Shaken, Not Stirred

Posted inBaltimore, Columns

Sometimes you hear news which you know really doesn’t affect the world too much, but makes you stop and pause because of how it affects your world.

That’s how I felt a couple of weeks ago when one of my oldest friends in the world posted that the place where we worked at teenagers had closed its doors for good.

From the fall of 1984 to early 1992 (off and on, of course), I worked at Oasis, one of the permanent kiosks in Baltimore’s Harborplace. We sold fresh lemonade, Italian ice and plenty of other drinks, making the shop pretty popular on hot summer days.

One of my neighbors – the father of Paul, the guy who told me about the closing – started the business with a friend of his. That connection helped me get the job when I turned 16. I already knew most of the crew either from growing up or because my sister worked there so it made sense.

Paul’s family eventually got out of the ownership side, but I had plunged full long into the Oasis culture by then. I worked there year-round during high school, during all my breaks in college and even picked up a bunch of hours there when I found myself out of a job a year after college.

In fact, Oasis was my last job before I moved to Hanover to work for the paper more than 20 years ago. It’s kind of a bridge between my time in Baltimore and the life I have now.

Falling Down

Posted inColumns, Making an Idiot Out of Myself

The same thing happens each year. My theatre friends try to goad me into auditioning for a musical. I remind them I can’t sing or dance. The show passes by, only for the same cycle to repeat six months or so later.

If I had only brought a video camera with me to the York Ice Arena last weekend, I might have convinced them for good that I don’t have the grace for that kind of performance.

I headed over to that facility to cover an arena football game for the York Daily Record. I love getting to experience new things and had never covered the indoor variety of the sport.

As is my custom, I checked out the concession stand at halftime. The visiting team from Harrisburg had taken a huge lead so I pretty much knew how my story would go at that point. Why not enjoy a soft pretzel?

That didn’t cause me any problems, but the action after my snack did. I went to go throw away my trash, making my way across the bleachers to the nearest trash can. As I stepped overtop one row of stands to the next one down, something happened.

Regular Guy’s Afternoon Off

Posted inBaltimore, Baseball, Columns

I think everyone has wanted their own Ferris Bueller moment. You know, the day when you simply throw all your cares away and grab life by the scruff of the neck instead of going through your daily business.

That didn’t happen last week, but I did indulge myself in some of the movie character’s shenanigans. I went to a noon-time baseball game down in Baltimore.

The whole escapade bore little resemblance to what you see in the movies. I arranged for the afternoon off well in advance, I didn’t go with any friends, and I certainly did not tool around in a priceless sports car on my way to Oriole Park.

I didn’t even catch a foul ball.

But I did enjoy a warm, sunny day, eat a couple of hot dogs and savor an adult beverage. I also ran into two old friends and caught up with them.

That beats a day of work in my book.

Loud Clothes and Bad Jokes

Posted inColumns, Theater

I have spent much of the past few weeks on stage at the Hanover Little Theatre. Actually, my participation in “The Fox on the Fairway” took much more time than that, but I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining.

I don’t know why because that’s what I will end up doing anyway.

The whole experience thrilled me. I once again got to work with an incredible group of people while putting on a very funny play and providing lots of people with affordable local entertainment.

But I have a bone to pick with some of those in the audience.

A ‘Hunk’ of Nostalgia

Posted inColumns, TV

Because I grew up with seven older siblings, I developed a great appreciation for classic television.

I have great memories of the shows I grew up with – “ChiPs,” “Three’s Company,” and the Saturday night tandem of “Love Boat” and “Fantasy Island” – but I also cut my comedy teeth on the “Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Gomer Pyle, USMC,” and “Leave it to Beaver.”

Thanks to the magic of Netflix and other streaming services, shows like those continue to have a life. Since I have greater productivity with background noise, I have spent some time recently listening to the antics of Wally and the Beav as I get stuff done at work.

More often than not, I bristle when I hear people long for the good old days. I love nostalgia, but I think we need to find a way to balance that feeling with the understanding that we cannot stop things from changing.

That said, I have learned some lessons from the folks in Mayfield that I think we can apply to our lives today.

Turn TV Good Again

Posted inAmerica, Columns, TV

We have a problem, people. A problem with our television sets.

Actually, I feel no animosity toward the sets themselves. The developments in television technology never fail to astound me, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

But the things that appear on my screen have started to bum me out more and more. I have always kind of felt this way, but the whole thing turned very clear when I saw a promo for a new show starring Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte.

Those unfamiliar with Mr. Lochte’s work might have trouble telling the difference between clips of his show and a Saturday Night Live skit. The whole thing looks incredibly awkward and painful, mainly because Lochte is about as smart and engaging as the goggles he wears in competition.

But for some reason, folks have decided that we need to see a show following him around as he tries to market himself, meet women and create absurd catch phrases. And to make things worse, some folks have decided they want to watch this.

I’m a Girl Scout

Posted inColumns

Over the summer, I made a decision I never would have predicted for myself.

Some peer pressure played a role. I had already done some things which made the final step a lot easier, but that didn’t make me less nervous as I reached the point of no return.

I joined the Girl Scouts.

The whole thing started last winter when my daughter’s troop needed parent volunteers for an event. I said I could help, but ran afoul of the rules which say chaperones need to be registered Girl Scouts.

I didn’t blame the troop leader or the organization as a whole. People have to be vigilant these days, and I didn’t expect an exemption even though most of the parents in the troop know me.

My wife had registered with Girl Scouts exactly for these kinds of situations, but we found she had more and more conflicts with the times they needed chaperones. Because of volunteering at school and officiating wrestling, I had all the necessary clearances. I just needed to register.

Post Office Memories

Posted inCollege, Columns

I loved my college years for many reasons. I didn’t have a lot of responsibility, I learned a ton of things, plus I made some of the best friends you could ever imagine.

But one benefit of those four years at Allegheny College which I don’t always appreciate is my familiarity. This came back to me recently when the alumni office reached out to people like me.

The building which housed the campus post office underwent renovations in recent years to become a new alumni center. We recently received an e-mail giving us the opportunity to win the door to the post office box we had in college.

Mmmmmm, Pi

Posted inColumns, Computers

As a kid, I didn’t really eat pie very often. When we had dessert, I most often went for cake or ice cream. Or brownies. Or some combination of those. Or all of them.

Regardless, I have developed an appreciation for pie later in life. I will never turn down some warm apple pie or a decadent slice of key lime pie.

I have found a new kind of pie I want to try recently: raspberry. But you can’t eat this kind of pie. I have bought a Raspberry Pi, a mini-computer designed to teach students how to code and explore the world of technology.

Time for The Brians

Posted inColumns, Movies, The Brians

Each year, people analyze the quality of the field vying for movie awards. They proclaim whether it’s a “good year” for The Oscars.

I think 2012 will go down as one of those years which people will say that the field for The Brians – my yearly awards for the movies I see in the theater – didn’t have a lot of depth, but it had plenty of quality.

Seven movies have qualified for the 2012 edition of the awards, five fewer than last year. The nominees are “Argo,” “Skyfall,” “21 Jump Street,” “The Lorax,” “Wreck It Ralph,” “Fun Size” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.”

As you can tell, the majority of my movie attendance came with my daughter, not my wife, in 2012. I don’t really know why. I guess we just had a busy year and never found huge motivation to see the many movies we considered, but didn’t seem worthy of a night out.

Looking back at the 2012 releases, I think “Lincoln” really ranks as the only regret. Probably “Ted” as well, but everything else we considered didn’t push my buttons. Far too often, we simply figured we could watch the latest romantic or stupid comedy on Netflix.

I guess that makes this year’s winners even more special. They had that quality which convinced my lazy and cheap self to actually go outside and interact with other people.