco Beauty
I had the opportunity to attend an opening-night sponsor event for Syracuse Jazz Fest the other night. It was held at the historic Niagara Mohawk Building, which is probably my favorite piece of architecture in Central New York. The building (originally known as the Niagara Hudson Building) is widely considered to be a classic example Continue reading
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The Father’s Day Present
For Father’s Day, I made it simple for my family. I told them all to just get me Amazon gift cards and I’d figure out the present for myself. After the gift cards were in-hand, I decided on a pair of boots that I could use for light trail hiking and general casual wear. A Continue reading
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Summer, Summer, Summer; It’s Like a Merry-Go-Round
Today is the Summer Solstice. For the record, I’m a fan. When I was growing up, the third week of June was the end of our school year. I will always associate this time with lazy half-days of teachers filling time with anything but actual learning, the weight-off-my-chest feeling of relief after finishing up New Continue reading
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Lake Ontario Lighthouses Project: Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Light
This was an easy one to check off the list. Most of the lighthouses in our project are day trips. The Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Light is a familiar part of the backdrop of our lives. Oswego’s lighthouse, located about ten miles from our home, is a beloved local landmark (lakemark?). It’s something of a Continue reading
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Sunnybrook Meadows
A few days ago, I became a resident of the Sunnybrook Meadows neighborhood in Fulton. I didn’t actually move. They just put a sign up on the corner branding the neighborhood as such. I use the term “branding” quite deliberately. Apparently, when this neighborhood was built back in the 1950s and 1960s, it was marketed 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. 