Makeup!

      SATURDAY, AUGUST 15TH

                 MAKEUP!

    After years in television and a small
part in a movie I know that even men
sometimes have to put on a little makeup
to look just right.
     That's why I didn't balk yesterday
when my grand daughter decided I
needed a "make over" and volunteered
to do the job. Who could turn down an
offer like that from a 4-year-old?
     The scissors, the comb, and the
hair dryer were all toys of course.
     The liquid lip gloss was not! It
went on my lips smoothly enough.
But poured copiously into my hair it
quickly became a thick mix somewhere
between honey and concrete.
     Moldable as it seemed the grand
daughter decided a "Mohawk" might
be a good style for me. She tried her
best to form one. Somehow it didn't
look quite right in my aging grey hair.
    Her other granddad stopped by for
a visit but quickly disappeared after
hearing my suggestion that he was
next in line for a make over.
     I let her finish my facial and wore
it till I got home where an extensive
shower with about a quart of shampoo
restored my lackluster. but natural
look.
      I have not yet made another
appointment! Hope she doesn't get
a doctor kit for her birthday...and
that all your NEWS is good!

Botched Bocce Ball !

     FRIDAY, AUGUST 14TH.

    BOTCHED BOCCE BALL!

   In April I survived a two week
visit with my wife, one of her sisters,
and one of her brothers.
   Yesterday I was put to a much
tougher test as I was in the company
of 6 of the Williams siblings at the
same time!
    We gathered at the lovely home
of one of my sister-in-laws in the
beautiful state of New Jersey.
     There were plenty of family
stories to be told of the days when
these 6 and 2 others now far away
in Florida all lived under the same
roof. Some remembered the tales.
Some either didn't or choose not to.
     In the midst of the memories
came a delicious meal.
     There was chicken, wine, cheese,
wine, corn, wine, watermelon, cake
and, of course, wine!
      Somewhere during the day the
mini reunion turned into a Bocce
Ball competition. It was not your
typical game!
       The lawn in my sister-in-law's
back yard must have been imported
from Pennsylvania. It has more pot
holes and hills than a typical alley
in Wilkes-Barre.
       Balls rolled to the right, bounced,
or changed direction faster than a
trucker who just found out there was
a weight station just ahead!
       Then I realized........it wasn't
just the tilted lawn throwing the balls
off course. I think it's trajectory was
slightly influenced by that stuff in
between the chicken, the cheese, the
corn, and the cake! The last photo
says it all!
       Hope they remember yesterday
today....and that all your NEWS is
good!

Down On The Farm!

   THURSDAY, AUGUST 13TH

      DOWN ON THE FARM!

    I decided to wait in the car while
my wife stopped at a local Farmer's
Market yesterday. As I gazed at all
the green "stuff" growing just feet
away from my parking spot I
wondered if I had made the right
decision.
    I figured I see things like peas
and tomatoes all over the place.
But the plots right in front of me
were identified as Ornamental
Kale, Green Ornamental Sweet
Potato Vines, and another strange
plant marked as Nicotiana or
"Flowering Tobacco."
    Not being a green thumb guy
I wondered if that last plant was
used to grow cigarettes?!
     None of them sounded like
something I'd want to find in
my salad. Especially that
Nicotiana stuff!
      And if they were flowers, I
think I'd prefer to stick with
things like roses or daisies.
      My wife returned with two
bags and I was relieved to find
both filled with.......corn!!!!!!!
       Hope she never finds that
other stuff,,,,,and that all your
NEWS is good!

The Music Goes Round & Round!

     WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12TH

THE MUSIC GOES ROUND & ROUND!

    While most people are listening to their
favorite songs on IPods or Smart phones
these days there was a time when the music
really did go round and round.
    Today is "Vinyl Record Day." It was
created by the Vinyl Record Day Company,
a non-profit organization dedicated to
preserving vinyl music, its culture, art, and
sound.
     Back in my Disk Jockey days virtually
all the music you heard coming through
your radio came from records, vinyl disks,
played on record players, turntables, in our
radio studios.
     Even then music was changing. Records
that spun at 33 and a third rpm were being
displaced by the 45's which most rock
artists used to promote their hits.
    I still have a small collection of the old
record albums as well as 45's, including
some Disk Jockey copies!
    It's kind of surprising they survived
after being played over and over back in
the day, Not to mention our system of
"slip cueing" the records. We'd start
playing the record off the air until we
heard the first notes in our headsets. Then
we'd physically stop the record, pull it
back half a turn (while the turntable
continued to turn) then go on the air,
and let go of the record so the song would
start exactly when we wanted it to!
     A lot of people listened in those
days. I got an idea just how many one
day when I blocked the door to the
control room at WBRX in Berwick and
played "Summertime Blues" about 35
times before the Chief Engineer
managed to break in and take my copies
away!
     Vinyl Record Day brings back some
great memories for me! My fun days in
radio before I switched over to the news
beat! Music was better than murders!
     I'm told, by those who should know,
that vinyl is making a comeback!
     I hope that's true and that all your
News is good!

Speaking In Subtitles

        TUESDAY, AUGUST 11TH.

        SPEAKING IN SUBTITLES

      I heard some good news yesterday!
The film in which I play a small part,
"All In Time," has been selected to be
shown at the International Film Festival
in Milan, Italy this November!
       It's been well received at a number
of prestigious festivals in New York and
California and took three awards at its
Pennsylvania Premier in New Hope just
a week ago.
      Now it's headed for Italy. And that
raises a question in my mind! Will
somebody be dubbing our lines into
Italian? Or will Italian subtitles appear
on the screen while the movie rolls on?
      Maybe we'll all be asked to redo our
dialog in Italian? I took two years of
Italian in High School. My teacher
allowed me to sit in the first seat up
front of the classroom. That was so I
could leave as quickly as possible.
Mama Mia!
      I did learn a couple of words here
and there. But not enough to cover my
four lines in the movie.
      Subtitles would probably work. My
remarks have already been written in
Japanese for a special report on the
status of American media. A film crew
from Japan interviewed me shortly after
the bosses at WBRE ended WYOU's
independent newscasts in 2009.
      I don't think I'll make it to the
festival in Italy. But there's probably still
a few DeCosmos over there and maybe
some of them will see it!
     Hope it's UN successone!
                   (A very big hit!)
and that all your NEWS is good!

       

Things Are Looking Up!

    MONDAY, AUGUST 10TH.

  THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!

   Every try to walk by somebody who's
standing on the corner...staring up at....
something? It's tough to do....without
sneaking in a glance of your own!
   Well, chances are, if they're looking
up today they're not scanning the sky
for a bird, or a plane, or even
Superman!
   They're probably just celebrating!
   You see this is Skyscraper

Appreciation Day! It's the birthday

of William Van Alen, the primary architect

of the Chrysler Building, the most popular

skyscraper in New York City.
   Skyscraper Appreciation Day was started

in 2009 by Dr. Tom Stevens, the founder

of the Objectivist Party. It was created so

people can appreciate the engineering and

architectural marvels we know as

skyscrapers.

    They say you can tell the tourists
in most major cities because they're
the people I mentioned in the
beginning of this commentary. They're
the ones staring up at all the big
buildings!
   In can, of course, be an expensive
preoccupation because, while they're
looking up, the pick pockets are
lifting their wallets!
   Maybe that's why our 'smaller
communities' are considered to be
much safer places!
    Trouble is it's hard to celebrate

the holiday around here. The

tallest of our buildings don't really

scrape the sky.

    Still, in at least one area town,

there are good reasons to look up.

The city of Pittston has started

using its taller buildings as

canvasses for giant murals!

Those buildings don't have to

touch the sky to grab your

attention!

      So, if you can't find anything

over a dozen stories in your

community today, take a drive

through Pittston and appreciate

the buildings and the art work

there.

     Hope you neck isn't stiff and

that all your NEWS is good!

 

 

 

    

All Washed Up!

   SUNDAY, AUGUST 9TH.

      ALL WASHED UP!

   They descended on my car
the moment I drove up! They
looked like a heard of teenage
girls flocking to the side of a
rock star in search of his
autograph! I got my pen ready...
just in case!
    I hadn't seen this many since
the day I did a record hop at the
old White Haven High School.
That was about 53 years ago!
    After all those years I thought
I was all washed up. Not true!
Although....I was about to be!
     You see the girls were all
members of the Holly Redeemer
Volleyball Team and I had
driven up to their fund raising
car wash!
     My Grand daughter is on
the squad so we showed up to
support her. And the team. And
to get our car washed! I figured
it would be good to support her
and the team. Besides, my car
hadn't been washed in months!
     It worked out pretty well.
They made some money and I
got my car cleaned. I even
remembered to roll the windows
up!
     Now I've got to work on
getting it dirty again. Another
grand daughter has a car wash
scheduled for her Soccer team
in a couple weeks!
      Hope it doesn't rain now and
that all your NEWS is good!