Twenty-five years ago today … in the early morning hours of a previously nondescript Tuesday … we were attacked. A team of terrorists hijacked four commercial planes and flew them into highly-populated areas. Thousands of innocent men and women died that day. Twenty-five years ago. We remember the friends and family members who perished at…
Read MoreAll articles filed in Reflection
Rest in peace, Dolly Parton and the Blue Note Record Shop
Two treasures were called to glory yesterday. One was a singer-songwriter and philanthropist. The other was a business who influenced my life. First, let’s talk about Dolly Parton. A woman who made a career from her childhood memories and her faith and her talent, a woman who created tremendously popular songs and movies – yet…
Read MoreMemories of Goldmine
Goldmine magazine was one of my most fruitful and longest-lasting freelance writing gigs. I wrote for the music magazine from approximately 1996 to 2012, and it allowed me the opportunity to interview some of my favorite artists and musical influences. Today, I understand that the current holding company that produces Goldmine has laid off its…
Read MoreThe Cohoes Falls and your minute of zen
I live two miles away from the Town of Cohoes. At one point in time, Cohoes was a bustling factory town, where the nearby waterfall powered several mills and factories. The mills are now apartments and lofts, but the waterfall is still there. I’ve photographed the waterfall many times, but usually the water flow is…
Read MoreHockey sticks outside the door #GavinStrong
I saw it first when the Hamilton College men’s hockey team posted a photo on Facebook. Specifically, this photo. And I know what this means. And after some research … I found out the person for whom those sticks wait outside. Gavin Mosher was a Clinton, New York teenager, a student at Clinton High School…
Read MoreA few minutes of recalibration
I am a survivor of multiple forms of abuse. Between two sets of parents and step-parents, I was taught the wonderful lessons of physical assault, emotional punishment, and marginalization. It was a mental branding that affected my teenage and adult years. Even now, anything that personally happens equates to me not only taking it personally,…
Read MoreI wish we had songbirds
Back when I was in a relationship, I would help my girlfriend take care of the many beautiful songbirds that visited her backyard garden. I would purchase hot chili bird seed (squirrels hate it, but birds love it), and the feeder would be packed with visiting goldfinches and blue jays and cardinals and nuthatches and…
Read MoreNature at 8¢ per bottle
Yes, I go through a lot of soda bottles. Diet colas, Sugar Free Red Bulls, I’m guilty and unashamed. And like a good New Yorker, once my recycle bin is full, I bag up the empties and take them to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands. Let me explain. Originally I would take the…
Read MoreAllen’s Day 2026
Today is a sad anniversary. It’s the moment when death touched me and nobody prepared me for it. On February 20, 1970, my baby brother Allen – just three years young – was critically injured in a single-car crash in Rensselaer County. My maternal grandfather hit a tree; Allen (who was not belted in) went…
Read MoreA personal memory of the Rev. Jesse Jackson
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, an unwavering civil rights activist and two-time Presidential candidate, has been called to glory. He was 84. His commitment to equal rights and humanity was unparalleled. And even into his final days, he still spoke for justice and faith. He came into a broken world, and did his best to help…
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