The Olympics, Mandela and freedom, oh my

Watching last Friday's episode of Grimm the other day, I was really happy.

Yeah, sure the episode itself was good. I've always like Grimm's Fairy Tales and the wesen are always cool. Especially that hot blonde Hexenbiest. But I digress. (already, I know)

No. The thing that excited me was the five golden interlocking rings under NBC's famous peacock logo. There's only 62 days until the 2014 Winter Olympics start. Did you hear me? Sixty-two days!

See, for me the Winter Olympics are like a Christmas on the Fourth of July. The Summer Olympics remind me much more of Thanksgiving. Of course, that's not a good thing from my perspective. But we've got years to worry about that waste of time. The Winter Olympics is in a mere 62 days.

Basically the Winter Olympics is a bunch of sliding -- skiing, bobsledding, luge, ski jumping, snowboarding -- and controlled slipping -- ice skating, hockey, speed skating, curling, and cross country skiing. Any nine-year-old boy has perfected every single one of these sports either on a hill in winter or on their parents' linoleum kitchen floor.

In other words, for two and a half weeks in February I get to relive my youth vicariously through Olympic athletes. In 62 days I'll be nine again. How could I not be excited?

•••

The funny thing is at 39, I'm not so good at controlled sliding. On my way to work from my girlfriend's house on Thanksgiving, I took a spill on some ice. Ended up in the hospital — for the second time this year.

I'm also not so good in the kitchen. Cooking a turkey over the weekend, I burned myself pretty good. Then I ran a serrated knife half way through my thumb. I should have gone for stitches but I refuse to go the Emergency Room twice in a week.

I'm still waiting to figure out what exactly it is I'm good at. When I do, I'll let you know.

•••

I’d be wrong not to touch on the passing of Nelson Mandela Thursday. The anti-apartheid icon and father of modern day politics in South Africa was 95 years old.

That said, I cannot do justice to his life, so I will simply share a quote:

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."

Mandela finally climbed his last hill. But thanks to him, he left a path for others to follow.

•••

A new documentary called “Cash for Kids” delves into the saga that occurred in Pennsylvania during the tenure of one Mark Ciavarella, who used to be a judge and is now an inmate.

Ciavarella was convicted in 2011 of literally selling kids into the prison system in exchange for kickbacks from the privately run operation. In all, he netted $1.2 million in the scheme. And in the end thousands of convictions were thrown out.

I’m not going to judge the concept of privately run prisons, although I admit, I think it’s a bit peculiar. But I will remind people that power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Fortunately we live in a country with checks and balances and Ciavarella got his just desserts. Kind of. I don’t think 28 years is enough. He should have to serve 10 days for every day served by any of the kids he ever convicted wrongfully and sent away.

There is nothing more immoral than depriving someone of their liberty.

Or as Nelson Mandela would say, “There is no such thing as part freedom."

Scott Leffler would earn gold if there were an Olympic sport for injuring yourself. Sadly for him, there’s not. Follow his non-award-winning injuries on Twitter @scottleffler. 

Personally glad that the holidays are here

Santa Claus officially kicked off the holiday season yesterday when, at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, he smiled his smile and waved his wave. I was wide-eyed and smiling myself. And I will be for the next month.

That doesn’t mean I won’t complain, of course.

For example, as I went down Transit Road in Lockport Thursday afternoon, I took note of the stores that were open. Shame on them. I can understand a couple gas stations and a convenience store or two being open on Thanksgiving. But the dollar store? On Thanksgiving? Seriously? There’s no reason for it.

Personally, I think that gas stations and convenience stores should take turns being open on holidays … and charge at least double what they usually charge. There’s very little reason that anyone should ever need to purchase gas or groceries on a holiday. And if you do, it’s basically an emergency, right? So you get charged emergency prices. Just my opinion. I have lots of them.

Personally, I think that people that spend all their time complaining about government — especially local government — should be required to run for office. I hear all sorts of “great ideas” all the time while people are complaining about corruption or abuse or whatever. Sharing your idea publicly is great. Running for office would be even better. Quit whining and start doing.

Personally, I think that Republicans should stop fighting against Obamacare and start figuring out ways to make it better. Most would agree that it’s not a perfect system. But neither was what we had before. Rather than simply going back to the last imperfect system, it would be nice if Congress tried to come up with a more perfect one.

Personally, I think that we need to go back to driving school en masse and learn how to work a four-way stop. I know people are just trying to be nice when they wave you through. But I always come to a complete stop first. So if you just go when you’re supposed to, we’d all get through easier.

On a similar note: Personally, I think there are too many stop lights in Western New York. And yet, I don’t really like roundabouts. There was a town in Germany or something that took out all their stop lights, stop signs, etc. a few years ago. And they found that traffic accidents actually went down. I don’t understand why. But I’m all for it. I hate being the only car on the road and having to wait for a stop light.

Personally, I think that if you buy or rent a DVD or Blu-Ray disc you should not be forced to watch the previews if you don’t want to. Being made to watch advertising before you can watch the movie you paid for just seems unfair. That said, I often love the previews. But let me watch them when I want. Not before the movie I’m super excited about watching.

Personally, I’ll be watching practically nothing but Christmas movies for the next month. Because, you know, Santa waved at me yesterday and that was my cue.

Scott Leffler has opinions about everything. And because they're opinions, they can't be wrong. Follow him on Twitter @scottleffler.

Leave your politics out of my parade

The countdown to Thanksgiving is on. And while you may not yet have picked up your bird and all the trimmings yet, the fine folks from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have been hard at work preparing for one of my favorite annual spectacles for nearly a year now.

Unfortunately for them even the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. So why should an 89-year tradition (it skipped two years during WWII, which is why this is the 87th annual parade) involving New York City’s flagship department store, bands, floats, celebrities, balloons and all other manner of entertainment be allowed to be unscathed?

That must be the thinking of some ranchers from South Dakota and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, both of whom have decided that politics trumps tradition and kids around don’t need a morning of fun -- what they need is a sermon.

It’s somewhat odd that the parade is being hit from both sides. The ranchers were upset that a vegetarian, Joan Jett, was representing their cattle-driven state. As such, they petitioned to have her removed. Jett volunteered to move to another float to avoid the controversy. PETA, meanwhile is upset that SeaWorld exists. They intend to protest the parade route in response to Macy’s refusal to sink the aquatic theme park’s float.

The parade has never seen this type of controversy. And it never should. Shame on the ranchers. And even more, shame on PETA. How dare they ruin the only part of Thanksgiving many kids (and myself) actually enjoy.

Macy’s official statement concerning the protests says, “The parade has never taken on, promoted or otherwise engaged in social commentary, political debate or other forms of advocacy.”

And why would they? It’s a parade, for the love of God. It’s a distraction from the mundanity of life, it gives kids something to be excited about. And at the end, when Santa comes down 6th Avenue headed towards 34th Street, it marks, for many, the start of the Christmas season. It is the official kickoff of the “most wonderful time of the year.”

So how can PETA taint that? Why would they want to ruin the kickoff to Christmas? They’re willing to poison the otherwise happy memories of children in order to push their political agenda. Rather than kids saying, “hey, mom, look! Minions!” they’ll be saying “why are those people so angry?”

Maybe you think I’m overreacting but from my perspective, ruining the Thanksgiving Day Parade is tantamount to treason. Maybe even terrorism. Why not just have Santa get mauled by tigers at the end of the parade?

Thanksgiving afternoon I’ll be choking down some turkey. And later that night I’ll be working - as I do every Thanksgiving. But Thanksgiving morning, I plan on watching the parade and trying to avoid other people’s politics. I can only hope NBC focuses on the floats and avoids the flakes.

Scott Leffler loves animals. Especially served between two slices of bread with a side of potatoes. He also likes SeaWorld. Follow him on Twitter @scottleffler.

Ringing in the Christmas season right

I went to a tree-lighting ceremony Friday night and a parade Saturday. Plus I watched Christmas movies almost non-stop. But for some reason I just couldn’t get into the Christmas spirit.

Until it snowed.

The snow Sunday morning put me over the top and I am now officially in Christmas mode. I want Christmas movies and Christmas music and Christmas decorations. And basically, I want Christmas. Now. And forever.

I’m not entirely sure what it is that makes me such a Christmas fanatic. Maybe it’s a longing for my childhood. Maybe it’s just a desire for the innocence that comes with Christmas. Whatever it is, it’s always been this way. I love Christmas.

Truth of the matter is, I’m a Christmas geek all year round. Those that know me know that one of the best ways to tell if I’m in a good mood is to listen for me whistling Christmas music in the middle of the summer. Ding Dong Merrily on High and whatnot.

There’s not an aspect of Christmas that I don’t like. I want to put the tree up. I want to cover my art in Christmas wrapping. I want to go shopping. I want to put my Christmas ducks in the bathroom. As soon as humanly possible.

Of course, as any responsible adult, I wait until the day after Thanksgiving. This year that was earlier than most and I took full advantage.

Saturday afternoon I did nothing but watch Christmas movies with my daughters. One after another. After another. We continued the trend through the weekend, watching Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Jingle All the Way and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, among others.

My memories of Christmas growing up are somewhat scant. Of course, I remember a couple presents here and there. I remember waiting with my dad for everyone else to wake up. And I remember family coming for dinner — or on a few occasions us going there. But I wish I remembered more.

My only hope is that my girls remember Christmas. And our Christmas traditions. First and foremost, I hope they remember that we loved each other. Because, really, that’s what the Christmas season is all about — loving each other, despite our differences. And despite any problems we might have the rest of the year.

I find it somewhat ironic that Christmas essentially begins on one of my least favorite days — Thanksgiving. I know, most people seem to love Thanksgiving, although I have no idea why.

I hosted Thanksgiving this year, and I’m told I did a good job. I hope that’s a for-real thing and not just people being nice because of it being the Christmas season.

You should be nice during the Christmas season, of course. That means now through the end of the year.

Of course, you should be nice all year long. But it seems so much easier this time of year. Maybe that’s because Santa is coming. Or maybe it just is what it is.

Either way, I hope your Christmas season is off to a great start.

Scott Leffler loves Christmas. If you have a problem with that, you can tell him @scottleffler on Twitter.

A world without Twinkies? Say it ain't so!

Growing up, I always looked forward to the day mom came home with groceries. It meant snacks. And by snacks I mean junk food.


Now we didn’t drink a lot of pop in the Leffler household. And we didn’t gorge ourselves on sweets or chips or anything like that. But that’s not to mean that there wasn’t often something extra tasty in the grocery bags.

Every so often that “something extra tasty” would be Hostess snack cakes — whether they were Ho Hos or Twinkies, it didn’t matter. They were made out of the magical stuff that all kids love — sugar!

In actuality, mom probably bought Ho Hos or Twinkies a handful of times in my life. And I may have bought them a handful of times for my kids in their lives. In other words, I don’t exactly subside on a died of snack cakes. In fact, I can’t recollect when was the last time I had the sugary goodness that is a Twinkie. Maybe that’s because as I grew old(er), I decided that what once had been sugary goodness is now just decadence.

And yet over the past few days I’ve found myself craving one of those cream-filled yellow cakes. Why? Because we might not be able to get them any more. The company announced last week that they were filing for bankruptcy and would cease production of all their goodies — including Twinkies.

I (along with the rest of the Internet) find it funny to think that Twinkies, which are supposed to be able to survive a nuclear holocaust and have a shelf life of forever, may disappear just weeks shy of the alleged end of the world (according to the Mayan calendar). I find it even funnier to think that this revelation has made me want one.

But you see, Twinkies are more than a sugar-filled death stick. They’re a part of my youth. And I’d imagine they’re a part of America’s youth. I have a feeling I’m not the only one thinking back on days when mom brought the groceries home and I “helped” put them away (primarily so I would know what goodies she brought and what cupboard they went into.)

So a Twinkie-less future just seems unAmerican to me.

But wait! Monday a judge told Hostess that the company needs to go to remediation to try to work things out with its union and continue to produce their sugary goodness.

So I’m hopeful for the future. And thankful for Twinkies. May there be a bounty of them on your Thanksgiving table.

Scott Leffler is thankful for more than just Twinkies. Follow him on Twitter @scottleffler for a running tally Thanksgiving Day.

I’ve added a holiday to the calendar this year

I have an incredible memory sometimes. While most people are able to recollect experiences, I can remember the calendar dates of those experiences.

As such it seems like it’s always an anniversary of something. In other words, I always have a reason to celebrate. It’s always a holiday in my head. As if the normal calendar items weren’t a big enough deal, this week was the anniversary of when I bought my car, my hedgehog’s birthday and Guy Fawkes Day, among other trivial items.

Some days are more important than others though. Like my birthday. And Halloween. And Christmas. And given their close proximity on the calendar, Halloween time really means the start of the neo-Christmas season. And my birthday is so close to Halloween that THAT means the start of Christmas. To simplify it, my birthday equals Christmas. Because after Halloween there’s nothing important until Christmas — usually.

The fourth Thursday in November, the rest of America tends to celebrate a holiday that I don’t usually recognize: Thanksgiving. As I did last year, I offered to work this Thanksgiving, in part to get out of having to endure the annual “celebration” that is Thanksgiving.

For those of you familiar with me from my radio days, my contempt for Thanksgiving should come as no surprise. For those of you who aren’t familiar, just google “Scott Leffler Thanksgiving.” It’s page-ranked.

Nonetheless, my loving mother asked if I wanted to do Thanksgiving this year. Bless her heart, she’s always trying. At first I said ‘no.’ But after thinking about it some more, I decided that I would actually celebrate America’s favorite giftless holiday. But I’d do it on my terms.

While I don’t “particularly care for” (pronounced “remotely like”) turkey, the thing that frustrates me about Thanksgiving the most is having someone spend hours — or days — creating a meal that I don’t like … and then give me the stink eye when I don’t rant and rave about how much I love it.

There’s this theory that “us men” can just sit in the living room and watch football while the “women folk” cater to us. Except I don’t work that way. I don’t believe in antiquated gender roles. I do laundry. I cook. I clean. I bake. True, I’m a bachelor and in my current situation, I’d have to do all those things. But I also did them all when I was married. And I’ll continue to do them all should my “bachelor-hood” change in the future.

In addition to my refusal to buy into gender roles, there’s the fact that there’s nothing more stressful for me than watching someone else work while I sit on my patootie. It’s guilt-ridden stress through and through. And it makes every bite of dinner guilt-ridden and stressful. It ruins the whole meal - to the extent that you can further-ruin turkey, at least.

So this year, I’m cooking the turkey. I’m making the mashed potatoes. I’m doing the stuffing. I’m hosting. Cleaning. And making doggie bags when we’re done. And then I’m going in to work. Guilt- and stress-free.

I hope this crazy plan works. Because while I may not like turkey, I prefer it to eating crow.

Scott Leffler is a Libra who likes long walks on the beach, burgers and pizza. Just not turkey. He often posts pictures of his dinner on Twitter @scottleffler.

Happy Thanksgiving to the people I love

Most mornings - and occasionally some afternoons - I wake up in my bed in my apartment in Tonawanda. I love where I live. It’s a stone’s throw away from the Niagara River, or it would be for someone who were better at throwing stones. It’s also not far from the Erie Canal.

Before I even get out of bed, I check my phone to see if I have any text messages. I almost always do. It might be simple “hello” or much a more pressing issue that needs to be dealt with, but before I was even awake, someone was thinking of me.

My phone sleeps on the pillow next to me. In truth, it sleeps very little. Because anyone that knows me knows that I sleep very little. I’m not sure if it’s the thoughts rattling in my brain or the gallons of coffee I drink every day, but I don’t get my recommended dose of sleep, I’m sure of that.

When I do decide to get out of bed, I stumble into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of that coffee. Always with sugar. Sometimes with milk. It depends on the temperature of the coffee. I like Folgers. Or Maxwell House. Or Hortons. Or whatever. As long as it’s coffee flavored.

I take that coffee into my living room and sit on my couch - or my gliding chair if the couch is occupied - and check my email and whatnot.

More communication. Emails from people I know. Messages from people I don’t know. Friend requests. And even the occasional hate mail, which, in all honesty, always puts a smile on my face. No, I’m not being facetious.

I think a lot. Happy thoughts. Sad thoughts. Simple thoughts. Complex thoughts. Always thinking. Sometimes I wish I could shut if off. Just like sometimes I wish I could sleep.

Some days I eat before going to work. Some days I don’t. For that matter, some days I eat. And some days I don’t. My oldest daughter will occasionally text me just to remind me to eat. I usually haven’t and thank her for the reminder.

My phone is constantly chirping. Text messages. Instant messages. Emails. Seriously, as I typed the word “emails,” I received one. It’s 3:19 a.m. as I type this. And I just got an email.

I don’t get many phone calls. But that’s because most people have figured out that I don’t usually like to talk on the phone. That’s got to seem odd, considering I talked for a living for seven years. Or maybe that makes it less odd. But people take into consideration that I’m usually more comfortable with email or text.

It astounds me that in a world with 7 billion people, anyone would take time out to consider me. But they do. Today I spoke with at least a dozen people who asked how I was - and genuinely wanted to know.

I have a lot of “things” that I could be thankful for this year, but that which I’m most grateful for is the people in my life. Some have been there since grade school. Some only became part of my life recently. And of course, my mother has been there since day one. But all have their role. Just as you have yours. And hopefully, I have a role in your life as well. Even if it’s just reading this column each week.

Happy Thanksgiving. I love you all.

Thankful ...

Many of you may know that I'm no fan of Thanksgiving. I don't like the food. I don't like the forced togetherness. I don't like concept that we should be thankful one particular day of the year. After all, what about the other 364 days?

We used to do a “thankful tree” in the Leffler house. Each day from November 1 until Thanksgiving, we'd each write something we were thankful for on a leaf and tape it to the fridge. It was a good way to remember to be thankful on more than just one day. And it reminded us that we really did have things to be thankful for.

Items included people, places we had gone to, things we had done, scenery we had seen, and anything that had made us happy, even if only for a smidgen of time.

I don't think I could do a thankful tree this year. True, 2009 has not been particular kind to this scribe. But it's not that I have nothing to be thankful for. Not by a long shot. It's that I've got so much to be thankful for, I'd have to do a “thankful forest.”

I have neither the time, nor the resources to do a thankful forest. So a thankful column will have to suffice.

I'm thankful for the people that have been in my life since my birth. My family. They've always stood by my side through each decision, right or wrong. Sometimes holding my hand. And sometimes kicking me in the rear. But one way or another, they've been there. And I thank them for that.
Particular thanks to my mom, who has been there to pick up the pieces on several occasions this year alone.

I'm thankful for the people I met in my youth, who in many ways helped to mold and shape me into the person I am today. I've reconnected recently with many people I had first met at the age of four, starting kindergarten. Truly life-long friends … even if there was a 15 year gap in the middle.

I'm thankful for many people I met in college, who – fortunately – keep the same awkward hours I do, always there eagerly awaiting my tales of that days victories. And on the days when the victories are outnumbered by the defeats, they remind me that the sun will rise soon and a new day will begin.

I'm particularly thankful for one friend from college, my best friend for the last 15 years. This has been a trying year for her as well, and yet she always seems to be willing to listen to my sorry tales and offer me the best advice she can give. I couldn't have blamed her had she disappeared this year, but she's still there every time I call. Every time I drop by. Moved on? Yes. Disappeared? No. I'm thankful I didn't lose that friendship.

I'm thankful for my children, who mean the world to me. They remind me that I was young once. And others have been my age before. They have their own trials and tribulations, similar to those I had at their ages. I thought then that I'd never get over the heartbreak of losing a friend or a loved one. But I did. And it reminds me that no loss is insurmountable. Even if you believe it is at the time.

I'm thankful for those who have come into my life recently. Or have had their roles in my life change recently. They've been bright spots in my life and I welcome the light. I'm particularly thankful for one friend who has been the central character in my life for the majority of this year. She's made me weep deeply. And smile broadly. But the highest highs were worth the lowest lows.

And I'm thankful for all the support and love I've received from people I barely know. It truly touches my heart to be looked-in on by people who's birthdays I don't know. Some of them, I don't know their ages. Some, I don't even know their names. And I was important enough to them at some point or another this year for them to call or write and ask how I was doing.

If you want to know how I'm doing, I'll tell you. I'm doing well … thanks to you.

This Thursday as you sit down for dinner with your friends, family, loved ones, or complete strangers, remember what you truly have to be thankful for. Someone loves you. And if no one else does, I do.