Off Main Street: Running (wo)man
The offbeat side of the news
The recent Buffalo Marathon was a triumph for West Seneca school teacher Amy Pollutro—who had never run that far before—and also a bit of a puzzlement for her 2-year-old daughter, Adison.
As Pollutro and hundreds of other runners made their way through Buffalo, Amy’s husband, Mike, drove to several locations and waited to cheer on his wife with little Adison, carrying pompoms, and her younger brother, Benjamin.
The little ones were thrilled to see their mom running toward them, but something about the event bothered Adison. “Mommy!” she yelled at one point. “Why do you keep running away from us?”
A birdie you don’t want
There’s another excellent reason to not overshoot the green on No. 8 at Brighton Golf Course in the Town of Tonawanda: a very protective mother hawk.
A ranger told golfers last week that if they happened to hit a ball into the tall grass behind the par 3 putting surface, to leave it there, lest they be “reprimanded” by the nearby bird watching over its nest. One golfer, who got pecked in the head while searching for a wayward shot, had to learn that lesson the hard way.
Democrats’ revenge?
Police are looking into a break-in of a political party’s headquarters in a well-known downtown hotel.
That was about all America knew the morning of June 18, 1972, a day after an attempted burglary at Democratic National Committee Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The scandal that followed was named for the building that housed the DNC office: Watergate.
It’s also a description of what happened in Buffalo last week when police said two laptop computers and other items were stolen late in the evening of May 28 from the Statler Towers offices of the Erie County Republican Committee.
We can’t help but wonder if the parallels will stop there. Will someone soon refer to the crime as “a third-rate burglary?” Will police arrest Cuban nationals? How soon before John Mitchell is implicated? And given its perilous financial state, wouldn’t it be more likely that people would be trying to break out of the Statler?
Try to sound sincere
Kevin Gaughan hoped he would get a good turnout Tuesday for the downsizing votes he initiated in West Seneca and Evans. But he was stunned by the lines at polling places—so much so that he called The Buffalo News to report what he was seeing.
While relaying the information, a voter approached and could be heard in the background saying, “Thank you so much for getting this on the ballot. That’s a great thing you’re doing.”
A random voter just happens to offer his praise at the very moment Gaughan just happens to be calling the newspaper? “How long did it take you to get someone to do that?” he was asked.
“Twenty minutes,” Gaughan replied, “and it cost me 50 bucks.”
We think he was kidding.
T. O., meet Jack
Terrell Owens needs a place to live and John “Jack” Connolly is on the case.
Owens had his eye on a place in Orchard Park, but backed off when he heard that neighbors were concerned about any “drama” he might bring. He’s still looking.
Enter Connolly, a real estate agent for Re/Max and a former copy editor at The Buffalo News, who was on ESPN this week offering his services and his advice for the wide receiver.
Our former colleague had a host of choices –and a bushel of one-liners— for No. 81:
• A place on Route 20A, about 30 miles from the stadium and owned by a religious order. “I think the Bills can use any help they can get to get to the playoffs.”
• A house in Elma with its own workout area, “so he wouldn’t have to do his sit-ups out in the yard.”
• A waterfront condo overlooking Lake Erie: “If his production drops off . . . and he starts getting telegrams to jump in the lake, nothing could be more convenient.”
Written by Bruce Andriatch with contributions from Dan Herbeck and Matt Gryta. offmain@buffnews.com
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