Category: Essays & Stories

I’m not sure what made me choose the drums over other instruments. My first real musical influence was listening to my parent’s vinyl recording of the music from “Jesus Christ Superstar”. I learned all the lyrics by heart to every single one of those songs. I even learned to...

     I awoke to the sun. Its warm morning rays gently knocking on my bedroom window. I sat up, yawned and stretched, kicking back my hand quilted comforter.      I looked out from my second story vantage point across Stevenson Lane to the day. To my left was Carpenter’s...

The Day I nearly lost Khalisi. My true canine rescue story. A close call, a hard learned lesson, and a warning.      It happened several years ago, right about this time of year. It was late February or early March. The ground had just refrozen right behind an early...

Author’s Note: What a beautiful day today! Everything sparkles after last night’s fresh snow. The sky is so blue. The sun shine’s such bright warmth.  I took my canine companions out for a snowshoe “paw patrol” stroll. The poem below formed in my head while the dogs explored and...

     ********** I remember, as a young boy, attending various north country elementary schools; Stanfordville, Duanesburg, Northville, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, where we were taught one universal lesson. We ran drills. The announcement came from the principal, over the loudspeaker:       “When the alarm siren sounds, immediately hide under...

Cancel Culture Censorship’s Efforts to Erase an Era So here I am, an Adirondack Outlaw, on the lam once again. Living in the day I am in, sharing life’s memories, staying true to myself. A proud Saranac Lake Redskins alumnus, for as long as I live. *********** Until Our...

    Author’s Note: This story appeared in the June 8, 2021, online edition of The Adirondack Almanack. ********** I remember our orientation day visit to Paul Smith’s College with our son RJ as he prepared to enter his freshman year as a Wildlife Sciences major there.      It was August...

An Adirondack Outlaw Wandering Lost in Love’s Wilderness ********** Author’s Note: This story was featured in the February 13, 2022 online edition of The Adirondack Almanack ********** There’s a mystic trail in these mountains. Myths, tragedies, and harrowing rescue tales surround it. It’s not marked on any map. Oldtimers...

“Totally Adirondack – Totally Outlaw – Totally ’80’s” Saranac Lake’s 2022 Winter Carnival was great fun. A “Totally ‘80’s” trip down memory lane. **********           My wife Robin and I had already had great fun driving over together to enjoy Winter Carnival. We toured the Ice Palace. I went...

The “Say Hey Kid” Willie Mays *This story is dedicated to the memory of my Aunt Viv & her son, Jack Lilley. He was my 2nd cousin. He collected baseball cards. He died in a car accident six years before I was born. I’ve been honored to carry on...