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Sunday Columns

Poetic Devotions

Letters To You

I’m sure it doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but we don’t write letters like we used to.  I know I don’t.  We phone, email, text, tweet, IM, or whatever it takes to converse in an instant…  There was a time I regularly wrote letters to friends and to my grandmother.  Every week Grammy heard all about my growing pains and insecurities as a teen, all about adventures in my marriage as a farmer’s wife - gardening, learning to can and freeze food for the winter assisted by the gift of her inval
Home, Garden And Other Wonders

Briar Patches And Other Sacred Places

We just celebrated the Christmas that wasn’t -- wasn’t quite normal. To complicate our December life, Kerm and I both managed to be ill at the same time, two weeks before Christmas. We finished none of the usual preparations.There were no frosted roll-out cookies, no toffee or fudge, no “flaky friends” porch decorations, and we were still putting ornaments on the tree the day after Christmas. The house itself was in rather wild disorder and I never did get the dusting even started. Our Swedish t
From Albany

Time To Make Sure Taxpayer Dollars Are Protected

When we  talk about the need to make New York a more affordable state in which to live, work, do business, and raise a family, that doesn’t limit our focus to how much it costs to buy groceries, purchase a home, pay the utility bill, and all of the other myriad expenses that individuals and families face.  Any strategies to make New York more affordable has to address all of the above, that’s for sure, but it also has to include taking a good, hard look at the cost of government -- especially he
Chemung County History

Fun Facts

by Susan Zehnder “I didn’t know that!” For the last few years, The Chemung County Historical Society has printed bookmarks with photos and biographical information about more than 20 different community leaders. Our mission, “to deepen the understanding of and appreciation for our community’s place in state and national history,” inspires us to continue to add more to our collection whenever we can, and we welcome any suggestions. Some of the people and their stories are quite well-known, while
Untethered Mind

Ten Things That You Can Do Today That Will Make You More Productive That 95% Of People

Am I talking nonsense? Well, you’ll know if you try. Experiment with these ideas: Plan your next 30-day challenge. Many of us — myself included — can get overwhelmed by the sheer range of things on offer. Our overwhelm paralyses us. This is why it can be powerful to briefly forget your longer-term plans and narrow down your range. What’s one habit you can commit to over the next thirty days?  There’s nothing quite like limiting your scope and gamifying your life like this to turn up the heat. Le
View From The Hills

"Kids These Days..."

“Kids these days… They’re lazy, they don’t wanna work.” How many times have you heard that, or said it yourself? Though I’m sure each generation has said it about the next since mankind could speak, I’ll admit there’s also some truth to it. Seems like everyone’s holding out for a management position these days. They don’t seem to understand that, in order to get to the top of the ladder you have to step on the first rung. More often than not, you’re gonna have to scrub a few toilets or shovel so
Sean Of The South

Scene From An American Bar

A crowded restaurant-slash-bar. There is a band in the corner, playing music loud enough to threaten dental work. An older man is on the bench beside me, waiting. The hostess tells us it will be a 40-minute wait for a table. Then she hands us both beepers. The older man is quiet. Watching the frenetic insanity of modern life move about. The patrons are mostly young. It’s a bar. So people are happy. They’re doing what happy people from their generation do. They take selfies for no apparent reason
Sean Of The South

New Year's Eve In The Self-Checkout Line

The Old Year is perishing into oblivion. The New Year is crowning, with new blessings to bestow. And I am standing in a self-checkout lane listening to a computer tell me there is an unknown item in the bagging area. There is no cashier around to assist me. At least I THINK you call them “cashiers.” Although they don’t handle much cash anymore. Yesterday, for example, in a big-name retail store, my cashier paged his manager for help because he didn’t know how to make correct change when I asked
From Albany

Will The Stage Be Set For Another Spending Spree?

We will soon be hearing more from Governor Kathy Hochul on where she intends to take this state in the year ahead. Next week’s State of the State message to the Legislature is traditionally a broad outline of a governor’s priorities and vision for the future. Most importantly, it begins setting the stage for what comes next: the adoption of a new state budget which, in the coming months, will be the tallest mountain to climb. On that note, I look forward to continuing this year in my role as the
Poetic Devotions

My Heart Rejoices

Been thinking about the past year that we’ve traveled through all too quickly… while facing a blank slate bright with opportunities ahead. I’ve been the recipient of youthful teaching, while sharing what I’ve learned over a lifetime… too often through difficulties that, in my youth, I never expected to face. But isn’t that how our God teaches us to seek Him and His infinite wisdom… when we know we’ve come to the end of our finite limitations? So, I find it both exciting and cause for concern wit
Sean Of The South

After Fifteen Years...

When I first started writing, nearly 15 years ago, things were different. First off, newspapers were still around, doing their thing. My wife still clipped newspaper coupons. Peanuts, Dilbert, Garfield were alive and well. The Sunday newspaper was still slightly bigger than your average Waffle House. Also, Americans were reading books. Fifteen years ago, 79 percent of us read an average of 16 books per year. Being a writer still meant something to many Americans. Some of us actually aspired to b
Poetic Devotions

My Shepard You Are

Time continues to march forward… whether we want it to or not… and changes happen faster than we sometimes care to admit as another year is already at hand. But it’s all in knowing that God has everything under control… and He knows the plans He’s set in motion for us. It’s all in our trusting Him, our Shepherd. And trust me, it’s a daily learning process; but, then again, you likely already know that, too, just as I’ve learned many times over the years. I struggle with remembering to take life
From Albany

Will It Be Business As Usual For New York State Government?

Above all else this week, I hope this column will find you and your families, friends, and neighbors across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions well and doing your best to have a memorable and meaningful holiday season. Approaching the start of another new year in New York State government, our focus always turns to looking ahead to the debates that await the governor and legislators -- traditionally difficult challenges on education, economic development, environmental conservation, fisc
Investing With Small Potatoes

A Helping And And More

A Helping Hand In my last column I mentioned the importance of keeping a pen and pad nearby while watching financial news. In fact, while writing the column I realized the solution to keeping the income of all twelve months even is easily attained by just adding one or two stocks in the months that are lower than the others. So, I decided to elaborate on the importance of passing on to others these ideas. The words helping hand also recalled a comedian I saw many years ago named Sam Levinson. He
Investing With Small Potatoes

Pen And Pad

This column is about the importance of keeping abreast of the financial media. I continue to watch over five hours of financial news, most of it pre-recorded. I do this because I want to make certain I can go back later should I miss something. Using the DVR is critical because I always have a pen and pad close by and if the screen moves on too quickly, I want to be able to reverse and re-read. I am always on the lookout for new stocks that will increase the balance in my portfolio, especially
Poetic Devotions

Would I?

Christmas is so much more than busy days of shopping, fancy decorations, and Santa. It’s much more than admiring a special baby in the manger with his parents and shepherds. It’s all about the why of his birth, and the hope he brings to our world. But I wonder if I take my faith for granted. I’ve known Jesus and been “in the church” since I was a baby. I have seen God work in my life in special ways, felt Him draw me to His side as my Savior with a peace that passes understanding, and heard
From Albany

New York's Energy Plan Fuels Uncertainty

The State Energy Board released a final “2025 New York State Energy Plan” last week that will now serve as the guidepost for the direction of this state’s energy policies and strategies moving forward. The positive news is that the new plan at least acknowledges what many of us have been saying since before the enactment of New York’s current strategy under the “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act” (CLCPA) enacted in 2019. From the beginning, opponents of the CLCPA, including myself,
Sean Of The South

The Best Christmas Movies

It’s hard to choose my favorite Christmas movie. Each time I try to pick one, I’m afraid I’ll shoot my eye out. There are, of course, obligatory holiday movies which bring to mind one’s parents and grandparents. A period in post-war national history which featured Buicks Roadmasters, Hula Hoops, and pineapple upside down cakes made almost completely of mayonnaise. This era features movies such as “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947); “A Christmas Carol” (1951); and “White Christmas” (1954). Those are
Living In The Past

Remembering Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner as his character, "Meathead" in the iconic 1970's era sitcom, All In The Family Sad News The horrific news revealing the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife is particularly hard on those of us who still see him as “Meathead.” For the uninitiated, the name, when used, floated between being a term of endearment and a label of derision. Fact: For many years in the 1970s, Rob Reiner played the character of “Meathead” in one of the era’s most iconic television programs, “All in the Family.
Untethered Mind

Avoid These Ten Things If You're Sick Of Being Unproductive

As a dude who’s worked for himself for over seventeen years, I had to learn how to be productive without the compelling drive of a boss. I soon realised that the more productive I was with my writing and content, the more successful I became. Even if I’m not always perfect, here are some things I learned to avoid that led to significantly increased productivity in my work: Think about things other than the task at hand. It seems obvious, but I’ve lost days out of months ruminating on stuff I can
View From The Hills

Christmas Songs I Actually Like

A couple of weeks ago I republished an older column about why I think recording any new Christmas music should be banned. Most of you enjoyed that, except for one guy, once upon a time, who reminded me that if I don’t like it, “then don’t listen to it.” As if I’m some kind of musical masochist, subjecting myself to this auditory torture of my own free will. Oh, trust me my friend, those soundwaves will not stimulate the stirrups of my ear canals if I can help it in the least. That said, I actual
Geneaology 101

Document Everything

As you begin your research, document everything, every step of the way.  Keep some paper files readily accessible, but enter data in a genealogy computer program; I have an older Family Tree Maker version.  I also have “tons” of file folders filled with family research data gleaned from online resources and reputable books, emails with fellow researchers, data from visits to or purchased from historical societies, cemetery data from personal trips, etc.  And then there’s the shoebox filled with
Poetic Devotions

Gift Wrapped

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go!”*  We love that old song and the memories it stirs, and I’m sure you just sang that phrase in your mind like I did!  But what does Christmas look like?  Along with hopes for the proverbial white Christmas, we each have special ways to remember and celebrate this joyous holiday. Lights are strung to outline houses, bushes and trees, and even vehicles!  Christmas trees of real or faux evergreen in varying sizes are put up inside the

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