On what’s now the Hotel Saranac’s parking lot was once a beautiful yellow, turn-of-the-century wood building called the Odd Fellows Hall. The Odd Fellows was a fraternal organization that was never active in my time. But what was active in the building was our summer theater. Summer ...

Monday I partook in one of The Golden Years’ most emotionally-conflicting experiences — my annual physical. At this point I liken my physical to embarking on a voyage in the early days of sail. I hope for smooth seas and a successful conclusion, but all the while I’m keenly aware of ...

Since Potsdam State was a small school, I must’ve seen Fred Norris Jr. around, but I never took notice of him till I saw him in a school play. And then, take notice I did! The play was The Music Man and he had the lead as Professor Harold Hill, a personable, persuasive, and ...

I suspect everyone who was ever in the service has had the same revelation at some time, namely there’s a huge difference between the official chain of command and the real chain of command. I know I sure did. I’d been in the Navy about a year and a half, a year of which had been in boot ...

On my way to the Enterprise early in the week, I had a delightful surprise. I ran into Champ Branch. If you don’t know Champ, you’ve missed one of the best treats My Home Town has to offer. Champ (And don’t ask me his real name. For all I know, Champ is his real name ... or ...

Can anyone remember a spring/summer like the one we’ve been having? I can’t. If I had to make it into a formula, it’d be this: Ten parts overcast, seven parts rain, five parts unseasonably cool temps, one part hotter than the hubs of hell. May was a soggy drag, but I endured ...

The debate about legalizing assisted suicide is raging nationwide, and now New York state has joined the fray. By law, New York prohibits assisted suicide. Nonetheless, it’s promoted in My Home Town. Don’t believe me? Just start riding your bike around town some ...

One of my fondest childhood memories is of the May Festival. As the name implies, it was a celebration of spring, which after those old-time Adirondack winters was something well worth celebrating. It was a grade school event, but I still remember a lot about it. One was its ...

There’s something bothering me so much I can no longer keep it to myself. What is it? you ask. It’s those performers from the ’60s and ’70s who are still performing ... but in name only. If you haven’t been to one of their concerts recently, don’t feel bad, ...

Forty-eight years ago today, I’d finished my second week of boot camp. I was still in shock, and it was a good thing. The enormity of a four years in This Man’s Navy hadn’t dawned on me. Instead, from minute to minute I struggled, just to figure out what was going on. I was ...

Last Saturday, I did something for the last time that I’ve done every year for the past 44. I went to the Paul Smith’s College graduation. I retired three years ago, so this was the last class I taught, during their freshman year. Given the number of students I had then, combined with ...

The Adirondack Association of Lists and Labels recently divided pet owners into three groups. The first is CAO (Casual Animal Owners). “Casual” is an euphemism – “Careless” might be more appropriate. These are the people who like to have animals; they just don’t like to take ...

We’ve all heard the phrase “having the world at your fingertips.” But guess what? Today it’s literally true. Given the coverage and speed of electronic media, we know when something happens, anywhere, within seconds. Beyond that, if we want to find out something, no matter how ...

“Age is only a number.” I hear people say that, and I cringe — especially since the peeps saying it are almost always 30 years younger than me. Simply put, as good as their intentions might be, they have no idea what they’re talking about. Yes, age is just a number. But so are IQ, ...

Last week I paid my final respects to an old friend, Buck Lester. When I say “old friend,” it needs qualifying. I knew Buck for 50 years, but were on friendly terms only for the last 35 or so. It’s a long story and in order to understand it, you need to know about Paul Smith’s ...

Con men have been around as long as we have. Or if you read the bible as history, they’ve been around even longer, what with the serpent preceding Adam in the creation chronicle – and the evolutionary one as well. And of course they’re still with us. But, logically, you’d think ...

After the snow from last week’s blizzard had been plowed, shoveled and snowblown away, the denizens of My Home Town breathed a collective sigh of relief. A day or so after that, when we realized that as far as blizzards go, we’d dodged The Big One, a confidence bordering on giddiness ...

Until the emergence of science and the scientific method, a fact was what the authorities said it was. If the chief Aztec said the best way to guarantee a corn surplus was to eviscerate a couple hundred slaves, so be it. If medieval kings had all the wealth and power, it was ...

Apparently there’s a movement afoot to reintroduce cursive writing in public school curricula. Ah, yes, cursive writing. Remember it? I do — especially my struggle to learn it. It was in fourth grade with Miss Reid. Miss Reid was the very picture of a 20th-century ...

I first got bitten by the travel bug when I was in single digits, though as a little kid in Saranac Lake, chances for major voyages were limited. But I finally got them, thanks to my incompetence as a student. When I flunked out of college after my freshman year, a life of adventure ...