Ramblin' with Roger

Les Green would have been 100

Les Green

Les Green would have been 100 on September 26, 1926. He was my dad, or, as I gleaned from a speaker I saw in Chautauqua in 2024, he IS my dad. His death in 2000 does not change that fact.

I love the picture above, though I don’t know how old he is here.

Of course, I’ve written about him more than two dozen times, usually on September 25. On September 26, I write about the grandchild he never knew, my daughter. Also, I note August 10, the date he died.

I only discovered in 2019 the name of his biological father, Raymond Cone. But he was raised in the household of his grandparents, Samuel Walker and Mary Eugenia (Patterson), as well as various aunts and uncles, in Binghamton, NY.

For years, the 1930 Census confounded me. He was listed as Wesley Walker, the “son” of Samuel and Eugenia. The fiction of the relationship didn’t confuse me, but “Wesley” did. Eventually, I visited the state archives and confirmed that he was born Leslie Walker.

Les Green

Flower child

I love this photo because it reminds me of his longtime talent for arranging flowers. He worked occasionally at Costas’s flower shop in Binghamton and arranged flowers for several family weddings, debutante balls, and the like. I had /have NO talent for this, but I would accompany him and my sister Leslie and schlep stuff.

BTW, I have no idea where or, especially, when these photos were taken. He looks so happy, full of joy. There’s no sign of that weird rollercoaster that I assume he experienced living with his mother, Agatha Walker, and his stepfather, McKinley, and then not, but ultimately being adopted by Mac just before Les’ 18th birthday.

Les Green

I feel as though that, maybe, I had seen these photos before. But I certainly never had copies of them until my daughter and I went down to Charlotte, NC, in May 1974. He, Mom, and baby sister had moved down there in 1974. The daughter and I selected and scanned a bunch of pics.

It seems that I should have some profound observations on the centennial of his birth. There was some talk of maybe some family members rerecording some Green Family Singers songs, but that didn’t happen.

I still have the unanswerable questions I’ve had since he passed away. Happy birthday, dear old dad (D.O.D.), as you dubbed yourself.

Seneca Falls: Women’s Rights

an endangered historic place

My wife and daughter had planned a trip for us to the Finger Lakes region of New York on September 4. Because I was busy, I didn’t even know exactly where we were heading.

It turns out we were going to Seneca Falls. We had been in the village a decade earlier, on the return leg of our 2016 vacation. But when we went to the Visitor Center of the Women’s Rights National Historic Park, it was closed. We did see the wall with the Declaration of Sentiments.

On this return visit, we did get to the visitor center, which was quite interesting. One of the NPS staff, Anha Wilson, led us to the Wesleyan Chapel, the site of the Women’s Rights Convention on July 19-20, 1848, where the Declaration was codified.

Our guide explained how Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Mary M’Clintock, Martha Coffin Wright, and Jane Hunt came to Seneca Falls, where none of them grew up, to create the document.

We did not get to the other parts of the National Park, though I did subsequently take a virtual tour. Interestingly, shortly after we returned home, we saw a news story about how the park has experienced $12 million in “deferred maintenance.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has dubbed the Women’s Rights National Historical Park one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2026. One may support the America the Beautiful Act (S.1547). “This bill would provide up to $16 billion of dedicated funding over 8 years to tackle the deferred maintenance backlog of the National Park Service and other federal agencies.”

Dinner

We headed to our hotel room. On the way, we saw remnants of tornadoes from two days earlier, with large branches and even whole trees in yards and curbs. There were at least a half dozen utility trucks in the hotel parking lot, suggesting a lot of disruption to be rectified.

We went to dinner at Wolffy’s Grill and Marina. It was quite decent place to eat. But the view of Cayuga Lake was EXTRAORDINARY.

Ask Roger why he hates his cellphone

Ask Roger Anything

Ask Roger why he hates his cellphone. He hates it because he despises long text chains. He had been working on a project with four or five people, and they had to share a lot of information.

But once the narrative exceeded his screen length, he totally lost focus on what was being conveyed. Moreover, he had difficulty retrieving specific information.

He recently noted this to one of the participants. “I don’t see/perceive them well, so I can’t find information within them, and they gave me raging headaches. I am just better with email.

“I am old-fashioned (or just plain old) in that I generally use texts to say ‘I’ll be there in 15 minutes’ ot ‘Can we reschedule?'”

Moreover

Also, I was waiting for a callback from a good friend. I had the volume up to the maximum and STILL missed the call. About half an hour later, I saw their text, so I called them back.

Somehow, I’ve taken pictures I didn’t want to take and sent audio messages to people I didn’t intend to. I can be such a Luddite.

On the other hand, it lets me take silly pictures like this one.

This is a preamble to my periodic request for you to Ask Roger Anything. The aforementioned project ate up a lot of his time, and still does occasionally. Your clever, or flippant, or insane questions are just what he needs to alter his focus for a bit. Because he is a noble sort – or so he has deluded himself into believing that he is- he will answer almost any question, no matter how off-the-wall, and in short order.

You can leave your questions in the comments section of this blog, in my email, referenced elsewhere on this blog, or on my Facebook page (Roger Owen Green); always look for the duck.

Movie review: Coyote v. Acme

Wile E. Coyote

I thought my wife should consider seeing the movie Coyote v. Acme after we played the July 6 edition of the New York Times Connections. The blue category was Acme Products Used by Wile E. Coyote; she had no idea.

On the other hand, it was the first category I identified. I saw a LOT of Road Runner cartoons growing up, usually on a variant of The Bugs Bunny Show on Saturday mornings. It wasn’t my favorite segment, as I thought it was a tad repetitive.

Yet the idea of the movie – “After enduring years of malfunctioning products, Wile E. Coyote teams up with a local personal injury attorney to take on ACME, the manufacturer of anything and everything used by the Looney Tunes characters” – seemed rich with possibility.

So I was mildly peeved that Warner Brothers intended to shelve the completed film in late 2023 to get a tax write-off. Other people were more vocal, and the public outrage prompted the filmmakers to look for another distributor.

What’s in a law firm name?

The film’s appeal started early for me. In 2022, Wile E. Coyote saw a TV ad for “Avery, Jones & Maltese, a personal injury law firm in Albuquerque specializing in cartoon violence cases involving Acme products.” The firm was named for Tex Avery, “crucial in the creation and evolution of famous animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd,” and Chuck Jones, who “wrote, produced, and/or directed many classic animated cartoon shorts starring Bugs, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner,” and others.

I thought the third name refers to the late actor Peter Lorre. In the movie, “in 1992, in a world where cartoon characters co-exist amongst humans, Acme Corporation scientist Dr. Lorre leaks a message to an unknown contact before being captured and imprisoned inside an Acme portable hole.” An animated version of Lorre appeared in several Warner Brothers cartoons. Maltese refers to Lorre’s 1941 film The Maltese Falcon, which I have not seen.

But my friend Mayor noted that Maltese referred to Michael Maltese, one of the writers for Warner Bros. “He also wrote many cartoons for Hanna-Barbera!”

The law firm, headed by Kevin Avery (Will Forte), was used to settling for small sums. But at his client’s urging, he and his eager, budding lawyer niece, Paige (Lana Condor), take on the ACME juggernaut, represented by a cocky corporate lawyer, Buddy Crane (John Cena).

The cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn, the CEO of the Acme Corporation, reminds me of a current US Senator. I mean that in a non-complimentary way re: the senator, but it’s a fair description of the rooster.

“beep, beep” or “meep, meep”?

I liked the movie quite a bit; we saw it at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany at a Friday matinee. What interested me more was that my wife liked it a lot, as a David v. Goliath story, which seems very current. The pieces of the mystery came together with familiar characters like Elmer Fudd, Tweety, Granny, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and, of course, the Road Runner, who played a pivotal and surprising role.

It received positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes: 96% from critics and 95% from audiences. The critics’ consensus: “A daffy satire that’s equal parts heart and wily humor.” Groan.

There’s no E at the end of GREEN

October 27 | Book Review | The Spirit of Philadelphia: A Call to Recover Founding Principles by Chris Gibson. Reviewer: Roger Green (no E at the end)

As many of you know, I help put together the calendar for the Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library’s author talks and book reviews each Tuesday at 2 pm at the branch at 161 Washington Avenue.

I saw the listing before it went to the Albany Public Library’s calendar compiler on July 20. It wasn’t until August 15, while looking for something else, that I noticed my name was misspelled! There’s no E at the end of GREEN.

I didn’t bother to check, figuring that the reviewer description would be a cut-and-paste job from the last time I did a book review.

So if you see the listing with an E at the end of my surname, I know, I know!

September 22 | Book Review | American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation by Eric Rutkow. Reviewer: Alex Ashby, MF, watershed forester, Albany Dept. of Water & Water Supply.

September 29 | Book Review | Copernicus’ Secret: How the Scientific Revolution Began by Jack Repcheck. Reviewer: Tom Ellis, educator & activist.

October 6 | Book Review | Who is Government: The Untold Story of Public Service by Michael Lewis. Reviewer: Patrick Wildes, Director of the Albany Law Center.

October 13 | Author Talk | Kenneth A. Posner, aka Barefoot Ken, runner & former Wall Street analyst, discusses & reads from his book, Chasing the Grid: An Ultrarunner’s Physical and Spiritual Journey in Pursuit of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge.

October 20 | Author Talk | Paul Grondahl, Opalka Endowed Director, NYS Writers Institute, discusses & reads from his new book, Andy Rooney: A Lucky Life.

October 27 | Book Review | The Spirit of Philadelphia: A Call to Recover Founding Principles by Chris Gibson. Reviewer: Roger Green, MLS, business librarian retired from the NY Small Business Development Center.

Looking forward!

I’m particularly looking forward to hearing about Albany native Andy Rooney (1919 – 2011), a mainstay on the CBS News program 60 Minutes. When he died, I wrote about him.

As for the book I’m reviewing the following week, well, I haven’t gotten past Chapter 1 yet. But I have time, right? Already, I know that there are a LOT of footnotes.

I’ll mention again: if you live around here and have a book you’ve written, or a book you’d like to review, please let me know.

Banned Books Readout

Event by Albany NY Library, Tuesday, October 6, 2026

161 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12210-2303

Duration: 1 hr 30 min, 6-7:30 pm

Celebrate your right to read! Join community members, authors, actors, musicians, poets, educators, and advocates for an inspiring evening celebrating the freedom to read and the power of ideas. In addition to scheduled readings, the program will also include a brief update on the current state of book challenges nationally, in New York, and in our local community.

No registration required. Recommended for ages 16+. Presented in Partnership with NYCLU (Capital Region Office), League of Women Voters of Albany County, Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood, and Albany Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc

Stories and Spoken Word Poetry Open Mic Night.

Also, on Tuesday, September 22, come to the temporary location: the 2nd floor of the Madison Pour House (1110 Madison Avenue) for the Stories and Spoken Word Poetry Open Mic Night. Accessible only by steps. The doors open at 6:30, and the show starts at 7.

Bring a 5-minute story or spoken word piece to perform. Tellers are encouraged to share a story in the style of The Moth – personal stories with no notes. Not in the mood to tell a personal story… how about a folktale?

Your $5 minimum donation goes to pay the venue for our use of the space.
We will have prompts available at the door that might inspire an impromptu story!