The Buzz: Summer Panic, Library Lunacy, and a Cat in a Hat

Protect this column at all costs

Out-of-season signage, a cooling sight on a hot day. Photo by the Author.

Daddy-O’s August Bucket List

With July turning to August — and the temperature falling in time with that, if only temporarily — let’s admit, we all got hit with a panicked urge to revisit our summer bucket list. Time is running out! We asked Daddy-O, our AI cool cat, to help. He was quick and free with the recommendations. “Watch a band concert in a park,” he suggested. “Even if it’s just two old guys on clarinet and drum.” He went on: “Read a whole novel on a porch — or at least pretend to. Go out for soft serve at twilight. Then walk home slowly, cone in hand, like it’s 1957.” One more? “Make one fall plan on purpose,” the robot said. “Just one. A flicker of cinnamon on the horizon.”

Did We Hear the Word Cinnamon?

Buzz has a confession: We have already indulged in a treasured autumn ritual, which is visiting home stores and sniffing every autumn candle we can find. Cider Woods, Cinnamon Bun, Cranberry Woodland. We don’t have to buy the candles. We just want to inhale their aroma and savor their names. Pumpkin Marshmallow Latte Dream? Love it. But we have to be careful. Several autumns ago, we fell in love with a candle we smelled at CVS and spent days, and nights, chasing it all over town. The brand was Candle-Lite. The scent was Cinnamon Pecan Swirl. We will never forget it. Our old (candle) flame!

Mystery at the North Park Library

You know that cart at some libraries where you can buy a whole bag of books for $1? If you’re smart, you walk past it. Buzz never walks past it. Wednesday, we beheld wonders. A strange trove of old Italian books — beat-up paper bag covers on the outside, vintage-cool originals hiding underneath. Also: weird five-by-seven encyclopedia-style cards from the 1970s and ’80s, packed with facts front and back. The topics followed no pattern. Andrew Jackson. Harry Truman. The Steinways: Piano Builders. The Blues. The Virgin Islands. The Teapot Dome Scandal. Scarface. Calamity Jane. The Indians. What in the world? Where does it end? With luck, not in our house. Walk on by!

Tom Stahl’s Hat Lives On

One lucky day this week: We heard from fellow Buffalo News reporter Lauri Githens, who used to write Buzz with us back in the day. We had a blast. And one recurring Buzz theme for reasons known to no one, not even us, was musician Tom Stahl’s hat. It just kept showing up. We don’t even remember why. It didn’t matter. Anyway. Lauri’s note began with a lament about the passing of jazz musician Chuck Mangione, another name we used to love to throw around. Then she added: “With Chuck’s passing this mean’s Tom Stahl’s hat is the last one standing in Western New York. He must be protected at all costs.” We agree, Lauri! The hat stays. See photo gallery, below.

The Buzz

That phrase “he (or she) must be protected at all costs,” where does it come from? Buzz keeps wondering. It must come from somewhere, because we’ve seen it everywhere for several years now. Left, right, fans of baking shows, cartoon frogs, RFK Jr., Dr. Fauci, Tom Stahl and his hat — no one is immune. … Today’s closing question: Who else has been sniffing the autumn candles? The truth!

Clockwise from upper left: weird old Italian book at the North Park Library; strange encyclopedia cards; yummy autumn candles, and Tom Stahl and his hat, still together.