………..Like Walter Mitty, I live an exciting life in my head. I conjure up all kinds of situations and adventures mostly when I drive. Inside my head is a fantasy life that has no resemblance to my real life. …….Yet, I persist. Ever the optimist,…
By Mark Patterson I didn’t realize I’d been set up until the fourth or fifth round of “Buzztime,” a then-popular trivia game at that ubiquitous wing joint where rivers of suds wash down dry rub and burgers no thicker than parchment. Having embarked for Boardman-unquestionably…
………..In the past few weeks, the mistrust of Hancock County school system has grown to epic proportions. Whatever trust and faith there had been in both the Board of Education and the Administration was destroyed in one fell swoop with the sudden announcement of the…
by Mark Patterson
And the beat goes on ……Just returned from my granddaughter Maggie’s wedding in California. She is named Margaret after my mom, but Maggie suits her perfectly. The wedding was lovely, the ceremony was held outside on the precipice of a breathtaking view of wine county…
by Mark Patterson Legendary tight-rope walker Karl Wallenda, who took that deadly fall in 1978, once said: “Life is on the wire. Everything else is just waiting.” Had the then- septuagenarian been born a few decades later, he probably would have performed while wielding both…
……Mark your calendars for Nov. 18. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. the Department of Environmental Protection will talk to residents about the presence of “Forever Chemicals” in Chester’s water. Also known as PFA, the chemical is found in non-stick cookware like Teflon and other…
By Mark Patterson Calmly, I sized up the adversary before me. Several protective layers surrounded the targeted internals. Hoping for a quick, bloodless victory, I grasped my foe just above the neck and twisted. To no effect. More determined, I tightened grip on torso and,…
…….I do not like today. The “fall behind” with the clocks has always played havoc with “where am I and what time is it?” I know where I am for sure, but as a very scheduled person, I have to make hard decisions. I eat…