Poet Reporter
A different kind of reporting, through the eyes of a poet.
Second-Grade Me
The past can sometimes feel like it’s just a timeline with stories stuck to it at random places. Some of the stories are exact; others are embellished. Personally, I like to slide back and forth on my memory timeline to pick up things I thought I’d lost…
Cute Shoes
My Minnesota friends will know what I’m talking about when I say Thursdays on First.
This is a street fair every Thursday in the summer months in Rochester. They close down First Street to downtown traffic and the businesses set up tents outside their stores to sell their wares. Once a week in the summer, it’s a whole day of music and artists and food, and it still goes on today.
Late Night After Work Club
A short story, almost:
Below are the Minutes of our restaurant workers’ Late Night After Work Club, written on napkins at Zacherl’s Pub.
Partial Minutes from last week’s Late Night After Work Club:
· It is decided that we need to steal a statue and hold it for ransom because that’s funny.
For Love or Money
Well, that was unexpected. For all of you outside of Pennsylvania, I should explain that I’m on the Pittsburgh side of our state, Philadelphia being on the other side. So it’s not my team that went to the Super Bowl. But, along with many of you, I did not see that coming. And now with Valentine’s Day…
The Aftermath of Groundhog Day
Yesterday was Groundhog Day, and we’ve got six more weeks of winter coming. I’m in the minority on this, but I’m glad that winter’s sticking around.
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t like being cold. (Who wants to be cold??) But Spring in Pennsylvania means a lot of mud, and
Where Credit is Due
Well, TV commercials have replaced their images of warm, gooey cookies with talk of diets, and we’re back to that morning commute behind the school buses. The holidays, sadly, happily, mercifully, are over.
Set Aside for Us
It’s a holiday week! As usual, there’s so much to do. But, also as usual, our regular schedules get turned on their heads.
The Daydreaming Employee
I remember an old boss of mine telling me a story of a company owner whose office was positioned so he could see the office windows of his employees…
Fantasy Life
Years ago, I stood in the kitchen of the restaurant where I worked unloading a tray of dirty dishes and listening to the chefs as they discussed their fantasy league stats…
Hostile Territory
Five Man Electrical Band wrote the song “Signs,” which was later famously covered by Tesla, and over the years various artists have borrowed individual lines from the song…
Winter's Wheat
I’m glad I ran into you. As our long winter turns to spring and pandemic restrictions are easing a bit, I’ve been hearing it said that we’ve spent the last year while the “earth stood still” pretty much standing still right along with it…
A New Journey
I’ve been considering this blog restart for a long time. In the past I would ask myself, “What do you want to say to the world?” and I’d be off and running—well, typing…
Ill Feelings
Here’s a little grammar for your Tuesday, two very common words that simply need to be used in the right direction: Nauseated and Nauseous…