Through the Glass Door

My dad witnessed a robbery at the Credit Union he belongs to last night. It was after 5:30pm when he got to the bank on Hudson Avenue in the town of Irondequoit. As he walked to the door, an Asian man said, "No! Don't Go In There!" My dad thought the guy was a little nuts and kept walking to the door. He noticed things seemed odd and when he looked through the glass door he saw a guy jump over the desk to where the tellers work. He decided at that point to get the hell out of there and started walking towards the Chase-Pitkins Hardware store next door. He turned around and stood behind a pole to watch what happened next. Always on his toes, he managed to get the license plate numbers as two guys ran out of the bank and sped off. Naturally, he had to give info to the police when they showed up, but that was it. We found out this morning in the Local news briefs in the Democrat & Chronicle that the two guys robbing the bank had semi-automatic weapons. They still haven't been caught. I think that's enough excitement for one week!

Graduation of a "Sister"

Matt and I are in Rochester for Janine's high school graduation party. Janine, and her older brother Steven, were like my brother and sister growing up. Since I am an only child, they were nice substitutes. The kind of siblings you could send home or get away from if need be. I ended up babysitting them when I got older so it was even more like having siblings. They were and are good kids. Steven now produces the morning show on 98PXY in Rochester. I like to think he followed in my footsteps after I got involved in broadcasting. He even became music director at our high school radio station, WIRQ, like I had when I was a member. Janine is on her way to SUNY after graduation. I'm not sure which one, but I'll find out later today. It feels odd that they should be grown up now. But then again, we all have to get older. It's better than the alternative.

The View from Above

After September 11, a little memory stuck in the back of my mind about a trip to New York City my dad and I took when I was younger. My parents and I were staying at my Aunt Carol and Uncle Don's place somewhere north of the city. My mom and Aunt went shopping (or something), so my dad took me around the city. I had eaten my scrambled eggs too fast that morning and they decided to make a reappearance on my plate. My dad chalked it up to excitement. I don't remember much about our trip into the city other than eating lunch at some place that had really great hamburgers. It was a sit-down restaurant and the burgers were juicy and big. I really wanted to see the Empire State Building, but my dad decided to take me up to the top of the World Trade Center. This was the tower that was opposite the tower with the radio/tv tower on top. I was pretty confused about the buildings we were in, but thought it was really cool to be up so high. My dad took several pictures of the scenery from the top of the tower and then took a picture of me leaning against the railing, the city behind me. There's also a picture of the sphere that somehow survived the tower's collapse last year. And another of me walking along a fountain, looking out at my dad. I showed them to Matt, who said I should have them scanned. I think I might take them to Wegman's to have copies made. I wonder if my dad has the negatives somewhere. It would be quite a job to find them admist all the photographs and negatives my parents have accumulated over the past 30 years.