There's nothing to do around here.
How many times have you heard that one?
I know, it's an innocent-enough phrase that escapes the mouths of well-meaning folks when they're bored, or new to the area, or just too tired to get off their duffs to go out there and do something. I hate to hear it.
There is so much to do around here. I'm writing this Tuesday night, barely recovered from a holiday weekend in Central New York that included four full days of activity worthy of note.
Friday night my dear wife Karen and I drove home to Eastwood from our downtown Syracuse jobs as quickly as we could, changed to our Orange-rooting clothes walked and fed he dog, drove to our inexpensive little lot at the bottom of East Genesee Street, grabbed a bite to eat at the Sheraton University tailgate party and made it to our season ticket seats in time for the kickoff against Villanova.
The next four hours were full of ridiculous football that somehow culminated in a miraculous double-overtime win for Syracuse that definitely should not have been. It was as exciting as it was perplexing.
Saturday was taken as my personal day to mow the lawn and visit Destiny USA to take in "The November Man" to write my weekly film blog review that posts Mondays on syracusenewtimes.com. The shopping center was hopping on the holiday Saturday.
Sunday, Karen and I were joined by my daughter Elisabeth, her boyfriend George and his parents George and Susan for a tailgate party, the Chiefs game and the fireworks afterward.
The company was outstanding, the food was fine and the baseball was incredible. On the next-to-last day of the regular season, the Chiefs showed why they won the International League division title for the first time in 25 years, beating the Buffalo Bison 4-3 with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning by outfielder Destin Hood. Great stuff.
Immediately thereafter, jovial first-year general manager Jason Smorol, a man who has done wonders making this franchise very accessible to the community, grabbed the microphone and interviewed young people as they finished the now-Sunday post-game tradition of running the bases. How sweet a sight and sound that was.
To wrap up the weekend, Karen and I joined a record crowd of more than 120,000 people at the New York State Fair's closing Dollar Day feature. Talk about a big crowd. The lines started as we waited to catch the Centro bus after parking in the lot at the Regional Market, and continued as we moseyed through the Center of Progress, through restaurant rows, through the goat stalls, around Chevy Court.
Greg Horan, the man who owns and runs the Horan's restaurant across from the goat building where I've eaten for two decades, admitted at around 5:30 p.m., with a tired look on his face, that the Dollar Day feature "slammed us. It caught me by surprise."
My shaved ribeye steak sandwich, Karen's chicken tenders, and our shared order of fries were served promptly and were tasty nevertheless.
Were Pizza Villa's Fried Dough strips worth the dozen-person line wait? You betcha?
Were the goats slightly confused but friendly? Of course.
Were there too many people packed around Chevy Court to get a glimpse of The Doobie Brothers? There was not a doubt. But I sang along to "Jesus Is Just Alright" anyway.
In those four days, I figure I was surrounded by more than 175,000 people who found something fun to do.
This week, the Syracuse Irish Festival runs from around noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Clinton Square, with free admission, and music and dance troupes on two stages. There's your starting point.
And the Chiefs' home playoff schedule starts Friday night after road games today and Thursday in Pawtucket. The series could go to five games, at NBT Bank Saturday and Sunday if necessary.
Need I go on?