On The Sly

Not that I'm interested, but I accidentally came across an article at the Microsoft website that listed five "off-beat places that singles mingle." The first one was a spelling bee, so I knew that that list would be totally stupid. Another was on the commuter train. Closest we can come to that in the North Country is the CART bus. But that might work. I've never been on one.

Another tip on the list is to take a cooking class. With my luck it would be a male instructor and the class would be full of males looking for a place where singles mingle, and the only thing I'd get out of the class is another five pounds and a recipe for pickle relish.

Some cities have come up with some novel ideas for singles to meet. Like the "Date My Friend Party." That's where one of my friends, a female, invites a lot of her female friends over to her house to meet the single guy in the hopes that one of the forty female guests will hit it off with the guest of honor.

Not that I'm interested, but another novel idea is for a local grocery store to have an evening called "Singles Night." That's where singles mingle at the store for special cooking demonstrations, wine tasting and tips on how to select fresh veggies and fruit.

Continue reading "Where Does a Single Mingle?" »

Posted by Foxy Gagnon at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I'm a jolly good fellow. At least that's what the Chazy Central Rural School seniors sang to me on Friday, my last day of a six-week stint as their substitute English teacher. Chazy's Superintendent of Schools and High School Principal, Kevin Mulligan, concluded the morning homeroom announcements by asking the 54 seniors to report to the lobby of the school. The lobby was my morning post during homeroom time.

There I was face-to-face with my seniors for the last day. Mr. Mulligan led the seniors in the song "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" while I took it all in with a smile. In my 35 years of teaching that was a first!

I didn't have any idea of what I was getting myself into when I was invited to teach at CCRS in the absence of English teacher Kathryn Brown, who had been badly injured in a car accident. The last time I had taught seniors was during my student teaching days in 1970. The schedule called for me to teach three senior English classes, including the Advanced Placement English Literature course, and two classes of seventh grade English.

I figured I could handle the seventh graders. Thirty-five years at Stafford Middle School was enough experience for that job. But those seniors! What would they be like? The first day, during my opening remarks in front of class, I noticed most of them were giving me the hairy eyeball. Who is this old guy with a ponytail? I kept hearing a "tick, tick, tick" while I tried to explain just who Foxy Gagnon is.

Then a little bell rang, and I noticed a small apple timer near my podium. Someone had set three of Mrs. Brown's apple timers - - a little welcoming initiation into Chazy Central. The seniors got a good laugh out of it and I took it with a grin, rather than firing the apples across the room.

Continue reading "I'm A Jolly Good Fellow" »

Posted by Foxy Gagnon at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I've been thinking a lot about food lately. There are probably several reasons for this. I think it started about a month ago when I kept seeing these Red Lobster ads for "shrimp extravaganza" and other tasty seafood dishes. Those closeup shots of shrimp scampi, shrimp-kabobs, fried shrimp, butterfly shrimp, shrimp, shrimp, were just too much for me to handle.

I started cursing the fact that Plattsburgh once had a Red Lobster (and I was a frequent customer!) and we lost it. I wish we could get a franchise back. I know we have a great local seafood restaurant on the Military Turnpike, Mainely Lobster. I've been there many times. But there are just not the myriad choices offered by a Red Lobster.

Just like Olive Garden. I went to Burlington's Olive Garden not too long ago, and it has been on my mind since. That salad! That dressing! Endless salad. It may be my downfall if we ever get an Olive Garden. I've heard rumors that we will have an Olive Garden in Plattsburgh soon. I'll be there on opening night. Anyone want to accompany me?

Continue reading "Food for Thought" »

Posted by Foxy Gagnon at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

When I started my teaching career in the Plattsburgh City School District back in 1970, I was invited to play on their summer softball team in the City Softball League. In those days, I think it was officially called The Gentlemen's Softball League.

It was quite an honor to be invited, since the teachers had won the championship the summer before. I had to pass, though, that first summer, because I was serving my military commitment at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Somehow the team still did very well without me in the summer of '71.

When the summer of '72 rolled around I made my debut with the teachers' team. Baseball had been my strong suit in high school, so I figured hitting that big fat softball would be a piece of cake. How wrong I was. A baseball swing in a softball game will get you nothing but fly balls to the outfied. In softball, if you don't have the power to put it over the fence, you need to hit line drives. That took quite an adjustment.

But even though I only hit about .200 my first season, I had a ball. I also watched some of the top softball players in the North Country, guys who could hit a line drive up the middle with their eyes closed. My teammates Ray Lalonde and John "Nick" Nicotera were two of the best. They could look one way and hit it the other way. If the defense shifted one way, they just waited and poked a line drive to the opposite field.

Continue reading "The Teachers' Softball Team" »

Posted by Foxy Gagnon at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

There must be a fine line between being a collector and being a pack rat. I've always called myself a collector. Many of my friends call me a pack rat. Nevertheless, I've always been interested in collecting something.

At the age of seven I started collecting baseball cards. That's a hobby that never stopped. I still can't resist buying the latest Topps baseball card packs and seeing who's inside. Of course, the price sure has changed. From a penny or a nickel when I was a kid to the current $2.99 for a Topps regular pack of baseball cards.

I also began an autograph collection at the age of 12. I would write to baseball players each weekend, asking for an autographed picture. That's another collection that I continued into adulthood, and, now that I'm almost sixty years old, I have a very valuable autograph collection of such great players as Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Roger Maris and, of course, our local hero, Johnny Podres.

As I kid I also collected comic books for awhile, but never built a very big collection. I also went through a year of collecting stamps. I used to buy stamps from those comic book ads offering "100 cancelled stamps for 99 cents!"

Continue reading "A Collector's Thoughts" »

Posted by Foxy Gagnon at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

We are three weeks into the major league baseball season, so I'm going to step up to the plate and swing for the fences with some early-season observations:

Too many finely-tuned athletes are getting injured. These guys play under the finest playing conditions. Money is no object when it comes to grooming fields. They go through spring training, supposedly to get back in shape after a winter of sitting around. Each team has an expert trainer and assistant, all graduates of notable colleges around the country. Some teams have conditioning coaches, strength coordinators and aerobic instructors.

Yet, here we have players like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriquez pulling muscles with strange names. We have the National League's 2007 Most Valuable Player, Jimmy Rollins, not an ounce of fat on him, on the disabled list with an ankle injury. Alfonso Soriano, who looks like he'd have trouble lifting his suitcase, is on the disabled list with a calf strain. Razzle-dazzle pitcher Dontrelle Willis has a hyperextended right knee. Pedro Martinez is out with a hamstring strain. And the list goes on.

I'll tell you what. A week ago I think I pulled something in my back as I was hurrying down the hallway to the cafeteria. I finished the day, and I'm showing up for work tomorrow. I'll just walk a little slower when it's time for lunch.

Hey, Mickey Mantle could have spent his whole career on the disabled list. Instead, he taped up those swollen knees and hobbled out to center field and ran after fly balls even though his legs were killing him. Players in those days played because if they put up good enough numbers then they might get a raise and not have to work during the off-season. If the numbers were down or even the same, they were in line for a pay cut.

Ever hear of a player today getting a pay cut?

Continue reading "Swinging for the Fences" »

Posted by Foxy Gagnon at 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

To the Catholic community it's a big event when the pope visits the United States. During his six-day visit to our country Pope Benedict XVI will give speeches and concelebrate Mass in Washington, D.C. and New York City. On Sunday he will celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium.

When Pope John Paul II visited the United States, he spent time in Washington, D. C. and New York City, as well. So did Pope Paul VI back in the Sixties. I'm just a little worried that our holy popes might be stuck in a rut. After all, there is a lot more to our country than the White House, the United Nations and Yankee Stadium.

Pope Benedict is the sixth pope in my lifetime. When I was born, the pope was Pope Pius XII. From 1958-1963 it was Pope John XXIII. During my high school and college years our pope was Pope Paul VI. Then, you might recall, we had the short time of Pope John Paul I, who was elected and died in 1978. Pope John Paul II served from 1978-2005, and now Pope Benedict XVI has been our pope since 2005.

Continue reading "The Pope's Visit" »

Posted by Foxy Gagnon at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)