My View
We need to record our veterans’ stories
A few years ago, I mentioned to Dan Keck, a professor of educational administration and an amateur military historian, that my then father-in-law, Norman Kolbusz, was a chief petty officer on the USS Minneapolis. (Updated: 11/08/09 8:29 AM )
No one promised life would be fair
Life isn’t fair. I guess we’ve all said that at one time or another — for many reasons. Maybe we even yelled it as kids. “No fair!” And if we’ve lived a long time, it has simply become a part of our overall belief. (Updated: 11/07/09 8:38 AM )
Naming one’s child is an act of love
When my daughter Chloe was born, it had taken months of tense negotiations between her father and me before we agreed upon what to bring to the delivery room. As our daughter’s second birthday approaches, I recall how selecting her name was somehow prescient. (Updated: 11/06/09 6:58 AM )
Bob O’Connor: Husbands can’t dodge wives’ loaded questions
Back in the ’90s, some guy got rich writing a book called “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.” The book’s premise was that the sexes are so different in communication styles and emotional needs that we might as well be from different planets. I checked the guy’s biography and he is on marriage number two and he got his Ph. D. through a correspondence course from an unaccredited university. (Updated: 11/05/09 9:19 AM )
Penny F. Zeplowitz: Matchy-matchy decor is my kind of fashion
I have a confession to make. Our bedroom furniture matches. I didn’t realize it shouldn’t until I was watching the home decorating shows on HGTV last summer. To my horror, I discovered their interior design experts consider our bedroom set to be (gulp) too “matchy-matchy.” That’s their word, incidentally, not mine. Now you might wonder what that means. (Updated: 11/04/09 11:04 AM )
Shannon Welty: Economic downturn suddenly hits home
When my mother called, she had that tone of voice we Italians get when somebody has died. So when she told me my father’s factory was closing, I was relieved. (Updated: 11/03/09 11:20 AM )
John Grzymala: Let’s work to ensure Empire Games go on
Western New York is filled with sports enthusiasts. Not a day goes by without hours of commentary about the Bills, Sabres and Bisons, their trials, tribulations and never-ending quest for glory. You want glory? Well, let me tell you a story. (Updated: 11/02/09 9:48 AM )
Marge Thielman Hastreiter: Spirits still linger in Lovejoy museum
“Hello, Marge” was the greeting that wafted through the air in the kitchen of the Iron Island Museum. It was a man’s voice. In fact, it was the nicest man’s voice I have ever heard, and I thought it must have been God. I was alone in the museum at the time. (Updated: 10/31/09 9:19 AM )
Cynthia J. Wittcop: Glorious day reminds us why we live here
“Why do I even live here?” I bitterly grumbled one day last April when it was more winter than spring, and I found myself scraping crusted ice and snow off my windshield. It’s something I must ask myself a zillion times between November and May, and yet here I am, still calling Western New York home — the only home I’ve ever known. (Updated: 10/30/09 12:38 PM )
MaryLesa O’Connor: Don’t take for granted all those normal days
I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was a routine scheduled mammogram at my usual place. Because it’s so emotionally draining, I had planned an afternoon in the village shopping afterward, like I always do. I try to make fun out of difficult and challenging situations. (Updated: 10/29/09 2:04 PM )
Barbara G. Herrick: Husband’s great spirit endeared him to all
A year has passed since the death of a remarkable man, Buddy Herrick. Old vaudeville performers are scarce these days, for their heyday was in the early 20th century. Back in the 1930s, Buddy was a superb acrobat, hand balancer and juggler who traveled the vaudeville circuits all over this country with a troupe, then settled in Los Angeles. (Updated: 10/28/09 11:56 AM )
Christina Fecio: Children’s right to play is worth fighting for
At age 3, my daughter attended preschool at our highly regarded, public neighborhood school. School was in session 180 days, from 8:10 a. m. to 2:10 p. m. During those 180 days, her class went outside a total of seven times. (Updated: 10/27/09 12:04 PM )
John S. Bis: Society is stifling childhood curiosity
I’m certain I got a real scare when the cork stopper let go and shot up, bouncing off the ceiling. This small explosion was immediately followed by a brownish glop flying out of the test tube. Unfortunately the contents of the test tube didn’t bounce, but remained up there, splattered. After this first reaction to the explosion, I probably felt sorry for Dorothy, the baby sitter. I had talked her into letting me play with my chemistry set. She, of course, was in a panic. (Updated: 10/26/09 10:58 AM )
Marilyn Fazio: Dear friends, family make our lives richer
The other day, I opened an e-mail that I’ve received numerous times over the years but, for some reason, this time it really stuck in my head. It said that people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. (Updated: 10/26/09 10:59 AM )
Barbara Joslin: Our longtime home is still perfect for us
I’m sitting on my front porch, finishing my coffee, remembering when we moved to this quiet, suburban street 44 years ago. (Updated: 10/23/09 12:08 PM )
