The Last Inning!

   Baseball season came to a close last night!
   I know. I know. Some of you thought it
ended when San Francisco won the World
Series.
   Actually it ended last night in the last
inning when Joe Hardy caught a long fly ball
hit by Mickey Mantle in the auditorium of Holy
Redeemer High School in Wilkes-Barre.
    Although I am and have always been a
loyal fan of the New York Yankees, not to
mention a fan of "The Mick", I have always
loved the musical play Damn Yankees.
     It was amazing to see a group of High
School students take on this production.
     It's a good bet that few if any of them
ever heard of the Washington Senators
except for the senators they came across
in Civics Class. And those senators don't
play baseball.
     And Mickey has been gone since before
these kids were born. Bet they'd love to
have his Rookie card though!
      The music from this play has stood the
test of time and the team, that is the cast,
that presented it last night are all winners!
       Their play was unquestionably a big
hit! Good singers. Good actors!
       I loved every minute although, I must
admit, I kept hoping Mickey's hit would
have dropped in.
      Oh well, at least the kids hit this one
out of the park!
      Hope you support local theater, and
that all your NEWS is good! 

NOW PLAYING!

  My wife and I went to the movies last
night. Fortunately we got there early
because, by show time, most all of the
seats were filled!
   Not bad for a feature that played most
theaters months ago!
   Maybe in was the price. Three dollars
per person.
   Maybe it was the concession stand!
No popcorn or M&M's here. The folks
in this long line in this case were filling
up on Beef Stroganoff, salad, beverages,
and home made muffins or cake!
   All you could eat! No extra charge!
   And no previews!
   Of course this wasn't your typical
multiplex. This was our Church Hall!
   Throughout the summer our church
has welcomed Christian bands and
singers every second Friday to give
any and everybody a nice night out!
    Now that the colder months have
arrived the format has been switched
to Dinner and a Movie!
     Last night's "sold out house" suggests
it's a very big hit!
     Apparently the Chefs expected the
entire 109th Field Artillery as the
serving trays were still half full even
after most folks made a second pass.
     I don't usually come home from
the movies with a take out container.
This time I made an exception!!!!!
     I'm thinking of asking for a season
ticket!
     Hope you'll stop by for one of our
Movie nights...and that all your NEWS
is good!

The Big Cover Up!

   It is a sad story. Although there are no
politics involved, there is no question
we're dealing with a cover up!
   It started slowly enough. First the
leaves began to change colors. Then
the evening temperatures began to drop.
   Then came the reports of snow flurries
 spotted here and there.
    Next the heaters and quilts came out
in the house while the Christmas
commercials came on the television.
    So, while few were willing to admit it,
the writing on the wall was clear enough.
    Winter is on it's way.
    The "top down" road trips we've
enjoyed from Spring through.....well....
last week.....seem to  have become just
a pleasant memory.
    Reluctantly I backed my Miata onto
the brick patio set up in the yard and
unrolled the "breathable tarp" given to
me as a Christmas present last year.
    It was my annual "Big cover up!"
    Of course should we suddenly find
ourselves in the midst of an "Indian
Summer" or if Global Warming actually
warms this part of our globe I am
prepared to take it off as quickly as it
went on!
   Those thoughts have me rooting for
Global warming!  Or an "Indian Summer
attack."
    Hope you're all breathing and that all
your NEWS is good!

    

And The Race Is On!

    Single men. On your mark, Get set!
RUN!!!!!!!!!
     It is November 13th, also know in
some parts as "Sadie Hawkins Day!"
     According to holidayinsights.com
This holiday originated in a cartoon.
     It all began in Al Capp's "Lil Abner
Cartoon in the 1930's. In the cartoon series,
the mayor of Dogpatch was desperate to
marry off his ugly daughter. So he created
Sadie Hawkin's Day.
     On this day, a race is held and all the
single men were given a short head start.
Then, all the single women, including the
mayor's daughter, chased the boys. If a girl
catches her man, he had to marry her.
     Sadie Hawkins races and related events
were a bid deal for many years. But they
generally died out when the comic strip
was discontinued.
     There are still some events today,
usually on college campuses.
      And there's still a town in Ireland
where matchmakers get together one
day each year to get try to get couples
together! Of course in that case it's the
men chasing the women!
     After the harvests in September,
young farmers from all over Ireland would
shuffle into Lisdoonvarna to find themselves
a potential wife, with the help of the
matchmakers.
     Sadie Hawkins Day is still specifically
for the women!
     So, if you're male and single, this
is a good day to keep looking over your
shoulder!
      You may want to walk a little faster.
Or, maybe, just stop!
      That Depends on what, or who, you
 see!
      Hope you meet your Sadie, and that all
your NEWS is good!

Midday In Moscow!

    WEDNESDAY, NOV 12TH.


   I found myself on assignment in
Moscow yesterday. Not the one in
the Kremlin. The one in Lackawanna
County.
    I accepted an invitation to speak
before the North Pocono Women's
Club.
   I left early to give myself plenty
of time to get there. That turned out
to be a very good idea when, in
spite of numerous visits to that
community, I realized I had taken a
wrong turn and was about five miles
away from the place I wanted to be!
   A quick correction got me back on
track and I found myself at the church
where the meeting was scheduled.
   I had forgotten the exact address.
But the big red door given to me as a
landmark was unmistakable.
   What I didn't know was .....it was
pointed out strictly as a landmark....
not as an entrance!
    The fact that it didn't actually
open, ten minutes before my scheduled
arrival time, was a little disconcerting.
     Being a "trained observer" I noticed
another entrance which, thankfully, was
unlocked. I used it and entered a very
large edifice which seemed to feature
long halls and unlabeled rooms
stretching ....who knows where and
how far.
     Fortunately a friendly church
secretary spotted me before I could get
myself lost in the maze and escorted me
downstairs to the meeting room, just in
time to get into the chow line!
     Women's clubs feature good home
made food.
     The speech......was easy!
      Hope you know your was around
and that all your NEWS is good!

  
   

You've Got To Know HOW To Fold 'Em

          TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH

  Everybody knows, or should know, it's Veteran's Day.
   And everybody is, or should be, remembering our
veterans, past and present!
   But November 11th marks another "holiday" as well
and there's a pretty good chance you never knew it!
   Today is "Origami Day!"
   Now, as we all know, Origami is the Art of folding
objects out of paper without cutting, pasting, or decorating
it. You knew that.....didn't you? 
   Hey....I had to look it up!
   In a sense Origami Day shares the same origin as
Veterans Day!
   November 11 is also World Peace Memorial Day
and the symbol of World Peace is a Crane, fashioned
out of folded paper!
    I've done a bit of paper folding myself over the
years. Primarily back in my "school days"
    I never made any cranes.
    My expertise was Paper Airplanes.
    Usually, we judged success more by distance
of flight rather than artistic design.
    Some students tended to favor "spit balls." I'm
not sure any of them  fit the artistic qualifications
for origami.
    I must also tell you that Origami art isn't limited
to traditional sheets of white paper.
    I found an entire web site with step by step instructions
on how to create an elephant, a butterfly, a ring, a tee shirt,
a heart, a bow tie, or a pixie shoe by folding a dollar bill!
   I checked my wallet. I've only got enough for a ring and
a pixie shoe!
   I think I'll just keep them as they are. Flat and a little
crinkled
   But the rest of you, with talent, ought to think about
celebrating a bit today by taking a piece of paper, or
a dollar bill, and folding it into the form of a crane to
mark World Peace Day!
    I hope you've got the dollar to do it and that all your
NEWS is good!

  
   


  

PAROLE!

   Free at last, free at last!
   Much of last week was spent resting
in bed trying to shake the sore throat
and congestion that invaded my body
a week ago today!
   Yesterday, however, I was paroled.
   Though not completely better I
managed to get myself up so my wife
and I could drive to church.
    It looks like there have been a few
changes since last week's service!
    There's still some color in the
leaves, actually a lot more than in
my face! But now it's more of a rusty
brown and orange rather than a bright
yellow and red. The leaves that is.
     After a stop for lunch we stopped
at my daughter's house for awhile.
     My grandson wanted to show us
his Geico. I kind of wondered why an
11-year-old needed a new insurance
policy. But, as it turns out, he was
talking about a Gecko. A sort of
miniature dinosaur that now shares
his bedroom.
      After returning home I found
the afternoon sun, shining through
our plastic screens, had turned our
front porch into a comfortable
sauna where we could sit awhile and
just take it easy.
       Unfortunately by 4 o'clock the
sun was already setting in the west
and it's rays were too low to reach
the porch anymore.
       So I, along with my parole
officer, went back in the house
to see if there was anything on our
100 plus channels worth watching.
       I expect, with good behavior,
I'll get out again a bit this week, even
if it is only for "work release."
       Hope I can catch a few more
"rays" and that all your NEWS is
good.