It’s 9:00 am, Friday morning. I’m at the hospital, waiting for my gastroenterologist Dr. Dreyneaux to perform my colonoscopy and endoscopy, so I expect to receive an anesthetic that will knock me out with the equivalent force of going three rounds with Oscar de la Hoya. The nurse sticks an IV into my right hand,…
Read MoreAll articles filed in Reflection
The Earliest Memory
We don’t remember the moment we came out of the womb. At that point in our life, our brain hasn’t completely grasped the concept of air and light and time and cold. All we can grasp is the feeling of existence. We learn and we grow. And somewhere, maybe around the age of two or…
Read MoreGoing from a Michelin to a Schwinn?
This happened about a week ago, and I’m still trying to figure it all out. It’s Monday night at Brown’s Brewing in Troy. I’m waiting for my upstairs trivia table (#21) to vacate, so that I can get there and have my dinner and wait for my trivia teammates Jeremy and Alexis to arrive. There…
Read MoreWe’re all survivors, you and me.
It has never been easy. Life never is. The perfect life is only a fantasy. Truly the perfect life is what you make of it. What you assemble. What you create. It’s your choice. It’s your decision. But sometimes the decisions work against you. Sometimes your plans go astray, and they’re outside your control. A…
Read MoreSgt Ryan Russell. Badge number 7686.
Toronto policeman Sgt Ryan Russell was remembered yesterday for his bravery and his service. Thousands of policemen and well-wishers showed up at his funeral, and along the procession route – the first Toronto police officer to die in the line of duty in nearly a decade. He gave his life in the protection of others.…
Read MoreTeaching and Inspiration: Remembering Bonnie Diefendorf
There were several teachers at my high school, teachers who inspired and challenged me to never settle for “just good enough.” Eileen Kawola. George Mastrangelo. Peter Balint. Bill Neumann. Ahmad Naqi. Beverly Eisenstadt. Dorinda Davis. Vince Pennisi. Principal Lillian Tillman. Even Big Dave Williams, the toughest hall monitor around. But if I had to select…
Read MoreAnd she went into the bedroom…
Let’s be frank about this. My blog may be many things, but it’s not a dating / relationships blog. It’s neither a foodie blog nor a political blog, which means that I don’t draw three-fourths of the Times Union blog traffic, but I digress. That being said – this is an observational blog. And I’ve…
Read MoreWherever you are, Brother Mark Lull – thanks
Christmas morning, and the Kiev-19 and I are traveling around the Capital District, getting some last-minute Kodachrome shots. My travels took me out to Delmar, where for some reason or another I decided to stop at the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle. St. Thomas the Apostle is a very significant church for my family. …
Read MoreThe Parking Lot Incident
The following blog post you are about to read is true. I only wish the ending could have changed. It’s a few days before Christmas in 2006. The Wal-Mart parking lot at Crossgates Commons was packed with shoppers, and I patiently drove around the parking lot, hoping to find a parking spot that would only…
Read More99 years old… or maybe only 98…
We all have a Grandma Betty. That one grandmother who loved us unconditionally, who we always tried to please, whom we always knew would smile when we did something right, and not punish us too much if we did something wrong. My Grandma Betty was really a Betty. Betty Miller. Born on December 12, 1911…
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Chuck The Writer 
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