Conneaut Lake Park is once again in the news, and once more, its bad news! I hate to see anything more happen to this once proud facility, but there it is. The Dreamland Ballroom is now gone, the office equipment is up for auction, The Park closed in the 2007 season.....it goes on and on. The Park as it once was was a great facility for families to plan their vacation around, but the problem is, it isnt that facilty any more. It has deteriorated to a bunch of dilapidated buildings, rusting rides, and mounting debt.

No one wants to buy it. No one wants to lease it. No one wants to pour a ton of cash into it. The Government wont put any money into it. Business won't either. The Park has had managers, custodians, 2 boards of Directors, and hundreds of supporters, each with the perfect idea of how to "Save the Park."

Don't get me wrong. I would love to see the Park survive, but it ain't gonna happen!! It been too long!! Ask the average resident of Pittsburgh or Cleveland, the ones who used to visit the park by the thousand, and they will tell you Conneaut Lake Park has been closed for years. If the park were to completely and fully open this year, it would take several million dollars in advertising to change that impression and get those customers back. Thats on top of the millions needed to get the park in shape to open. Yea, it was open a couple of years ago, but it was a sad reflection of what the Park was.

I have many wonderful memories of the Park. Fun times when I was a little kid, riding the rides, eating the fries, playing games in the arcade. I have more great memories of my first job cooking burgers in the Midway Stand with a great bunch of new friends. Memories of the first crush I had on a girl named Joyce who I thought was it, the one for me. I even had memories of my first broken heart from that girl too, in the Park.

The thing about Memories it that they are improved by time. The colors get brighter, the air is sweeter, and time was suspended and any imperfections are swept away. Even if, by some magic, the park were to be magically returned to its glory days, it would pale to our imaginations. Thats natural, its the way the brain works. We always idolize distant memories and they become more than what they originally were. Don't beleive it? Take a hard look at a picture of your first love, do they look as good as your remember?

Its time to face facts. No White Knight is coming along to take the Park back to its glory. Merlin wont be casting a spell. Bill Gates wont come out of retirement to invest in it.

LET IT GO!!!! Thats a beautiful property that should be used, not sitting there rotting away. Tear down the buildings, sell the rides, and sell the property for development.

But save the Beach Club and the beach and a couple of acres for a local park for people to use for picnics and such. You can pack a lunch, spread out a blanket, and sit and remember to your hearts content, cause thats where the Park is alive and well.

Thats where the lights are still on, the rides are still running, the fries are still cooking, the air is warm, and we are all still 16 years old. That Park will never grow old, will never go in debt, will never burn to the ground.

The Park will never be gone as long as we remember her.

My wife and I were driving thru a parking lot earlier today and witnessed as fight over a parking spot. Both driver (both guys) were out of their cars like a shot and screaming at one another....over a parking spot.

How did we become so thin skinned as to fight over a parking spot? How did we become so self centered that we think that a paticular parking spot was ordained by God as ours, and that we should come to blows over it?
Its a bi-product of the "Me" decade. We still think we are the center of the Universe, instead of part of a community of humans. This allows us to be so self absorbed that anything that goes against us is a personal affront.

Let me say something that may come as a complete surprise to you. We are on a tiny continent, on a tiny planet, in a tiny solar system, in a tiny galaxy that is part of an immense universe that doesnt give a damm about you or me! Random chance has placed you where you are, and random chance has placed the offending person where he is. It is not "destiny" that you have that parking spot. It is random chance. Who ever gets there first gets it. I am certain that the offending person wasnt thinking of how to spoil your day by taking the parking spot that "he knew was yours by Gods Will".

Get your head out of your.....posterior and look around. God, however you think of him, has some big fish to fry and if he isnt doing anything about the middle east, why do you think he gives a rats butt about your parking spot.

We have to get back to basics and become part of a community again. We need to work together to the betterment of our town, our neighborhood. This is a great country, but it could be better. The Universe doesnt owe you a thing, the Universe doesnt care about you! Thats why we need to band together to fight the common foe, and there are plenty of foes out there to fight.

There are tons of fights out there that need fighting, terrorism, racism, stupidity and a hundred others. Save you anger and energy for the fights that need fighting, and go find another parking spot.

Today is one of the busiest days of the year in morning radio. We had bad weather and school delays and cancellations. It keeps us hopping all morning long just to keep ahead of all the cancellations. Because we have Froggy, Wuzz, and Majic in the building as well as ANTS, we have a lot of closings and cancellations to keep track of. The Three hours on the air flew by this morning, but it leaves me worn out afterwards. Thats our jobs to keep track of everything going on and pass it on to the listener four times an hour. (Why four times? Because we know that the audience turns over every 15 minutes, so you repeat the important stuff often to reach the maximum audience.) Then, you add updating the Operation Stormwatch web page and it just gets busier.
Thats one thing we can bring you this year that we are proud of, the ANTS web page, and the Operation Stomwatch option. You don't have to wait to find out whats not happening today, just click and you're there. We won't be backing off on doing cancellations on the air, though. Thats still our primary job in bad weather, but the web page is just a help. Use it and enjoy. Like I told you before, we are constantly adding things to the web site to make it more useful.

Merry Christmas!!!

    Yes, I said it. I know that according to some I should be roasted and oil and hung from the highest yardarm, but I dont care. I will continue to say it, as well as put up manger scenes, go to Christmas Concerts, and even, maybe, go to church and hear the story of the birth of Jesus.
Yes, I may offend someone, but, that is the risk you take in a democracy with free speech. But, you know what, as the majority, we should rule the roost, but no, we cater to the minority.

    I dont have a problem considering their feelings, thats only fair, but not at the expense of the majority. If I lived in a Moslem nation, I would not expect them to cater to my Christian ways. If I were in a Buddist country, I wouldnt expect them to conform to my comfort either.
But the way things are going in this country, We are being treated as the minority. God Forbid we mention Jesus and offend other religons. Are they not aware that we are a Christian country? Does it come as a surprise that we celebrate the birth of Jesus this time of year. Can it be that we are trying to keep it a secret?

We have room for other celebrations. I dont find Chaunika offensvie, do you? Is Kwanza an affront to my ears, No!! These celebrations are all positive, a time of happiness and joy. How do you get offended by that. In fact, I respect anyone who has found comfort in the arms to God, no matter what you concieve Him to be. As long as your god doesnt call my God names, go for it.

We have to take all this Politically Correct crap and flush it down the hole where it belongs. We can all live together happily with just a little consideration. I know people who celebrate chaunika. I know people who revel in Kwanza. I have more problems with a guy that lives across the street than I have with them. We all want to live in peace and harmony, free to celebrate what we want, how we want.  Thats what it means to be in a free country. We are all equal here. Celebrate how you want, you wont offend me.

Have you noticed that people are not afraid of cars anymore? Just watch as you drive thru any parking lot and you will see people walk right out in front of you as if they are invulnerable. In fact, they give you a dirty look if you get anywhere near them. I saw a woman the other day walk right out in front of me without looking, and she had a baby in her arms. Now, I am not going all that fast thru the parking lot, but that doesnt seem to matter.Where did this come from. My parents taught me to look both ways before crossing, but that seems to be gome. Have they gotten trained at Wal Mart, where they have the front of the store marked for pedestiran crossing and you have to stop. Thats all well and good, but what about stores otherwhere where no such marking has been done?Sooner or later, someone wil get hurt, and of course, lawsuits will be filed. Someone could die because they arn't invulnerable. They aint Superman and they have no Kryptonian strength to help them survive the fall. Mom was right....look both ways before you cross....please! 

On the air Friday morning Amy Sasfai and I were talking about Hate Crimes Legislation defeated in Harrisburgh. My first thought was "how do you determine anything is a hate crime. Isn't "Hate" a state of mind? If so, how do you determine someones state of mind? I can't read minds, can you? Unless someone yells for the world to hear "I am killing this person because he is black!" or "I am attacking you because your are a woman and I hate women!" or...you get the idea. When you present evidence in court, how do you show the defendants state of mind at the time of the crime. Maybe someday we will be able to put people in a scanner and see their 'hate' center glowing like the Aurora Borealis, but not yet.

Now there are several cases where a group attacked and killed someone simply because they were gay. Beaten and killed horribly, and the vermin who perpetrated this crime were proud of what they did. They proclaimed they rid the earth of someone they declared unworthy of life. These cases are subjects of "Hate Crimes".

This is my problem. If you have testimony that hate is involved, its one thing, but if a jury is expected to rule on whats going on in someones mind, that is a slippery slope I cant accept. Can't we see a time when a jury is called on to determine the 'Degree of Hate" involved in a crime. Just picture it, 'Hate in the First Degree' 'Hate in the Second Degree' and more. Guilty with just a 'hint of hatred'.

I dont think we need new laws on the books. We need to enforce the ones we have equealy and fairly, not one set of rules for the rich and powerful and another for those of us on the lower stratta of society.

'Justice for all' from the Pledge of Allegance should be our goal and Justice should be administered evenly. We get this one done, and the rest will take care of itself.

Its an exciting time for ANTS(Allegheny News Talk Sports Network). We have been waiting for our own website for years, and now that its here, the work really begins. I have kicked around several ideas with the higher ups and we all feel that this site has to have current information on news, weather, sports, and of course our programming. We are open to your ideas, too, of course. What can we add that makes the ANTS website most useful to you? (Don't ask for the lottery numbers a day in advacnce. If we could do that, we wouldn't be here.) When I find any interesting and useful sites, i'll post em here for your consideration. Sometime soon I will post a picture of myself, which will convince you that it a good thing I havent decided to spawn. Here is my email address, so drop me a line and tell me what you think.

wmgwboss@yahoo.com

Thanks, and enjoy, there is a lot more coming.