Friday, March 19, 2021

SPRING

    SATURDAY, MARCH 20TH., 2021

         SPRING


  It's  March 20th everybody!! Spring showed
up at 5:37am EDT but it's not the same this year!
  Oh it's still National Frog Day and National
Flour da and you can still celebrate the corn dog
today. But two of our favorite spring celebrations
and gone this year. The virus has no pity!
    Dairy Queen has cancelled its annual free cone
for spring give away. And Rita's Italian Ice has
likewise done away with their free cup to welcome
the season. It doesn't seem fair! Well enjoy spring
as best you can. Hope you're well and that all your
NEWS is good!

Thursday, March 18, 2021

FOR THE BIRDS!

   FRIDAY MARCH 19TH, 2021

          FOR THE BIRDS!

    Today's  blog is for the birds. Well, actually,

about the birds
       First, hats off to the Robins who seem to
be winning the race to spring. You see this is
the day the Swallows return to San Juan
Capistrano. They always return to the old
mission in southern California on Saint
Joseph's Day and their appearance in taken
as a sign that Spring has arrived too.
       Around here though the Robins are
winning. There have been sightings of
Robins throughout our area for the past
week or so. That's also taken by many
to be a sign of Spring.
         Ironically, however, as the Swallows
and Robins return the birds that have been
frequenting my backyard feeder throughout
the Fall and Winter have suddenly vanished!
The feed I put out 3 or 4 days ago looks as
though it hasn't been touched.
         Perhaps they've decided to join their
cousins in Capistrano. Or, more likely, they've
spotted the gray cat that has been roaming
the area for the past few days!  
        It's a visitor they and I can do without!
        By the way there's another return,
not nearly as celebrated, you should know
about. March 19th is also the day the
Vultures return to Hinckley, Ohio!
        Hope my Sparrows and Cardinals
return soon and that all your NEWS is
good!

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

HOSPITALS

 THURSDAY, MARCH 18TH, 2021

                  HOSPITALS!


  Let me be very clear right from the sstart.

I'm not big on hospitals! I wasn't even born

in a hospital. I was born at home. And why

not? I wasn't sick! The first time I had to stay

in a hospital was having surgery on my back.

And guess who was my first visitor? The County

Coroner! Fortunatelythe visit wasn't profession;  

He knew me from nay years of news coverage.

Any way I do my best to steer clear of\hospitals.

This weel, however, I was forced to make yje

two hour drive (add 30 minuyes for the Schuylkill

 Expressway. for my wife's 50.000 mile checkup

after open heart surgery a couple years ago. The

drive was enough to drive me batty. Then there

was the waiting for her two appointments. Because

of Covid I wasn't allowed to go in with her. Anyway

she got a clean bill of health. Me? I caught a cold!!!!

I'm not big on hospitals! Hope you're well and that

all your NEWS is good



Tuesday, March 16, 2021

A LOOSE SCREW!

    WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17TH, 2021

                 A LOOSE SCREW!


   My wife has a screw loose. Well, actually, 

it's broken rather than just "loose." She

noticed a bruise on her foot the other day.

Under normal circumstances it would be

safe to assume I had taken her dancing

and stepped all over her feet. But we haven't

been dancing in quite awhile! She had an

operation on that foot some time ago and

the doctor tells us the broken screw is

hardware from that procedure. He also

said there's no problem unless the

bruise swells or there's sign of infection.

If that's the case he says he can remove

it very easily. I have some tools right

here at home. Perhaps I can check\

Youtube for the procedure and do it

myself! Besides, after she learns I've

told all of you she has a screw loose, 'm

likely the one who'll be needing a doctor!

Hope you're well and that all your NEWS

is good!

Monday, March 15, 2021

STILL "TEE'ED"OFF

   TUESDAY, MARCH 16th, 2021

         STILL "TEE'ED" OFF!

  It was just one year ago. March of 2020.

My wife and I met with my oldest friend

for lunch at Cracker Barrel in Binghamton,

New York. He lives in upstate New York

and drives "down" while we drive "up"

to meet him whenever we can. The

Pandemic was just becoming a reality

last March but it wasn't as serious as

it was about to become. We weren't

required to wear masks and I'm not

even sure if social distancing had gone

int effect. The big difference was the

absence of the salt & pepper shakers,

the ketchup. and that little wooden

game with golf tees which required

to find a jumping pattern that would

leave only one tee remaining when

you were done playing. We returned

to the place to meet up again this week,

This time we needed masks, and found

every other table off limits. And the

Golf Tee game was still missing! I

suspect it's eventual return  will be

the surest signal that the wold has

returned to normal. Hope it happens

sooner than later and that all your

NEWS is good.  

Sunday, March 14, 2021

     MONDAY, MARCH 15TH, 2021

           BAD DAY FOR JULIUS!

           Well March 15th., the "Ides of

March" has come around again.
         It was actually a day of
celebration at one time. It's the first
day of the Roman New Year. It also
marks the first day of spring in the
Roman calendar. So if you go by
that calendar Spring is here!
         The date's infamous
reputation goes back to 44 years
before Christ was born.
          That's when soothsayers
(Fortune tellers) warned Julius Caesar
to "beware of the Ides of March". He
ignored their warning. Then, on March
15th, he was stabbed to death by a
group that included his good buddy
Marcus Brutus.
            I think that's what promoted
the old saying "With friends like that
who needs enemies?"
             I'd like to think we'd celebrate
the date like it's the start of Spring.
Unfortunately our present day
soothsayers (we call them Weather
Forecasters) are warning about snow
again!
             Whether we choose to listen
or not we're likely to get a stabbing
pain in our back.....from all the
March shoveling!
              Hope you have a great
day and that all your NEWS is good!

Saturday, March 13, 2021

JUST ASK!

   SUNDAY, MARCH 14th, 2021

                 JUST ASK!

         Though the title of today's Blog may

confuse you let me assure you it is
appropriate. You see March 14th is
"International Ask A Question Day."
      I've had a pretty good and long
career based on asking questions.
That's what reporters do all the time.
      It can be a little frustrating though
because the constitutional amendment
that allows the media to ask questions
does not include a provision requiring
anybody to answer them!
        Politicians know this well!
       These days I have been on the
receiving end of a thousand questions!
They come from my 5-year-old grandson
and are all strangely similar.
       "What's that? What's that? And
"What's that."
        Thus far I'd proud to say I have
been able to handle most of the answers.
If he stumps me I try to change the
subject. If I can't do that I play
politician and make something up.
         It's good to ask questions and we
shouldn't need a special day to do it.
It's through asking questions and
getting answers that we learn. Or get
switched to another subject!
           So ask away my friends. Hope
you get some straight answers and that
all your NEWS is good.
         

Friday, March 12, 2021

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

    SATURDAY MARCH 13th, 2021

            THAT'S ALL FOLKS! 


  HI EVERYBODY, DAVID DeCOSMO WITH MY DAILY BLOG AND A FEW THOUGHTS TODAY ABOUT A FAMOUS MOVIE STAR WHO, APPARENTLY, HAS LOST HIS CONTRACT! PEPE LE PEW IS BEING  DROPPED FROM FUTURE WARNER BROTHERS TELEVISION PROJECTS. HE'S BEEN CHARGED WITH BEING A SEXUAL PREDATOR!  WE'VE HAD SOME DEALINGS WITH POLECATS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. A COUPLE TOOK UP RESIDENCE UNDER OUR HOUSE AND, THOUGH UNSEEN, THEIR PRESENCE WAS VERY OBVIOUS! WE TRAPPED ONE THIS YEAR AND RELOCATED TO SOME DEEP WOODS MILES AWAY! IF YOU DON'T GO FAR AWAY THEY'LL FIND THEIR WAY BACK!

BUT THAT WAS A REAL SKUNK. FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW OR UNDERSTAND PEPE IS A CARTOON CHARACTER WHO HAS MADE MOST PEOPLE LAUGH OVER A LOT OF YEARS. I'M SORRY TO SEE HIM GO. MAYBE HE'LL FIND HIS WAY BACK!

IRONICALLY THOSE WHO WANT HIM OFF THE SCREEN MISSED A GREAT CHANCE TO ELIMINATE HIM FROM LOONYTOONS WHEN THEY TOOK AWAY ELMER FUDD'S SHOTGUN! ME, I THINK PEPE WAS JUST A ROMANTIC. AND AS FAR AS THE MOVE TO DO AWAY WITH HIM....I THINK IT STINKS! HOPE YOU'RE WELL AND THAT ALL YOUR NEWS IS GOOD!

Thursday, March 11, 2021

109 YEARS OLD!

   FRIDAY, MARCH 12th, 2021

            109 YEARS OLD!


   Guess who's 109 years old today? It's
the Girl Scouts. Well, not the girls. It's
the Girl Scout Organization! I don't
believe any of the original members
are still around.
    Juliette Gordon Low started the first
 Girl Scout group in Savannah Georgia 
with 18 girls on March 12th., 1912.
That was a month before the Titanic
went down!
     Girl Scouting runs in our family
although I've never been one myself.
I was a Scout for awhile. A Cub
Scout.
      My wife was a Scout Leader
when my daughters were involved in
the program and all three of our 
granddaughters were Girl Scouts
for a time. Our daughter-in-law helped

run a troop of girl scouts too!
      These days there are Boy Scout
Troops that are enrolling girls. 
However you feel about that it
probably would have kept me in
Scouting a lot longer if they did
it when I was a Cub!
       Thankfully, one tradition
remains unchanged. The Girl
Scouts still sell cookies!
       Hope you're ordering
some from your favorite
Girl Scout and that all your
NEWS is good.  


Wednesday, March 10, 2021

AN APPLE A DAY!

  THURSDAY, MARCH 11th, 2021

            AN APPLE A DAY!

  March 11th is "Johnny Appleseed Day!"

Who hasn't heard the stories of the guy

who roamed the country planting apple

trees?  But they're more than just legends!  

    John Chapman was born on this date
in 1774.
     Mr. Chapman was an American pioneer
nurseryman who introduced apple trees
to large parts of Pennsylvania. But he didn't
stop there!
      His trees were distributed in Ohio,
Indiana,  Illinois, and northern counties
of West Virginia to name a few of the
others.
      Thanks to his efforts I've enjoyed
plenty of apples over the years and an
apple dumpling whenever I can find
one.
     Oh, by the way, you may remember
Mr Chapman by his other name.
Johnny Appleseed!
     Yep. It's a true story!
     Hope you'll have an apple in his
honor today and that all your NEWS
is good!

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

FINDING A PHONE BOOTH!

    WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10th, 2021

        FINDING A PHONE BOOTH!

   Today's unusual holiday is more of a

challenge than an observance. March 10th

is "International Find A Phone Booth Day!" It

actually marks the day Alexander Graham Bell  

made the first successful telephone call to

his assistant Mr. Watson. The telephone

booth, however, was the invention of

Tom Doolittle in 1878/ It was originally

called a Telephone Cabinet! In the 90's

there were three million telephone booths

in the United States alone! Today finding 

one is like finding a needle in a haystack!

If you find one, make a call. Of, of course,

you can find a couple quarters in your

pocket! Hope you're well and that all your'

NEWS is good!

Monday, March 8, 2021

PANIC!

   TUESDAY, MARCH 9th, 2021

                   PANIC!!!

  Well, if you've had it and just

want to scream.....go ahead...let
loose! It's March 9th. And this
is PANIC DAY!
     There's no documentation as
to who came up with this unique
"holiday." I suppose we might
all claim credit for it at one time
or another. Who hasn't had one
of those "panic moments?"
      Hopefully life is fine for you
and you've got no need to hit the
switch. And even if you're on the
edge you do have the option of
waiting till June 18th. That's
International Panic Day!
      I'm torn myself. I just learned
this is also "Get Over It Day!"
Maybe that's the best way to go.
Don't Panic.....just Get Over It!
      Hope you don't have reason
to hit the button and that all of
your NEWS is good!


Sunday, March 7, 2021

THE ORANGE EVOLUTION!

   MONDAY, MARCH 8th, 2021

  THE ORANGE EVOLUTION!


  What happened to the orange?
And when did it happen?
   When I was a kid I remember
grabbing an orange from our
refrigerator. It was always
basically round and about the
size of baseball.
    When you bought them at
the A&P you put them in a
brown paper bag so you could
carry them home.
     Now, everything's changed!
First of all oranges come in all
different sizes. Some are as
small as a billiard ball while
others look more like a grapefruit!
And whatever the size most come
in net-like bags you can use for
fishing after eating the oranges.
      These days they seem to
grow oranges complete with
little stickers. My 5-year -old grandson
tells me they aren't grown on the
orange. Workers stick them on!
And they're not just there for
decoration.
       If you look at those stickers
carefully, assuming you have a
powerful magnifying glass, you'll
usually see a product brand and
a whole bunch of little numbers.
I used to think the numerals
represented the sequence in which
the orange was picked. But that's
not the case!
      It's a code! If the code on the
fruit is four digits and starts from
the numbers 3 or 4 it means the product
comes from a cultivation from the II
half of the XX century, using artificial
fertilizers.
      If the fruit has a sticker with a five
digit code starting from the number 9,
it means it was cultivated without
pesticides or fertilizers.
      If the sticker has a five digit code
and starts from the number 8 the fruit
has been genetically modified.
      Whatever the code, don't worry
if you forget to peal off the sticker.
They are made from edible paper!!!
       Hope you're eating some fruit
and that all your NEWS is good!



Saturday, March 6, 2021

LATER!

   SUNDAY, MARCH 7th, 2021

                  LATER

  The plan was to replace a bird house

that came down during some of those strong

wind a week or so ago then to clean up the

porch which was also affected by those

storms. Than I remembered. I had planned

to tell you, last week, that this week was

National Procrastination Week. But I put

it off. Then, since this week is National Procrastination

week, I've decided to put up the birst house

and clean up the porch......later. Maybe in a couple

days. Maybe. Remember, this week, always put

off until tomorrow something that you had [lanned

to do today. Hope you're well and that all your NEWS

is good!

Friday, March 5, 2021

REMEMBERING OR FORGETTING?

      SATURDAY, MARCH 5th, 2021

    REMEMBERING OR FORGETTING?


       Ever since a group of less than
200 patriots died defending a small
mission in San Antonio, Texas against
4 or 5,000 Mexican soldiers 185 years
ago today we've been encouraged to
"Remember the Alamo."
     It was a battle cry that lead to the
creation of the Republic of Texas
which, of course, became our 28th
State in 1845.
     The Alamo is still well remembered
in Texas but I fear it's being forgotten
here in Pennsylvania.
      As I've pointed out in previous
Blogs three men from Mifflin County
Pennsylvania, near the community of
Lewistown  traveled to Texas to join the fight
for Independence and died at the Alamo!
      In fact there were 15 Pennsylvanians
at the Alamo. And one other who was sent out
of the mission before the final battle to search
for supplies.
      Years back I took Chopper 22 to
Lewistown where people gathered around
a monument to their three local Alamo
heroes to celebrate their memory.
       The monument is still there but I've
been told there hasn't been a ceremony
since 2009! Seems some folks are
forgetting the Alamo! I'm afraid it may
be a trend!
         I wonder how many people have
seen the markets on the trail along the
Susquehanna River in Pittston to the
Knox Mine Disaster? Or how many
area High School students could tell
you what happened there or how it
affected the region's biggest industry?
          I'm spoiled. I like history and
have lived through a lot of it around
here!
          I'd like to see more of it
remembered. And that includes the
Alamo!
          Hope you remember and that
all your NEWS is good.
      




 




Thursday, March 4, 2021

UNPLUGGED!

  FRIDAY, MARCH 6th, 2021

            UNPLUGGED!

  I probably should not be typing this

message to you today because I'm

doin it on my laptop. The problem stems

from the fact this is "Unplugged Day!"

It is a day when we're suppose to step

away from technology. That's harder

that it may seem these days. Take me,

for instance. I'll likely get off the laptop,

have some food heated in a microwave,

then watch some thing on my smart TV

while taking calls on my smartphone.

Later I planned to listen to some music

on my satellite radio. None of those

technical miracles existed when I was

growing up in the 50's!!! Now I use each

of them every day! Even if I had the TV

set I had back in the day I couldn't watch

it because the signals being sent to today;s

sets are digital! Think I'll have to skip this

"celebration." Hope all your NEWS is good!

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

I SWEAR! IT'S TRUE!

      THURSDAY, MARCH 4th, 2021

             I SWEAR!  IT'S TRUE!


   It was his first day as President and a

crowd stormed Washington causing all

sorts of damage! It was 1829! Andrew

Jackaon had just become President and

he invited anyone who wanted to come to

join the Inaugural Ball. More people showed

up than he expected and some got out of

hand destroying some furniture and art work

in the White House. It was March the 4th.

You see up until 1933 March 4th was the

nation's official inauguration day. In '33

the 20th amendment moved the day from

March to January to cut down on the time

a Lame Duck President would have in office.

For many March 4th's thousands of people

crowed Washington to see the President

take the oath of office. Most of those who

came supported the new chief executive.

But not all. In 1865 when Lincoln began

his second term the crowd included a young

actor. John Wilkes Booth would come to

see Lincoln a few weeks later...at Ford;s

Theater. Just a bit of history on this former

Inauguration Day! Hope you're well and

that all your NEWS is good!

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

OH SAY CAN YOU SING?

   WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3rd, 2021

          OH SAY CAN YOU SING?

   It's Wednesday, March 3rd. It's 

National Anthem Day!" It commemorates \

the day in 1931 when the government

officially adopted The Star Spangled

Banner as our National Anthem. The

song originally written by Francis Scott

Key as a poem. Over the years there have

been some who suggest it is difficult to

sing and should be replaced by some other

tune. Possible American The Beautiful. That

is, indeed, a beautiful song but I personally

prefer the Star Spangled Banner. Canada

changed its national anthem. When I was

growing up the Canadian anthem was The

Maple Leaf Forever. Then, some years back,

that was replaced by Oh Canada. Up that

way the anthem is sung in both English

and Frence. I can understand the English.

Of course over the past few years I've heard

some very big recording stars sing our National

Anthem which have been hard to understand

even though they're in English. Think I prefer

the renditions offered by a military bank.In any

case it's National nthem Day, a day to remember

for which it stands and, I hope you stand for it!

Hope you're also well and that all your NEWS

is good!


 

Monday, March 1, 2021

LISTEN UP!

   TUESDAY, MARCH 2nd, 2021

                 LISTEN UP!


   Before we get too far into March I

wanted to make sure you knew this in

"National Listening Month!" I've been

doing a lot of listening lately but I haven't

always been sure exactly what I've been

hearing. Most recently I began hearing

voices. That would have spooked me had

I not sought out the source. Seems my

wife is trying to learn Italian! She's found

a couple of web sites on which a moderator

offers Italian words and phrases to her and

she repeats them in the hope she's retain them.

I have some doubts. I had two years of Italian

back in my High School days and the only

thing I've retained conversationally is

"Mama Mia" and "Pasta Fazool!" You'd be

surprised, however, how far those two

phrases will take you! Hope you'll keep

listening and that all your NEWS is good!