Characters

I got a press release in the mail today. Guess it had to happen sooner or later. I just don’t envy the person who answers the call — the empty shoes that he or she will have to fill are enormous. Apparently the Victor Republican Committee is looking for candidates interested in running for “the vacant Town Justice seat left after the death of longtime Judge Edward ‘Marty’ Lyng.” “Longtime.” The word doesn’t even begin to cover it. My first encounter with Judge Lyng was at the close of a case involving an autistic student who faced charges resulting from a difficult experience at Victor High School. It was the first time I was actually impressed by a judge — in fact by anyone connected with the court system. He was smart, he was humble, he was informed, he was decisive — he seemed to be a man with a moral compass, a human being with both a mind and a heart. And neither got in the way of the other. Then I got to meet his mentor, Charlie Rose. (Double my awe.) He, too, seemed ...

Even in life’s brightest and best moments, some people still find a way to act stupid. I covered Victor’s commencement ceremony last Sunday and it was a wonderful celebration for grads and their parents. Seniors crossed their high school finish line and stepped out into the world. Parents ushered their kids into the next phase of their lives with pride, nostalgia and a lot  of eye-dabbing. The grads behaved well. No one pulled any pranks or launched beach balls over the crowd during the ceremony. It was a good day. Then came the parking lot. Steamy heat from a blazing sun compounded the tension as parents, grandparents, grads and siblings packed into their cars, trucks and vans. A thicket of vehicles edged in the direction of the exit. As I slowly inched my way down the access road toward freedom, I paused long enough to let a car slip in line ahead of me. Why not? We’re all hot. We're all anxious to get out of here. And being polite doesn’t cost anything — i...

It had been a long, hard day in the newsroom. A tidal wave of staff changes, a major shift in job responsibilities, and back-to-back training sessions on new production software and procedures had left everyone pretty much catatonic. Productivity was not at an all-time high. Clear thinking wasn't either. Cue the creative release, and the moderately-funny-but-thoroughly-therapeutic contest above. The characters in the video are two of my nearby cube-dwellers and coworkers. They, like the others in this pressure cooker, continue to push on even as the earth shakes under our feet and chaos spins us in circles. These solitary survivors, united by a common goal, keep moving ahead — morphing, adapting, sweating, laughing, writing, re-adapting, and hoping for the best. This motley crew of nearly-insane but highly capable individuals has earned my respect. I know what it costs to get the job done. To Dave, Dan, Barb, Melissa, Scott, Rachel, Nora, Steve, Allison, Lind...

It's nothing special. It's exactly like hundreds of others all over town, gathering dust in garages, storage sheds, basements and attics. In fact, it's just like the one that's been rusting away in your neighbor's side yard for the last year and a half — nothing more than an ordinary, unimpressive little toy. But for this newsroom staff, that simple toy has risen above its humble station in life to become a friend, a playmate, a confidant, a glorious distraction from deadlines, rewrites, edits, and evolving strategies. Its name is "scooter." Abandoned long ago (one hopes) by a now-grown neighborhood kid, it has been tucked away in dark corner of the newsroom. That is, until one day a few months back, when in a totally unexpected flash of genius, our multimedia director brought it out into the light and climbed aboard. Amid the din of clicking computer keys, ringing phones, chattering voices and pounding presses, he sailed up and down cu...

Left to right (obviously) Rachel, Steve, Scott, Bethany, Dan, Barb, and Ryan, courtesy of my cell phone. Apologies to the others who were there. You'd thank me if you could see the rest of the photos. Once in a great while you run across someone who dares to set aside to-do lists, deadlines and responsibilities and exceeds their literal job description. Against the loud hum of "important activity," they still hear the faint sound of their own beating heart and remember who they really are and what they were created to do. Recently my newsroom coworkers and I were the grateful beneficiaries of an unexpected gesture by one such person. It was a piping hot lunch — for a crowd — delivered in the middle of a crusher day. No reason. No explanation. Just because. My colleagues blinked in disbelief at first, and then swarmed like they had just won the lottery. They had. This lunch — it wasn't a transaction between entities, it was a connection among people...

Today my Starbucks-addicted daughter and her friend strayed into a local Tim Hortons. The two got an unexpected and sweet surprise when they ran into an older couple they had never met before. (A — Why did they stray from Starbucks? and B — What age are they calling "older?" I'm hoping the couple was at least 10 years my senior. It's the only way the story works for me.) The man said he wanted to give them something, and he pulled out these two little shirt shapes made out of dollar bills. He said to them, "Now you will never be broke and will always have a shirt," and told them to dream big. One gesture — Couldn't have taken more than 2 minutes. Cost a total of $2. And now these girls will have 2 tiny momentos tucked in their wallets that will bring a smile to their faces for who knows how long. Each time they see them, they'll remember the day when two people they never met before were kind, and sweet, and gave them something better than...

These days I write for a living — a very small living. But every once in awhile I create something pointless and seasonal just to satisfy my eyes which are so tired from squinting at letters on a computer screen... My heart feels better for a short while. Then I get back to business and write about some political squabble, fundraiser, or new housing development going up. Good times.