This article was contributed by Curt Feldmann / SkaneatelesSuites
Two-fer Response; David vs Goliath (Girl)
In the April 23, 2008 edition of the Skaneateles Press, Ellen Leahy ( eleahy@cnylink.com ) wrote an ‘opinion’ about her fond memory of ‘A Feldmann’. I would reprint the article here, but I cannot find it at their http://www.cnylink.com page. It was a funny, but slammy, rememberance of Ellen and her friend at a local bar (30 years ago) being approached by one of the Feldmann Boys, being offered ‘a beer’, and then 1 beer for 2 girls being delivered.
NOTE:
Below is my light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek reply (which by the way, Ellen ‘forgot’ to publish the following week). So, I am feeling like David fighting the Goliath (Girl).
Am I taking this too seriously? Is this just a funny story, sadly at my expense? Or do (small town) newspapers have an obligation to at least publish re-buttals when they write stuff better left to personal diaries.
Hi, Curt Feldmann here, in reply to the delightfully funny story of buying two girls one beer.
While I don’t remember the incident, I have no doubt that something like that happened; indeed I spent much of my youth in local taverns. Certainly, I had no idea that I was memorialized in local legend and lore.
That said, I would like to offer some alternative versions. If anything, I was known to buy too many people too many beers, including myself. Perhaps I bought two for you and drank one between the bar and your table. Perhaps I was hitting on only one of you ( and you will never know which one).
Aside: My wife Toni (with whom I am hopelessly in love) took a five week road trip last Fall, traveling and staying in as many small communities as we could (or could not) find. The result was a reality check about the uniqueness of Skaneateles. Much of that, of course, is many people knowing many stories about lifelong friends still living and working and eating and drinking in the same places.
Perhaps we can have some fun with this forum. Not wanting to publicly slam or humiliate anyone, I will limit my suggestions to those that only would embarrass me. Perhaps others would like to add good-natured stories to the fabric that makes our community so special.
For example: Does anyone remember before the Gazebo we had a Porta Pottie and that it was discovered on the swim raft one morning? Does anyone remember the “It Ain’t A Cathedral” house ‘raft’ with women’s lingerie on the halyards, moored outside the Mayor’s Office? One local family still has the original copy of “My Wild Bar Tales”.
A couple of years ago, I started (and never finished) www.skaneatelessuites.blogspot.com
as an experimental blog about our community and my business. Especially the earlier entries, there are some tongue-in-cheek posts. Feel free to sign in and write some memories about legend, lore and tradition. But please, be gentle
Writers Note: Next time your sister is in town, call me. I will buy you both another beer. And we can trade stories about things that may, or may not, have happened. You can leave the tip.
Curt Feldmann here: In fairness I received this from the Eagle Newspapers early-thirty this morning:
Mr. Feldmann,
My name is Abbey Woodcock and I am the editor of the Skaneateles Press. Ellen still works in our office and writes for the Press while editing the City Eagle. If I had received your letter to the editor, I would have had no problem running it in the opinion section. All of the emails sent to eleahy@cnylink.com get forwarded to me and for some reason I did not receive your original letter. I have forwarded on both your response and a letter I received from your brother to Ellen and will publish the letters in the upcoming (May 7) issue of The Press. Thank you for taking the time to respond to our paper. Its readers that keep our paper going and we appreciate any feedback, positive or negative, about our stories, columns and other content.
Thanks again and sorry about the confusion.
Sincerely,
Abbey Woodcock