http://www.journal-register.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:45:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_155124628.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_155124628.html The following communication was first published by the Buffalo Historical Society on April 7, 1863. Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:43:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_155124419.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_155124419.html We live in an era of much unrest in which people fear for their security, be it socially (terror threats), economically (recession), or environmentally (global warming). Feeding off this, our elected officials have been quite successful in using fear-mongering to introduce endless amounts of legislation that do much more harm than good. Thu, 29 May 2008 17:36:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_150173715.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_150173715.html Besides being my birthday today, May 30 is the true Memorial Day. Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and serves as a day to remember those who have died defending our country. Wed, 28 May 2008 19:05:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_149190626.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_149190626.html I’ve become a creature of habit. I think it’s because of the sense of security that it offers. The repetition of doing the same thing on a routine basis provides less chance that my already vulnerable focus will be altered — or that my single-dimensioned lifestyle will be challenged by something that entails exertion. Wed, 28 May 2008 19:04:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_149190457.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_149190457.html The front page of the May 23 issue of this newspaper showed a photo of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer looking determined under the headline “Farm bill appears veto-proof.” Admittedly, Sen. Schumer is one of our most vocal legislators, if not exactly the brightest bulb in the box. Critical thinking is not his strong suit. But considering the company he keeps, this isn’t surprising. Wed, 28 May 2008 18:50:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_149185100.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_149185100.html It has been nearly a year since Jon Powers announced his intent to run for the congressional seat currently held by Tom Reynolds. I was at the event, held in Clarence, and I was immediately struck by the candidate’s candor about his upbringing and the time he spent in Iraq. Wed, 28 May 2008 18:44:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_149184515.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_149184515.html The other day as Henrietta was giving me the stare-down and I was going through the repertoire of things that she could possibly have wanted, I realized that she would likely not survive with another family. She has us (I like to say “us” but that really means “me”) so well trained and happy to comply with her every whim — even when I don’t know what it is — that she would be hard pressed to find a family who could read her mind as well as I do. Tue, 20 May 2008 22:17:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_141221812.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_141221812.html Headline news from various parts of the world ran a parallel course last week as both Great Britain and the Vatican released statements regarding alien life. British officials have decided to release previously classified documents on UFOs and the Vatican has issued a statement explaining that extra-terrestrials and religion can co-exist (on an unrelated matter: I wish they’d also explain why we always have to put the article “the” in front of “Vatican”). Tue, 20 May 2008 22:14:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_141221516.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_141221516.html The history of the Erie Canal is filled with information that doesn’t seem to fit into a typical category. One such item was gleaned from the life of Paul Murphy, born in Hartland in 1892. Sun, 18 May 2008 21:54:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139215524.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139215524.html Audubon of New York’s Winter 2008 Newsletter reports an 80 percent decline in field sparrows, an 87 percent decline in eastern meadowlarks and a 98 percent decline in grasshopper sparrows in New York state. There were no figures for the vesper sparrows that have long occupied a roadside niche on the back roads of Orleans County. Sun, 18 May 2008 20:56:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139205651.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139205651.html By 1860, with passenger travel settled in favor of the railroads, the next course of business lay in the transportation of freight. New York state had a vested interest in protecting its state owned Erie Canal. Sun, 18 May 2008 20:53:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139205339.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139205339.html Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” Sun, 18 May 2008 20:39:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139204006.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139204006.html In the early 1990s, I was working at a factory in Rochester, and although the hourly wage was relatively low, my co-workers and I were able to work a substantial amount of overtime. Sun, 18 May 2008 20:38:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139203825.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_139203825.html I say a lot of things that I typically don’t mean; things like, “I think I will clean the bathroom,” or “I might actually finish that crocheted blanket before winter gets here,” or even something like, “I’d like to have my own tomato plant.” Tue, 13 May 2008 17:47:00 +0000 http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_134174814.html http://www.journal-register.com/columns/local_story_134174814.html While traveling to my hometown in northern New York last week, I drove through a small rural village that brought back a few memories. While playing in a high school baseball game in that community, I was struck in the ear by a ball that necessitated medical attention at the local hospital.