What's Cooking At The Buffalo News?

Wow! Janice Okun retires as the food writer for the Buffalo News, and the whole department goes to pot — or, more precisely, to crack!

...from today's Buffalo News web page

Barn Art Dept.

Apparently, John isn't quite as enthusiastic about barn maintenance.

...spotted in the Town of Ashford, northern Cattaraugus Cty, N.Y.

Signs of the Times Dept.

Pass by this church on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo every once in a while... in the phone book Yellow Pages they're listed in the churches' section under the heading:

Unity Church of Practical Christianity

Maybe it wasn't practical to put all of that on the sign - or somebody just ran out of room!

On the Street Where You Live Dept.

Here we are, at the corner of Clark and Kent Streets on Buffalo's East Side. What a great convergence of street names! One would expect this signpost to be in the shadows of The Daily Planet building, working place to a certain mild-mannered reporter... but no, if you look up and to your right there's Corpus Christi Church, a fascinating old historic structure which sits just a couple of blocks from Buffalo's famous Broadway Market, and almost within spitting distance (okay, it would be a long spit) of the art deco Central Terminal building.

If you're of a mind to, you can click here to see more information on Corpus Christi — even view a video of last week's mass just in case you didn't attend. Shame on you!

Signs of the Times Dept.

Yes, today is the present. Tuesday, to be exact. And four days from now, Saturday, followed by Sunday, are when most everybody's pooped out from five days of work. That's why they're called the "weak-end."

...spotted on Rt. 20A in East Aurora, N.Y.

What If They Merged? Dept.

What if the First Baptist Church, on Church Street(!) in Lackawanna, merged with the Second Baptist Church, not that far away on Ingham Street? What would they call themselves?

• Fecond Baptist Church
• Sirst Baptist Church
• First Second Baptist Church
• Second First Baptist Church

or, my vote goes to:

• Third Baptist Church

Signs of the Times Dept.

I know I've always been somewhat deprived fashion-wise, but — Marie Osmond bags and purses??! When did this happen? Is Gary Coleman working on a line of scarves? Randolph Mantooth umbrellas? How about Jo Anne Worley belt buckles? The possibilities (apparently) are endless...

(this sign was spotted in Southern Erie county, N.Y.)

Signs You've Left the City Limits Dept.

I've often passed these signs on my daily drives and wondered just what they meant (this one was spotted in Elma, N.Y.). I should add — and this should have been a clue to me — that as I passed these signs I often had to close all of the car windows. If you get my drift.

Basically it means, if you decide to move here, don't plan on complaining about the slow-moving farm implements on the road, the noise from said farm implements, or — and here's where I roll up my windows — the odor emanating from the implements, the livestock, the barns, and in some cases, the farmer. These towns have passed right-to-farm laws, and unless something dangerous or illegal is going on — oh well! As one judge remarked while dismissing a case brought against a hog farmer, "...pork production generates odors which cannot be prevented, and so long as the human race consumes pork, someone must tolerate the smell."

Now you know, too.