Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
This Happened To Us! Part II It is January as I write this. Presently, Florida is suffering the longest cold snap ever. Usually, a cold snap is just that: a quick chill. Not so, this winter of 2010. I have counted six mornings now with readings in the 20s and 30s, with more on the way. We’re actually having a winter in central Florida, something most of us came here to escape. I’m not equipped for this. My old mackinaw has long ago been given to the moths. I used my winter gloves to hold... [Read more...]
Dan Reiter
Article Category: Dan Reiter
Letter to the President of the United States February 20, 2010 The Honorable Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: My name is Dan Reiter and I live in Cocoa Beach, Florida. We have a charming little town here, rich in history, culture, and scenery, but poor in most everything else. Once –- a half century ago –- the Mercury and Apollo missions launched from these sands to stir the hopes and dreams of the world. For a shining instant,... [Read more...]
David Sherman
Article Category: David Sherman
Channel of Darkness Many years ago I read the great biographical work “Murrow: His Life and Times,” by A. M. Sperber. Since that time I have owned six copies — each had to be replaced because I kept giving them to journalism majors. Most of these students were specifically hoping for careers in broadcast journalism, and it was my hope that learning more about one of the first, and still the finest, broadcast journalists ever, might inspire them to focus their careers on the pursuit... [Read more...]
By: Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
This Happened To Us! Part I By Rick LaClaire At age eleven I was given a gift which lasted ten years, a subscription to Outdoor Life magazine. Within were a wealth of stellar outdoor writers: Ray Bergman, Byron Dalrymple, Joe Brooks, Jack O’Conner, Stu Apte… I only wish I could be among their number. Their stories were more than entertainment, they were inspiration. Wintertime was a house-bound time in Northern New York, but that monthly arrival of global bloodsport transported me to lands... [Read more...]
By: Dan Reiter
Article Category: Dan Reiter
Marriage By Dan Reiter It happened one idyllic afternoon, over six Valentine’s Days ago. The sunset flooded in through the church windows and shed a dreamlike, coral pink glow over our clasped hands. We recited our vows and donned the rings. I was 26. She, 21. At the reception, a friend of my father’s approached us on the dance floor and said, rather unwittingly, “Cherish it, my boy. This will be the happiest moment of your life!” I thanked him for his gracious words and twirled away to dance... [Read more...]
By: Judy Forney
Article Category: Judy Forney
SAND SIBLINGS By Judy Forney I’ve got a couple of girlfriends, one local and one back in Washington State, who each have a teenage son and daughter who at times… uhm… squabble. Recently I was chatting on line with the west coast girl. She’d HAD IT with her younger brother. She’d typed and sent me a list of “The Idiot’s” most recent transgressions. “You guys,” I clicked back, “need to try mixing a little brotherly/sisterly love in with the hate.” While I... [Read more...]
By: Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
It’s an ugly tree. The leaves are gnawed and shriveled. The branches are bare above the roofline; casualties of Frances and Jeanne. The trunk is twisted and thorny, but sound, and we keep this plant alive anyway. It shades our back porch. I was told you can’t grow them from seed. Oh, sure, they’ll sprout, but they won’t make it. And forget about fruit. These plants are inbred, crossbred and grafted; the trees are sterile if grown from their own seed. No sex organs… No breath of life…... [Read more...]
By: Judy Forney
Article Category: Judy Forney
Do you ever watch the news or read articles in the paper and try to fit your own life into the stories? I mean, I hunt for treasure in junk stores all the time, but I have never found a million-dollar masterpiece hidden under long forgotten Uncle Charlie’s self portrait. And what about sports celebrities who rack up incredibly high scores… even in their spare time? Wow! Well, recently I’d been noticing all the stories about folks having trouble with their homeowner associations or condo... [Read more...]
By: Matt Badolato
Article Category: Matt Badolato
“Here Mrs. Thomas, let me put those waters in the cooler.” “Thanks, Matt.” From up on the dock she handed down a cardboard box full of bottles and snacks, her wide-brimmed straw hat shading her saltwater-tanned face. “I made some sandwiches, one for you, too. Fresh sliced turkey with lettuce on wheat. Got a little jug of rum, too.” “Dang, Mrs. Thomas, you sure know how to fish in style!” I said with a smile. “It sure is a nice morning. Those snook should be hungry with that full... [Read more...]
By: Dan Reiter
Article Category: Dan Reiter
Evolution has a strange, sometimes disturbing way of revealing itself. A species, when faced with a threat to its survival, must either perish or adapt to its changing environment. Usually, this modification process will take thousands of years, but every so often an animal will rise to the challenge in a matter of mere decades… and the transformation can be startling. Just the other day, I was out on the river on my stand-up paddleboard, skirting the periphery of the Thousand Islands, soaking... [Read more...]
