Marky-Mark

This morning (Thursday, March 27, 2008), while walking our dog at the so-called elitist country-club, we met the estimable Marky-Mark (Mark Syverud [“SYE-ver-rud”]).
Marky-Mark was an editor at the mighty Mezz when I started; a primary reason why I felt so highly of the Messenger newspaper.
There were other reasons, of course: Circh and Frisch and Z-man and Boss-man and Queeny and AJ and Peggy Carroll and Joy.
They were all dedicated to putting out a classy product. I was impressed.
My income, being post-stroke, was puny; and a job-counselor at my rehab suggested getting my job back at Transit.
“Nothing doing!” I said. I preferred working at the mighty Mezz.
I started as an unpaid intern, a stroke-survivor, cranking “Names & Faces” into their system.
I was still doing that when one day I uttered a pearl-of-wisdom I had created at Houghton.
“If you can’t do it, teach it; if you can’t teach it, teach others how to teach.” (—A reflection on my Secondary Education courses, and the stupid professors therein.)
Marky-Mark was stunned. He looked at me awe-struck, as if to say “this guy had a stroke?”
I almost didn’t see Marky-Mark when he passed. I was paying more attention to footing with our dog — it was icy, and he was pulling, as usual.
“Bob is a prolific writer,” Mark said.
“Almost every day I send Mark a steaming pile of useless drivel,” I said.
“And what is it you write about?” his friend asked.
“Anything and everything,” I said. “I call it shoveling.”

Our dog is “Killian;” a rescue Irish-Setter. We’ve had him about five years.

“The so-called elitist country-club” is nearby Boughton (“BOW-tin”) Park, where we walk our dog. It was called that long ago by an editor at the Canandaigua Daily-Messenger newspaper (the mighty Mezz), where I once worked, because it will only allow taxpayers of the three towns that own it to use it. We are residents of one of those towns.

“Circh and Frisch and Z-man and Boss-man and Queeny and AJ and Peggy Carroll and Joy......” —Stevie Circh, Kevin Frisch, Richard Zitrin, Robert Matson, Lenore Friend, Anne Johnston, Peggy Carroll and Joy Daggett. Matson is Executive Editor, Frisch is Managing Editor, Circh, Zitrin and AJ are gone, Peggy and Joy are both retired. Syverud is retired too. (Joy was the all-around tool-guy, and ‘pyooter-lady [at first]. She retired as Purchasing Director.)

I had a stroke October 26, 1993.

“Transit” equals Regional Transit Service, the transit-bus operator in Rochester, NY, where I drove transit-bus for 16&1/2 years.

“Houghton” is Houghton College, from where I graduated with a BA in 1966. I’ve never regretted it. Houghton is a religious college.

“Marky-Mark” is one of the vaunted Ne’er-do-Wells, an e-mail list of everyone I e-mail my stuff to.