Oz Legacies

Nature, and the relative purity and simplicity of it, is very alluring. Beauty abounds in it, and, in short, nature sells… Big time.

With the SUNY Oswego annual reunion for 2016 having just occurred, I thought it might be appropriate to take a portion of a chapter from  my upcoming  “Memoirs” book devoted to Oswego State, and highlight that for this column.

"You've got to pick a pocket or two" the old song from the Broadway show “Oliver” goes. If you wanted to advance in Charles Dickens 19th Century London, especially in the underclass of orphans and vagrants, that's the only way you could survive... Picking pockets.

We have three, count ‘em , three nuclear power plants within a stone’s throw from the City of Oswego. They have been there for forty years or more, and have operated safely and efficiently. They have provided needed jobs and tax revenue to the economy as well. They have become an important part of the lifeblood of the community, and the community has been very accepting of the nuclear industry, in contrast to other communities in other parts of the state and nation.

Old men love to tell stories. I know that because I am gradually becoming an old man, and find myself of late rambling on with stories and pithy sayings that I think make an important point. And hopefully, it is true that the older you get, the wiser you get.

Here is another excerpt from my upcoming autobiography/memoir which will be published in January of 2017. This article deals with my run for the assembly in 1974. I lost. But I learned a great deal in the process. Here is a shortened version of the account:

Communication is important. Words are important. Choosing which words to use, and which ones not to use when discussing the issues of the day, does matter. Listening to the viewpoints of others with whom we do not agree is also a critical part of the process.

The recent rapid fire demise of Carrie Fisher and then her mother, Debbie Reynolds, hit home with me. I was deeply affected. It was also seriously felt by my fellow aging boomers in a profound way.

Five years ago, when I turned 65, I wrote a column about that milestone event. My conclusion then was that while my plane was still flying, the runway was getting shorter and shorter. What to do, what to do?