Friday, September 29, 2017

Let's Eat! - Sunny's Family Restaurant

I have lived in Lockport my entire life so far, and the one constant thing I remember for all of those years is Sunny's Family Restaurant. While Transit Road seems to constantly change around it, Sunny's has remained exactly the same. That is a testament to how good everything from the food to the service is in this small town restaurant that has seen nothing but stability over the years, while the big names around it come and go.


Thursday, September 28, 2017

These Old Walkin' Shoes: Who Are You?

Who doesn't love a mystery? Any genealogist will tell you, half the fun is uncovering something that you weren't expecting, and we all have those skeletons in the closet despite what grandma says.  Today, I will tell you the story behind the parentage of Sarah Allen, my paternal great-great-great grandmother. Her story was a mystery that took a long time and a lot of hands-on research, but finally the deep, dark secrets were revealed.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

The NFL Just Destroyed Everything It Created

I love watching football. I never let politics ruin my love of watching football. This time of the year is my absolute favorite, and football is a big part of that. So, no, I won't be boycotting the NFL. That is my right. You have your opinion, and I have mine. Neither of our opinions are right, so stop acting like I have to do what you say. I just read the open letter from Taya Kyle. She is the widow of the sniper who was portrayed in the movie American Sniper. She is a wise lady, and I think the NFL could learn from her words.

Soaring With the PowerHawks Week 3

The Niagara Falls PowerHawks are coming home from New Jersey with a tough pair of losses to the Skylands Kings last weekend. They are back in action this Saturday and Sunday with a home and home series against rivals, Roc City Royals. Saturday’s game, at the Lakeshore Hockey Arena in Rochester, will get underway at 8:30pm. Sunday’s contest at the Hyde Park Ice Arena is slated to get underway at 1:00pm.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Roy-Hart Teacher Celebrates Book Release

Whenever I hear of an author’s book release and it’s happening locally, I generally try to find a way to make an appearance and show support for local authors. I always look forward to seeing aspiring writers finally show off their projects to the public. So, when Daniel Mault sent me an invitation on Facebook to his book release extravaganza, I knew that I would be making a trip out to Burt for the event.

Literally the Best Reviews: Window Across Time

Window Across Time -- Cynthia Cotten
Self-Published
120 Pages


A young adult, or middle grade, book is not normally on my reading list, although I have, on occasion, found one or two on my reading list. This week, I found myself reading one from Lockport author, Cynthia Cotten. Window Across Time is a series of vignettes that tell a story set from the same house in the same town across nearly 200 years of its history.

Monday, September 25, 2017

Looking at Movies - IT (2017)

Hollywood has yet to prove to me that it can take a Stephen King story and turn it into an entertaining movie. Stephen King is one of the most brilliant and detail-oriented writers of our time. He sets moods, and then he weaves his story together gradually. There is no way an 800-page book that relies on every page to tell the story can be adapted into a good movie. While movies are simply adaptations to books, they should still be able to stand on their own. With IT, we have yet another King movie that absolutely does not do the story justice, much less the book.


Sunday, September 24, 2017

Niagara Falls Topped 10-4 By Skylands

The woes continue for the Niagara Falls PowerHawks as they were soundly defeated by the Skylands Kings 10-4 on Sunday afternoon in Stockholm, New Jersey. Eric Vanderhoff and Craig Garrigan both scored four goals for the Kings on their way to victory. The pair combined for 8 goals and 6 assists during the penalty-filled game. There were 77 minutes in penalties on 24 infractions between the teams.

Reminiscing: Grandma's Counter

I had a weird vision the other night when I was trying to find some cookies in the house. Now, I’m not normally much of a cookie eater. My kids love them. They eat them all. Sometimes, they bake cookies (they are awesome, trust me) and attempt to leave some for me. A lot of times, I don’t get to them quickly enough and I miss out. I miss out a lot. We don’t keep very many pre-packaged cookies at the house. So, me looking for cookies was very unusual, to say the least.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Skylands Kings Defeat PowerHawks 4-2

The Niagara Falls PowerHawks dropped a 4-2 decision to the Skylands Kings Saturday evening at Skylands Ice World in Stockholm, New Jersey. The same two teams will face off again Sunday at noon at the Skylands Ice World.

September Genealogical Program: Finding Ancestors in Newspapers

Newspapers are a fantastic source of research leads, information and historical context for your family history. The stories of our ancestors' lives, from birth to death and everything in between, can be found in the pages of archived newspapers.

National Heritage Area to Sponsor Old Fort Niagara Field Trips

The Niagara Falls National Heritage Area is proud to announce its sponsorship of field trips for school districts to Old Fort Niagara’s “Fridays on the Frontier” program for the third year in a row. “Fridays on the Frontier” are interactive hands-on education programs for fourth and seventh graders that immerse students in the experiences of people who lived in the Niagara region during the American Revolution. The programs will take place every Friday during the month of October 2017.

These Old Walkin' Shoes: Why Can't We Be Friends

When and how does a friendship start to fade away? When you’re young and are surrounded by your friends, you make claims that you’ll be friends forever. Sometimes, that happens. There are people who are genuinely friends for life. Other times, those friendships slowly erode over time. It’s like you’re friends one day and not the next. It’s more of a matter of longer and longer times between encounters until they just don’t occur anymore.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Let's Eat! - Molinaro's Ristorante

Molinaro's Ristorante is one of those places that kind of snuck up on me and then became a part of our family routine. I remember having lunch with my mom at Molinaro's when it was in a house, and then taking the wife to the actual restaurant years later. A pizza place that also has a bakery is a dangerous combination for anyone afraid of excess. What makes it worse is that both sides of Molinaro's are usually the best there is in the city.

Literally the Best Reviews: Beartown

Beartown -- Fredrik Backman
Atria Books
432 Pages

It’s fairly obvious from reading our website that I like to read, and I really like hockey. So, when I found a book that was about hockey, it was destined to be a part of my reading list. Add to that the fact that the author, Fredrik Backman, also wrote one of my favorite, recent books, and you have an equation for another fantastic book review.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Soaring With the PowerHawks Week 2

The Niagara Falls PowerHawks dropped a pair of games to the Jersey Shore Wildcats over the last weekend. With one win and three losses, the Hawks sit in third place in the Northeast Division. The team heads to New Jersey for two games against the Skylands Kings on Saturday and Sunday. Niagara Falls next has a home game on October 1st, against the Roc City Royals.

Monday, September 18, 2017

Looking At Movies - David Gilmour: Live at Pompeii (2017)

During his "Rattle That Lock" tour in 2016, David Gilmour decided to revisit the amphitheater in Pompeii where his band Pink Floyd made a promotional film in 1971. The film lives on as a cult classic, and Gilmour decided to commemorate his return with a new motion picture from the Pompeii amphitheater. The catch with David Gilmour: Live at Pompeii is that it only played in theaters for one day. While the blu-ray will be available later in September, this was definitely a movie that was made to be seen on the big screen.

Reminiscing: The Times They Are A-Changin'

I had two different kids ask me two questions over the last week that just had me shaking my head. I’m sure that every parent wonders how their children can be so clueless sometimes, but with the world changing more and more quickly each day, kids probably say the same thing about their parents. Still, it was the simple questions this week that had me perplexed.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

PODCAST: Niagara Falls PowerHawks vs Jersey Shore Wildcats 9-17-2017

The Jersey Shore Wildcats shut out the Niagara Falls PowerHawks 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.


Jersey Sweeps Weekend With 2-0 Victory

It took until the six-minute mark of the third period before either the Niagara Falls PowerHawks or the Jersey Shore Wildcats were able to break the scoreless tie. Unfortunately for the hometown PowerHawks, it was the first of a pair of goals the Wildcats scored in the period on the way to a 2-0 victory Sunday afternoon.

PODCAST: Niagara Falls PowerHawks vs Jersey Shore Wildcats 9-16-2017

The Jersey Shore Wildcats Shoot Down the Niagara Falls PowerHawks 5-3.


Saturday, September 16, 2017

Jersey Shore Defeats Niagara Falls 5-3

The visiting Jersey Shore Wildcats took the first game of a two game series against the Niagara Falls PowerHawks at the Hyde Park Ice Arena Saturday evening. The Wildcats skated off the ice with a 5-3 victory. The same two teams will face off Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm in Niagara Falls.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Soaring With the PowerHawks Week 1

The Niagara Falls PowerHawks will be back in action this weekend at the Hyde Park Ice Arena as they take on the visiting Jersey Shore Wildcats. Saturday’s contest will faceoff at 6:00pm, while Sunday’s game will get underway at 1:00pm. Both teams are coming off splits in their opening weekend matchups.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

And The Battle Rages On . . .

We are not quite two years removed from December 27, 2015, and I am still here. Ever since that day, my wife and I have been in a battle with stage four kidney cancer that we both know we are eventually going to lose. Well, I will do most of the losing. But, for now, we have an oncologist who keeps telling me to make long-term plans and take better care of myself because I am going to be around for a while. So the wife and I have long-term plans and I have dropped a decent amount of weight over the past month. But today is scan day, and the world stops for scan day.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Live In Concert - Roger Waters (KeyBank Arena - Buffalo, NY - September 9, 2017)

I am a lifelong Pink Floyd fan, but I have never been fond of Roger Waters. Yes, he wrote the lyrics that acted as part of the soundtrack to my entire life, but he is kind of a jerk. In order to be able to write the kinds of songs he writes, he has to be egotistical to a certain extent. But Waters, in my opinion, always took the ego part to an extreme. He went so far as to talk poorly about deceased former bandmate Rick Wright in an interview earlier this year. But when that jerk gets on stage, he knows exactly what he is doing.

Monday, September 11, 2017

PODCAST: PowerHawks vs Vengeance September 9th

Listen Again. Niagara Falls PowerHawks vs Pittsburgh Vengeance September 9th

PODCAST: PowerHawks vs Vengeance September 10th

Listen to the game after the game. The Niagara Falls PowerHawks vs Pittsburgh Vengeance Sunday, September 10th, 2017

Pittsburgh Gets Vengeance 8-4 Over PowerHawks

The Pittsburgh Vengeance answered Saturday evening’s 5-4 loss with an 8-4 drubbing of the Niagara Falls PowerHawks Sunday afternoon. Led by Lucas Kirk, who netted four goals, the Vengeance were able to take two points back to Pennsylvania on opening weekend of hockey in the NA3HL.

Sunday, September 10, 2017

PowerHawks Debuts With 5-4 Home Victory

The Niagara Falls PowerHawks kicked off the NA3HL 2017-18 hockey season with a 5-4 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Vengeance at Hyde Park Ice Pavilion Saturday evening. In their first game in Niagara Falls after moving from Lockport in the off-season, The Hawks drew an attendance of over 250.

Friday, September 8, 2017

Let's Eat! - Sub Delicious

I don't allow the opinions of others to sway my reviews, because I don't feel that is fair to the restaurants. When I write my opinion, it is my opinion. I say this because Sub Delicious has kind of a polarizing reputation in Lockport. People seem to either love or hate Sub Delicious, but I am able to find a happy medium that comes from years of experience with eating their food.


Monday, September 4, 2017

REMINISCING: The Kids Are Not (Card)Board

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated. Part of it is the fact that I’m still in vacation mode. I tried my best to keep it going while I was gone, but I was on vacation. I really didn’t feel like writing, and who wants to read about that? So, I figured I’d get back to it when we got home. Well, we’ve been home for a week, and this is the first day that I’ve actually written anything. While part of it was being stuck in that mindset, the other part was the unsettled feeling around the house as we all struggled to use one bathroom. That will be in its own story just a bit later.

Sunday, September 3, 2017

Lockport Rallies Around The Displaced Pets Of Texas

Just some of what was collected.
On Saturday September 2nd, two trucks from Rescued Treasures out of Rochester, NY rolled up to the Lockport PetSmart to make good on a promise made earlier in the week. Rescued Treasures is an animal rescue organization that is going to Texas to assist in rescuing and tending to displaced animals throughout the region of Texas battered by Hurricane Harvey. Niagara's Watercooler teamed up with Rescued Treasures to collect supplies the effort will desperately need for their mission, and the pets supply drive was a complete success.

Defiant Monkey Improv September 6th

Defiant Monkey Improv will perform their live "Master of Improv Comedy Show" at the Kenan Center Taylor Theater at 7:00pm on September 6th, 2017.  The Kenan Center is located at 433 Locust St, Lockport, NY.  Over an hour of live comedy improv presented by Karen & Andy – The First Couple of Comedy! Admission is $10.

Friday, September 1, 2017

Let's Eat! - Wide Waters Drive-In

It is impossible to talk about Lockport restaurants and not talk about Wide Waters. It has been in business for as long as I can remember, but it has had some new owners in recent years. The new owners have added a lot to a place that people already loved, and now Wide Waters is becoming a gathering place for the community with its concert series. What about the food? You do not stay in business as a restaurant in Lockport without some awesome food.