Kid Power!

   It was destined to happen one of these days.
And "one of these days" turned out to be
yesterday.
   My wife has been eyeing the front and back
yard looking for signs of the first flowers
willing to risk their stems to rise out of the
ground. A few Crocuses took the chance, so
her Spring Cleanup program began.
   Watching me attempt any sort of garden
work has undoubtedly brought some laughs to
my spouse. But my efforts have done little
to contribute to her cleanup plan.
    So, faced with a bazillion crushed and
soaked leaves left over from last Fall, my
wife dug out a rake and wheel barrel from
the shed and then called on her secret
weapon.......Kid Power!
    There's noting so helpful as a couple of
youngsters just looking for something to do
on a sunny day!
     My grandson and grand daughter
willingly dug into the assignment and lifted
and hauled the mulch to a nearby wooded
area. They learned a couple valuable
lessons!
     How to clean up yard wastes and avoid
cat wastes at the same time!
     Grand kids also fall into a very special
minimum wage category. I couple bucks for
treats,a few hugs, and some time with
Grannie and Grandpa pretty much covers the
bill. And their yard work has the place
looking good!
      As for me...well....somebody had to
watch the Yankee game!
      Hope your yard is clean and your NEWS
is good!

  

Riding Shotgun!

   Yesterday was National History Day!
    I like history. Although, for me, a lot of
what is presented as history seems like just
a review of current events!
   My Grand daughter was part of a team
that put together an exhibit for History Day
competition.
   That effort spelled out some of the horrors
involved when animals are used in testing
experiments for all sorts of products.
   I, like her, do not endorse such procedures
when other options are available.
   I might consider making an exception if all
the cats running wild in our neighborhood
and leaving a mess in my yard were involved!
   Anyway, my daughter drove my wife and I
to the competition in her new car.
   I'm not used to being in the passenger seat.
   The last time that happened I had just had
my eyes dilated. My wife was driving. Since
I couldn't see much of anything and I got home
I guess she did good!
    My daughter did just fine too. It was only
automatic reflexes that had my left foot
searching for the brake peddle.
    And with all the fancy instruments on
the dashboard who had time to look at the
road anyway.
    Her vehicle, like many newer make cars,
is equipped with heated seats! Why can't
the Federal Highway Administration make
accessories like that mandatory?! It should
be a law!
     Anyhow, after a pleasant drive, we watched
a lot of great students from throughout the
area show off their imaginative history
projects.
      And my grand daughter's school took an
overall third place its student's efforts!
      All in all a pretty good trip!
      Next year for History week they may take
me in for Show and Tell!
      Hope your seat is warm and that all your
NEWS is good!

    

Ye Shall Know The Truth!

  OK. The votes are in. So, today, ye
shall know the truth!
   On Thursday evening my ECTV
colleague, Judge Tom Munley, and
I talked about Television and the News
business with a gathering of folks at
the West Pittston Library.
   We also played a little game with
our guests and yesterday I shared that
game with the readers of my Blog.
    For those who came in late or just
missed it, the Judge and I each listed
a few "facts" about ourselves.
   But one item in each list was a LIE!
   Your job was to identify the untruth.
   Let's look at the lists one more time.

    Judge Munley says he..........

   (1) Was a janitor.
   (2) Was nominated for an Emmy.
   (3) Played Semi-Pro ball for one season.
   (4) Won a Bronze Star.
   (5) Wanted to be a Doctor.

    Most folks actually questioned his
desire to be a doctor. But, when he was
younger, that was his ambition.
    A few doubted his being nominated
for an Emmy. But he was for a program
he helped produce on WYOU about
the late Governor Bob Casey.
    He did not, however, play Semi-Pro
baseball. Not even for one season!

   OK. Now me. I wrote that I.......
  
    (1) Was a janitor.
    (2)  Sang with the Lennon Sisters.
    (3)  Have a Gold Record.
    (4)  Have met 3 Presidents.
    (5)  Flew the Met Life Blimp.
  
    Most of the voters doubted my claim
to a Gold Record while a few disputed
my insistence that I sang with the
Lennon Sisters. At least one figured my
boast of flying the Met Life Blimp was
'inflated."
    Actually, all three are true!
    I sang with two of the Lennon sisters
back stage (for a radio show) at the
Bloomsburg Fair in 1963.
    A comical voice I used for a radio
series on WILK was used as the voice
for the Transportation Department's
Character "Safety Sam" and my reward
was a Gold Copy of the Public Safety
announcements I recorded.
    I got a chance to be a passenger in
the Met Life Blimp while reporting
for WYOU and I was allowed to take
the controls for awhile during that
flight!
   What seemed to surprise most was
that I never met three Presidents!
    I covered President Clinton's visit
to Scranton when Hillary's father died.
But I never got to meet him.
    I was close to Mr. Obama when he
was campaigning in Scranton. But I
did not get to shake his hand.
    In fact the only President I actually
got to sit down with was Gerald Ford
and he was already out of office at that
time.
   By the way, at one time during our
working lives, both Judge Munley and
I were janitors!
   Thankfully we were not asked to clean
up after our Library Program!
    Hope you got the right answer and
that all your NEWS is good!

To Tell The Truth!

   I'm using the title of an old TV show to
tell you about the outing my ECTV colleague
Judge Tom Munley and I enjoyed last night.
   We were invited to talk about television
and the News Profession during a session at
the West Pittston Library.
    Part of our dissertation had to do with
creditability. It's very important for people
on the air to stick with the facts and truth.
    Ironically today, April 4th., is "Tell A Lie
Day!" 
    We decided to test our audience by telling
them several truths about ourselves....with one
LIE mixed in.
    So, in keeping with the day, I'm going to
share those lists with you now to see if you
can determine, in each of our cases, which
statement is the untruth!
    In tomorrow's Blog I'll fess up and you
can see how you did. I'll respectfully ask
that close friends and family sit this one
out so all the others can guess on their
own.
   OK? Here we go. First, Judge Munley.
   Judge Tom Munley
   (1) Was a janitor.
   (2) Was nominated for an Emmy.
   (3) Played Semi-Pro ball for one season.
   (4) Won a Bronze Star.
   (5) Wanted to be a Doctor.

   OK. Now me,
    David DeCosmo
    (1) Was a janitor.
    (2)  Sang with the Lennon Sisters.
    (3)  Has a Gold Record.
    (4)  Has met 3 Presidents.
    (5)  Flew the Met Life Blimp.
    There you go folks! You pick the lies!
     Hope your guesses, and all your
     NEWS is good!

It's Your Decision!

   OK gang! Remember, I'm just the
messenger.
   I'll throw this one at you and then,
it's your decision!
   It's April 3rd., and according to
several web sites this is "Don't Go
To Work Unless It's Fun Day."
   While not an official government
holiday you've got to admit it's
tempting to observe the day.
    I don't ever remember this day
being mentioned when I was on the
news beat. And I'm not sure how I
would have reacted if I did.
    Work, for me, was different
every day. I always enjoyed the
challenge but never knew if it
was going to be "fun."
    Maybe the decision is an easy
one for you.
    Of course just as Uncle Sam
doesn't officially recognize this
"holiday" there's a better than
Fair chance your boss doesn't
recognize it either.
    If he (or she) did they'd be
doing their best to make your
workplace a "fun" place.
    If "fun" isn't likely to be found
at your place of employment
today you'll probably want to
stay home and celebrate.
    Just don't tell the boss I told
you to do it! Like I said, I'm just
the messenger!
     Hope, where ever your are,
you're having fun and that all
your NEWS is good!   

Mr. Freeze

    Batman fans will want to know that I had
a run in with "Mr. Freeze" yesterday!
    I've had a few bouts with skin cancer over
the years. One, extremely severe many years
ago, convinced me that regular yearly visits
to a Dermatologist would be a good idea.
   Every so often he identifies a spot here
or there that needs some treatment to head
off problems.
    And that "treatment" is made up of a spray
of liquid nitrogen! It's the stuff Mr. Freeze
used in all those Batman stories!
    This is an interesting chemical!
    It can be used to make ice cream.
    It can be used in place of a red hot iron to
brand animals!
    Stick a rose in a bowel of this and you'll
pull out an ice cube shaped like a rose!
    In theory, it can be used to freeze your
body when you pass away so you can be
revived in future years when there's a cure
for whatever killed you! Well, the freezing
part isn't theory. Just the reviving part! I'll
probably want to wait till they get that
part perfected!
    In my case the Doc just sprayed a spot
or two.
    The stuff is so cold it causes instant
frostbite on living tissue. But that's the
whole idea when the targeted tissue is the
suspected problem.
    I probably could have avoided the
whole treatment if I just went out
without a hat anytime last month!
    Anyhow Mr. Freeze, that is my Doctor,
says I'm good for another year or 100,000
miles. Whichever comes first.
    Holy Moly Batman!!!!
    Hope you've got your Sunscreen ready
and that all your NEWS is good!



           

By Jove, I Think I've Got It!

   It's very difficult for someone like
me to keep up with automotive
evolution!
   I liked it when you could stick a
screwdriver into a carburetor to
get a stalled engine started again.
   These days there are all sorts of
new trends in the automotive field.
    You know. Things like back up
cameras and On Star service.
    I understand those. But I've been
fighting to keep up with some of the
other things.
    For instance, it was months before
I realized that those little window
decals depicting a man, woman,
several kids and a dog or cat were
not the driver's record of people and
animals he had run down.
    They're actually representative of
the family and pet or pets that usually
travel in that vehicle! How about that?!
    But another trend continued to
puzzle me.
    I first noticed it on two vehicles
parked near my house. I had left for
one of my morning walks when I
spotted the cars with their windshield
wipers sticking up, away from the
windshield.
    Initially I thought the owners had
just gone inside to get paper or rags
to clean their windshield. But they
remained that way. Morning after
morning.
   Then, yesterday, after that generally
unexpected ice and snow storm hit
our area I saw 5 out of 6 vehicles
parked in West Pittston with their
wipers in the same, raised, position.
    That's when it hit me!
    The cars, another round of heavy
snow, and the raised wipers. These
vehicles were surrendering!
     Winter had won!
      Maybe, if the war is really over,
it will get warm!
      I hope it does and that all your
NEWS is good!