Took the family for a walk around the Marilla Reservoir in Bradford yesterday.
Despite being 65 degrees with a warm breeze, there’s still a slushy, punky, layer of ice on the lake!
I love my dogs.
I love the way Penny assumes that tying my shoes actually means “Come lick my face.”
The way Lincoln howls mournfully in his sleep… long and lugubrious… calling his ancient wolf brothers to the hunt… or rather to a warm life of ease… complete with head massages, biscuits, and naps by the furnace.
In the winter, Penny’s nose turns pink, and in the summer black. Her winter feathers curl on her chest like ringlets.
Their loyalty knows no end. These canines we see, designed and bred to please man… are more than just well bred beasts. They are friends.
February 25, 2012
by Josh Hatcher Media 0 comments
Here’s the rub – i can’t give it up completely – because I use social media EXTENSIVELY as a part of my Creative Marketing Solutions business.
So my deal is I’m not “Logging on” unless it’s to deal with a problem, to set up a client’s social networking accounts, etc.
I will POST on facebook from my Hootsuite account, (which I love and highly recommend) but I’m not delving into the comments, the newsfeed, and mind-melting drama.
This time that I’ve spent so far NOT browsing on facebook has reminded me of a couple things.
A) We as human can be really negative. I can’t tell you how many times I fought the temptation to post mean nasty complaints as though airing dirty laundry would make me feel better.
B) It’s up to US to make changes. Because I’m not plugged into all the facebook political debates – I’m reminded how little it really matters. YES. I think the political process is important and in need of reform. But more importantly – MY LIFE is important and in need of reform. We ALL need to tackle “America’s problems” by starting to tackle OUR OWN PROBLEMS! We all need to be more responsible with or money, we need to be better stewards of our time. We need to take care of our bodies. We need to LOVE our families and friends.
We could go on facebook and complain about our spouse – but how much more effective would it be to log OFF facebook and invest some time with our spouse?
We could complain on facebook about all the nasty additives in our food. But what if we planted a garden, or located a local farmer who sells organic and humanely raised meat and veggies? and then LEARNED TO COOK IT OURSELVES?
We could complain about our economy – but what if we committed to live our lives in such a way where we manage our money, and have a GOAL of putting people to work (even part time – or even offering people odd jobs – or even just shopping responsibly in such a way that allows small businesses to thrive?)
We could complain about the government – or we could vote (and get involved) to change it!
Two more things I’ve learned from fasting facebook?
1. the things that matter aren’t on facebook
2. i really miss facebook.
February 10, 2012
by Josh Hatcher Media 0 comments
Just in time for Valentine’s Day
Five Cheap Date Ideas from Joshua Hatcher
1. Go for a walk downtown. Remember walking? It’s where you put your foot on the ground, and then the other foot. Take your camera, snap some pictures next to some neat architecture. Duck into an alley for a smooch. Find a bench to sit on and watch OTHER people – making up the conversations they have with each other. Holding hands is required. Cost – $0
2. Go to the Library. Stop by the Periodicals (library speak for magazines) and look through some magazines together. You don’t have to read the articles – just look at pictures, and let them start discussions. Grab a dictionary – and look for a word that you’ve never heard before. Ask them for a schedule of events before you leave – libraries often have free programs to attend – book talks, poetry readings, petting zoos – maybe you’ll get ideas for your next free date! Cost – $0
3. Picnic at the park. Make some soup. Soup is cheap. Put it in a thermos – or a tupperware container and bring it to the park to eat it together. Wintertime? Bundle up- but it will be a short date. Bring some stale bread for the squirrels.
Cost – $soup $stale bread $body heat.
4. Cook Dinner Together. If you have kids – get rid of them for the night. If you ARE kids – find a place that you can cook dinner together. If you stop by the grocery store in the morning – you can snag a couple of steaks that are ALMOST about to “expire” for REALLY cheap. You can make hot dogs too – or grilled cheese.
Making your special meal together is fun, cheap. and can be very romantic.
Cost – $10 max
5. In-Drive Theatre – (instead of Drive-In) – Grab your laptop, your portable DVD player – your smartphone – or borrow one if you don’t have one – Rent a movie – and drive to a deserted parking lot. Bring some popcorn or movie theatre treats.
Then Watch for movie in the backseat of your car. You can even park in your driveway. While it’s technically “parking” – you might want to make sure that you’re not going to get embarrassed if a cop with a flashlight comes knocking on the window.
Cost – $5 or less.
As I look back on my high school days, I remember many great memories with many great friends.
But for some reason, the adventures I had with Frankie Bruzzi are the ones that make the best stories.
Whenever we go camping, my children love to hear the mishaps of Frankie and their dad.
Frank and I were co-section leaders for the saxophone section in the marching band. We would frequently carpool together to school and band practice – and since Frank had his own truck, he usually was the one that drove.
We had stopped at Sheetz and got our typical after band practice snack – a bag of Snyder’s Picadilly Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips – Mountain Dew – and a pair of Tijuana Mama pickled sausages.
As we rounded the curves into Burtville, I finished my hot sausage – and raised the plastic pouch to my lips, sucking down the red vinegar, and erupting in a huge “AH!” worthy of a Coca-Cola commercial.
Frankie asked, “Is that good?”
Of course it was good. It was extremely spicy, extremely salty, and extremely sour.
So Frank followed suit, and inhaled his leftover spicy vinegar.
Unfortunately, having not honed his taste buds for such extremes, Frank’s palette decided to reject the pickled goodness.
Gag. Cough. “Josh, take the wheel!”
Then the cool autumn breeze whipped into the cab as Frank, maintaining his highway speeds, rolled down the window, and leaned his entire torso out of the truck.
I frantically tried to maintain control of the truck, while Frankie expelled every last bit of his Tijuana Mama all over Route 6, all the while keeping his foot on the gas pedal.
“I told you to take the wheel!” Frankie yelled, still spitting and hacking in the wind.
“I’m trying, I’m not used to driving from this side of the road!” I hollered back. I was simultaneously frightened for my life and laughing hysterically.
Frankie recovered and pulled back into the car, still coughing and swigging Mountain Dew in an effort to clear his pallet, while scolding me for not warning him of the intensity of the Tiujana Mama juice.
I borrowed some of Robert Lyman’s books on Roulette History and interesting stories. I thought that since there are a lot of locals out trying to kill deer with bows and arrows – this story might be interesting!
Boy Kills Deer with Shoe – circa 1845
George Wiederich was a pioneer boy living in Roulette. In his time, deer were constantly eating farm crops, as they do now. One day, he saw a deer poaching his family garden. It is recorded that he killed it with the nearest weapon he could grab – a heavy shoe.
From “Foridden Land: Strange Events in the Black Forest” Volume 1 – by Robert R. Lyman
While were on vacation this summer, I spent some time with my kids in a hotel pool.
There were no life-guards on duty – and we were having a blast. Having contests of holding our breath – jumping off the edge of the pool together – letting the kids hold onto my back while I swam as fast as I could.
We didn’t rough-house, or drown anyone – or even run on the wet pool apron.
I honestly hadn’t even noticed the lack of lifeguards.
But I expressed my discontent. I don’t want to sour my kids on America. I don’t want to make them resentful of our government – but I truly believe the system is broken, and I wanted to give them a chance to hear my thoughts on it, and to see what their thoughts were.
We were sprawled out on the lawn next to the mammoth capital dome, enjoying our picnic lunch, and discussing politics. I explained that it feels to me like the government has been influenced by lobbyists and corporate greed.
And somewhere along the line – the government has started to be more concerned about “safety” than about “freedom.” There will always be a delicate balance between the two – but we’re definitely at the furthest point of that pendulum.
Just as I was explaining my frustrations, two white haired bureaucrat looking gentlemen started making their way across the lawn, headed straight for our little picnic.
My six year old said, “SHHH! Dad. The politicians are coming right toward us!”
I said, “Shiloh, hunny, we still have freedom of speech. They can’t do anything to me.”
My twelve year old daughter responded, “I don’t know dad, that briefcase he’s carrying looks huge.”
We had a long laugh, rolling in the grass and enjoying the shade of those ancient oak trees before we made our way back to the hotel. I still didn’t feel like my kids really understood what I was trying to say…
and as we entered the hotel pool, I realized an analogy they could understand.
“Kids, you know when we normally go swimming, there are life guards there right?”
“Yeah, dad.”
“You know that we have to obey and respect those life guards, and that they are at the pool to keep us safe, and to rescue us if we are drowning, right?”
“Yup.”
“Do you know how sometimes the life guard blows his whistle at you and tells you to WALK when you really weren’t running?”
“Oh, yeah!”
“Or remember the time that we got yelled at because we jumped off the deep end holding hands?”
“Yeah! And when the lifeguard wouldn’t let me hang on your back!”
“The next question – is have you enjoyed the past three days of swimming without a life guard? We’ve had a little more freedom, haven’t we?”
And it all started to click. It’s GOOD to have a government who wants to keep us safe – but often that same government can be a bit like a big-headed life guard – and we struggle back and forth with the balance of freedom and safety, while they enjoy the power of their whistle and authority.
I can’t say that I have the answers. Obviously we need rules and we need order to keep our country safe, strong, and healthy. Obviously we need government to make and enforce those rules. And citizenship involves a reasonable obeisance to those rules. But we need to be active in that process if we want to keep government in check. We need to speak out against the things that we see that are unjust. We need to engage our government, and hold them accountable to the constitution.
I’m not recommending that we go running along the pool deck -
but it may be time for a well-placed cannonball into the pool, so that the life guards can get a little bit wet.
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Whether it is a mass market mower you bought from wal-mart, or a top of the line unit purchased from a dealership, BG’s Engine Clinic has the skills, the experience, and the dedication to provide top quality repairs and service for almost anything.
The Court of Angels in Smethport will be the location for this year’s Bridal Blitz and Fashion Show on October 15th. The event will feature local businesses and home based companies to local residents preparing for weddings.
Event planner Jen McDonald of Duke Center says, “I know many people travel outside of the area to larger cities when planning for a large party or a wedding, not knowing who or where to find local assistance.” She hopes that by inviting local merchants, to encourage wedding shoppers to think local, “The Bridal Blitz is a way for people to get together and show off their talents, and trades as well as a way for local people to come and find out who is in the area that would love to help them save time and money on their event. “
The event is free and open to the public, which according to McDonald, is something unique, “Most Bridal events force a pre-registration and charge a fee just to attend.”
The Fashion show will feature models displaying various wedding dresses and tuxedos, as well as multiple floral displays.
“We want to help people make their dream wedding possible,” says McDonald, who hopes the Bridal Blitz will help people plan their dream wedding – but, she says, even the perfect wedding can have those little things that go wrong that even the best planning can’t fix, “When my husband and I got married just over fourteen years ago everyone was seated and waiting for the ceremony to begin when we started to line up we found that my sister, one of the brides maids, had forgotten her shoes! Thankfully someone was able to go get them from my mom’s house just in time. We thought for sure she was going to have to stand up there barefoot! “
September 29, 2011
by Josh Hatcher Media 0 comments
I performed in the Port High Marching band years ago – it was some of the best moments of my time at Port High.
I’ll never forget the feeling of cool autumn air – the taste of my saxophone reed, the spring of the grass under my feet. The smell of sweaty band uniforms (that never really were made for tall people) And the tingling, glowing excitement of just having finished a great field show.
Anne Holliday of the 1490 News Blog posted this video of the Port Allegany Marching Gators at the Autumn Classic band competition in Bradford.
Yes, Gators, this is something to be proud of. Great performance! Best I’ve heard out of the Port Allegany Band in many years!
