While cruising my facebook feed in utter boredom, I stumbled across this video posted by my childhood friend Meegan; (basically, the prototypical object of teen aged affection and totally untouchable girl-next-door; in actuality across the street and three doors down, if you want to get technical about it.)I usually don’t bother with animal video posts;…
Back when I was a little shaver (around 4), we used to visit my Momma’s best friend’s camp on the western shores of Owasco Lake. Both friends had several kids around the same age, so it was always a lazy summer day hang. The rote routine: Swimming, playing in the woods, macaroni salad, hot dogs…
I AM THE HUMAN MEAT (A Lake Boy Tale) HALLOWEEN 1975 My adolescent rebellion was in full flower by the age of fifteen. I had become the antithesis of all that surrounded me:Re-invented as an anarchist and junior Anti-Christ in training. Who knows how one gets to this point? Nature? Nurture? Raging Hormones? All I…
PARTY TIME (A Lake Boy Tale) Gayle Road is a steeply graded street located on the east side of Skaneateles Lake; on the outer Eastern border but still within the village limits. Lined on either side with relatively modest ranch style homes, the street descends sharply in altitude, curves suddenly to the south at a…
LAKE BOY TALES (Home as a “Reset” Button) I had lunch with a very old friend of mine at the Cedar House Lanes in Skaneateles yesterday. I really love the Cedar House. It’s one of the last bastions of the town I remember growing up in. The rest of it, with the exception of the…
THE LAKE BOY (An Introduction) A few million years ago, mighty glaciers migrated due south, gouging deep lake basins and creating what now look to be topographic claw marks on the face of Central New York. Or maybe it’s backside, depending on your point of view. The Iroquois also named them “The Finger Lakes”. The…
In our little neighborhood on Gayle Road, Fourth of July weekend was very special. It tapped into some real primordial DNA, at least when I was a little kid. On the third of July we would have a neighborhood picnic at our shared beach that would go way beyond my normal bedtime and into the…
THE BOAT LESSONS In the summer of 1975 he was fifteen; lost in the weeds of adolescent rebellion, unbridled anger, and raging testosterone levels with few outlets other than his own manual dexterity. Which clearly wasn’t getting the job done enough to calm his roiling waters. She was nineteen, back from her first year of…
(“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”) My Moms, Linda Rockino, and my Pops, Nick Rossi. were married in 1955. Here’s a little video of Nick explaining how he met Linda. The future was bright for both of them. Linda was barely 21, and Nick was settling in to his responsibilities of…