Buffalo Dave

We went to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s Holiday Pops concert Friday night with some other friends. I really look forward to this concert every year. As per usual, they did not disappoint us. The concert was excellent. It really gets you into the Christmas mood.

We had some outstanding prime rib at Salvatore’s original restaurant prior to the concert. The meal was fantastic and prepared perfectly. We also had a really nice bottle of Conn Cabernet Sauvignon from 2005. It is a Napa Valley Cabernet. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a full bodied Cabernet. This wine was really much better than we expected.

This year at the holiday concert we got seats close to the front. We sat closer than ever which was really cool. It is neat to see the violinists up close. JoAnn Falletta put together a great show that ended with a standing ovation. We got to see a special appearance by John Stevens who is the kid from East Amherst that made it quite far on American Idol. The guy has a great voice. I wish he would embrace the classic crooner style of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby a little more. I think he would sell a lot more Christmas compact disks if he would just sing the songs the same way that those predecessors did. Nonetheless, his singing is top notch. He is just a bit too Jazzy for me.

There was also a gorgeous female singer there named Michele Ragusa. She is an absolutely lovely performer. We enjoyed her appearances very much. It is amazing how many high quality singers we get to see at these Holiday pops concerts.

If you have never been to one of these Holiday Pops concerts by the BPO, I strongly suggest you attend one. They are a terrific way to spend a classy night out with good friends. You won’t regret it. Whether or not Marvin Hamlisch is conducting, the show is always great. It has become a regular family tradition for us. We will continue attending the show every year so long as they keep giving this kind of outstanding performance.

People are shocked to hear that Buffalo got its first snowfall of the season on December 1st this year.

I can’t believe we made it all the way to December first without any snowfall. This is unbelievable. I usually look forward to the snow to cover the ground in mid November. That makes it a lot easier to see and track the deer when you are deer hunting. Plus I hate having a green Christmas.

We have had green Christmases before. They aren’t as much fun. What is the point of living in an area that gets so much snow if you cannot have it for the holidays? I think it was some pope who decided that Christmas should be celebrated on December 25th. Jesus’ actual birthday was in late winter or early spring I think. Most people don’t know that. It was a church leader who decided we should celebrate it on December 25.

I wish they had chose January 25th or February 25th instead. Then we would always have a white Christmas. Plus, we could look forward to all the snow melting soon after Christmas. The way it is now, Christmas just reminds us that the snow is going to be with us for another few months.

It is easy to enjoy the snow right up till about New Years day. After that everyone around here can’t wait for it to melt and go away. Unfortunately, we are just getting started with it at that point. Most of the major snowfall comes during January and February.

With it being warm up till now, we are also at risk for major lake effect snow storms blowing in from Lake Erie. During years when the lake doesn’t freeze until later it usually ends up being more snowy than normal. This is a real possibility this year.

We are off to another early start on Christmas this year I see. A lot of people already have their Christmas decorations put up and turned on. I suppose it helps that the weather has been so nice. I think everyone is tryting to get them done before we get hit with some kind of arctic blast that everyone knows is just waiting to catch us off guard.

The radio stations, more specifically WJYE and Star102, are playing Christmas music already. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet. Every year when this happens you start to hear a few people grumble and mumble about it being too early to start with all of this.

I for one applaud the early Christmas mood. Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. When I hear a good classic Christmas song from Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams or Johnny Mathis it just causes a little stir in my stomach that reminds me to be nice to people and be happy. For Christmas is coming and all is right with the world at least for a few days.

I can’t help but think back to my childhood when I would be out building an igloo with my brothers in the snow. We used to dig tunnels in the snow in the sides of snowbanks. Then we would take buckets of crabapples and throw them at each other like it was some kind of war zone. If only it was possible to return to a time when our biggest concern was whether or not school was going to be closed for the day so we could go play in the snow. What a great childhood it was.

When you look at the happy little kids around you have to envy them. There is bliss in ignorance. They haven’t the slightest care in the world about the economy, the war in the middle east or terrorists. Nope. They worry about things like how bad it is going to hurt when they have to go to the doctor tomorrow and get their swine flu vaccination. They worry about when it is time to leave their grandpa’s house on Sunday because they are having too much fun playing with cousins and their uncles. Ahh, to be that young and care free again. Then they get to look forward to Santa Claus.

I just love the holidays. I can’t imagine them being the same if we were to move out of western NY. This is home and holidays remind us of that. With all of its baggage, this is still the place that we were born and raised. In the words of the great Marv Levy “Where would you rather be than right here right now?”

Apparently governor Paterson is the only Democrat in Albany who realizes how the policies this state has adopted over the last several decades is driving people, especially educated people, out of the state. Say what you want about Paterson. People love to bash the guy. Yet, I find it funny that he is the only vocal Democrat who stands up against the rest of the New York state democrats by insisting that the residents of New York State have been taxed to death.

People are leaving this state in droves. They are leaving for jobs. They are leaving because New York is so unfriendly to business that big businesses do not want to operate here. The only way we can get a real fortune 500 company to expand operations in Western NY is to bribe them with some kind of tax breaks or other incentive. How ridiculous is that?

The funny thing is that corporate America knows that the population of New York State is a highly educated one with plenty of skills. Yet this obvious advantage is not enough to overcome the red tape and other baggage that comes along with a New York State corporate address. That is a damn shame.

I can’t count how many people I graduated high school with who have uprooted their families for greener financial pastures in places like North and South Carolina. We were reminded of how many people have left Buffalo when we saw the thousands of Buffalo Bills fans at the Carolina Panthers game a couple weeks ago. That is downright embarrassing.

These damn politicians (Paterson excluded) just don’t realize what they have done. Instead they keep raising taxes on the people who remain here to make up for the shortfall from the ones who left. They are dreaming up ways of collecting new revenue. Instead of altering the tax and spend policies that are at the root of the problem the exacerbate the problem even more. Political genius at its best.

When is there going to be a state constitutional convention for voters to vote on in the ballet box? Isn’t it about time we had one?