We're going on vacation this week. I couldn't be happier about it. The weekly grind of publishing a newspaper has taken its toll. A week of sunshine -- I hope -- and relaxation comes just in the nick of time.
Americans are a crazy lot. Work, work, work is our mantra. And not just working smart, but long hours as well. Here at the paper, working a half-day means 12 hours.
Our European friends can teach us a lesson or two about vacation. They take the entire month of August off. That's a real vacation!
Now that I'm writing about it, President Bush gets it too. He's off to Crawford for a month of golfing, fishing, fun and games. You've got to hand it to that guy, he knows when to get out of town.
I know it's time for me to get out of town as well.
Here's why.
Since the inception of this newspaper, I've had two barroom confrontations. One surprised me. The other one didn't.
| It was like a sneak attack in the dark. No forewarning. Delivered in passing. No eye contact. No accountability. |
The first occurred two years ago with Butch Quarcini. His comments to me at the Como Restaurant about the newspaper and about myself, while not pleasant, did not surprise me. I knew him for years. His remarks, while unfavorable, were consistent with the man I knew. He told me right to my face. No hiding. No equivocation. He said it loud and clear for others to hear. A stand-up kind of guy Quarcini certainly was.
The second confrontation occurred Thursday at Gadawski's "Fighting Irish" Restaurant. It really wasn't a confrontation. It was just two words muttered under his breath for no one else to hear. It was said in passing, sheepishly delivered.
"Hi, asshole."
Now, those two words are not new to me. They've been said to me more than a few times before. So hearing it did not surprise me. What surprised me was who I heard it from.
It was from one of Niagara Falls' leading attorneys. A man actively involved in our community. A man whose father was also a newspaper publisher many years ago.
Back in 1975, then mayor-elect Mike O'Laughlin, along with Council members Pierre Tangent, Bill Gallagher and myself -- who, like O'Laughlin, had just been elected -- offered the city's top legal post to Pat Berrigan.
He turned us down. But since then, my relationship with him had always been cordial and at times complimentary. I thought of him as a stand-up guy. He had ruffled Bob Tavano's feathers on one occasion, and on another led an investigation into the internal doings of the Niagara Falls Police Department.
Now, I'm not upset about what Berrigan said, but rather by the way he did it. It was like a sneak attack in the dark. No forewarning. Delivered in passing. No eye contact. No accountability.
These two events got me thinking. Of the two, whose style do I admire most? The union leader who stood toe-to-toe, glared into my eyes and almost dared me to get physical. Or the attorney. A man of letters. An officer of the court noted for his hardball legal maneuvers, muttering his insult with a whisper, as if he hadn't really said it.
Here at the Reporter, we certainly dish it out. We've called business people jerks, politicians nitwits and others a host of names and insults. We subscribe to the theory that if you dish it out, you better be prepared to take it. While I would prefer not to be called an asshole, it doesn't bother me that people we write about would call me such. It's how you do it that counts.
It's style over substance. And in this case, give 10 points to Quarcini and two points to Berrigan. At least Quarcini had the courage of his convictions.
Vacation time could not have arrived at a better time for me. It's time to get out of town. But not for long. This paper is not a taxpayer-funded enterprise. So look for the next issue of the Reporter on newsstands Tuesday, Aug. 19.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 5 2003 |