The best scholastic coach I have seen in the Phoenixville area in my 30 years here is boys tennis coach Leo Scoda, who has guided the boys program for 44 years. Scoda is also mayor of the Phoenixville borough and has been for a number of years. Prior to that he served on borough council.

During that long tenure, Scoda has guided the Phantoms to Ches-Mont League and Pioneer Athletic Conference championships in nearly every season.

Phoenixville's boys have not lost a PAC-10 regular season match in the 21-year history of the league. Their perfect record currently stands at an amazing 186-0 during that span.

Scoda has maintained outstanding records because he also directs the youth recreation program in Phoenixville and develops boys and girls from a young age on up to the senior high school level. He also coached the Phantom girls for several years but never won a title with them. He did manage to never have a losing record with the girls teams.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

When we first heard about the fact that The Phoenix would be graced with a blog, I had visions of scoops about celebrities or politicians. Or maybe we would be writing about our every day musings so you would get a peak into the "unpublished" newsroom. We could tell you all the stuff that is too short to print or doesn't really fit in the newspaper.

But this blog isn't only supposed to be about what I (and my fellow staffers) pictured it to be. As seen from your responses (and lack there of) so far, this blog is not how _you_ envisioned it.

So - what do you want in our blog? Keeping in mind that we do have certain limits (such as being honest and family-friendly), let us know what you expect from us. It's good to know that you don't like what you're seeing right now, but the only way we can build on that is to better understand what you are looking for when you click on The Phoenix Files link.

Also remember that it is much easier to point out the negative without having to worry about being constructive. We need some of that creativity and constructive help in order to better serve you, because, at the end of the day (whether you agree with it or not), the newspaper is made for you - to inform you, to entertain you, to make you laugh and cry. And our blog is just an extension of that.

What's in a blog? What do _you_ want in our blog?

A couple of Wednesdays ago I was at a conference in Hackensack, N.J. A veteran newspaperman came up and peered at my nametag, and said, "I can't believe you're from Phoenixville!" It turned out that Malcolm Borg was one of the many men to pass through Phoenixville via the Valley Forge General Hospital, decades ago.

We didn't have time for a long discussion, so I didn't get to ask him about his experiences there. However, I did find out that when he started out at The Record in Hackensack after his service, the paper was just one building, and now he is the Chairman of the North Jersey Media Group, which includes numerous other newspapers along with The Record, and employs thousands of people.

So, we'll count that as another success story for someone who came through Phoenixville. Obviously, his time here made a strong impression on him.

Sincerely,
Patricia Matson
Editor, The Phoenix
Phoenixville Newspapers, Inc.

While Dennis dazzles you with his review of the magical musical Disney flick "Enchanted," here's my take on another recent release that couldn't be more different...The Mist.
Based on the novella by Stephen King, The Mist is a claustrophobic horror/thriller starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, and Andre Braugher.

The director is Frank Darabont, a seasoned King-veteran responsible for "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile." However, those two acclaimed films are in stark contrast to Darabont's latest work; while those two are both optimistic views on humanity both set in prisons, The Mist is incredibly, even shockingly depressing and pessimistic. The ending alone could go down as either one of the best horror movie endings ever or one of the worst, depending on your view.

Jane plays David Drayton, an artist living with his wife and young son Billy (played surprisingly well by newcomer Nathan Gamble) in rural Maine. Following a freak thunder storm, David and Billy head to the town grocery store with their out-of-towner neighbor (Braugher) to pick up some supplies. When they reach the crowded supermarket, a strange mist suddenly approaches, and a man covered in blood runs into the store claiming "there's something out there."

I'm not going to give too much away, but basically the shoppers soon barricade themselves in the store while fending off the nightmarish denizens of the meteorological anomaly. While standard horror cliches soon follow as the shoppers begin to be picked off one by one, the survivors separate in several factions: the skeptics who refuse to acknowledge what's happening (led by Braugher), those who are simply trying to survive (including Drayton and son, and a colorful cast of supporting characters), and a fanatical sect who believe the mist is the coming of a Biblical apocalypse.

I won't say anymore of this last group, as what they do throughout the over 2 hour film is just as if not more horrific than the monsters themselves. The best part of the film is also found in this group; Harden plays the sect's leader, crazy Mrs Carmody, the "town eccentric." She not only steals every scene she's in, but has some of the best one-liners in the movie.

Besides Harden and Gamble, the rest of the performances are pretty forgettable, if not downright terrible. Jane is wooden is unlikable, and the other actors are simply fulfilling horror standard stereotypes that are downright boring.
The monsters-and there are several different types- are a mixed bag. Some are downright terrifying; others are others are rendered laughable by obvious CGI special effects. However, the latter applies only to one or two of the beasties; most are scary enough and get the job done.

However, the negatives are far outweighed by the positives. The grocery store and the hysteria that ensues among the survivors create a frightening, cramped atmosphere that should constantly keep the audience on the edge of the seats. The attacks by the monsters and Harden's wackjob cult-leader lend a lot of both monstrous and human terror to the works, so while The Mist doesn't do anything to break the mold, it works within that mold very well. This is certainly a welcome relief from the recent slew of gore-fests we've been receiving lately such as Hostel 2 and Saw IV.

Translating King's work from the written word to the silver screen can be difficult; case-in-point 2003's "Dreamcatcher," also starring Jane. But Darabont does an admirable job of creating that paranoid, creepy ambience prevalent in the short story, and even throws in one or two allegories to real-life politics in the film.

In closing, many people may look at this film and simply think it's a rip off of "The Fog." But while it stays within horror-film stereotypes and doesn't offer much of anything that is new to fans of the genre, it still gets the job done. The one groundbreaking element of the film is, as I mentioned, the incredibly shocking ending. That might be worth the price of admission alone. Be warned, though; after you leave the theater, you may feel pretty depressed and in need of a nice long nap, or maybe a hug. This is pessimism at its best (or worst?) and offers a bleak outlook on humanity's ability to come together in times of crisis. And I think that's exactly what Darabont is trying to accomplish.
Score: 7/10


Posted by
Brian McCarthy

You all will probably not be as excited about this as me, but I got a great Black Friday deal this year. I was smart enough to not go out on Friday (though I did want a DS Lite and those were all sold out, so maybe it would have been a tiny bit smart) and fight traffic and crowds (unless you're into that kinda thing).

I did however, excitedly wake up Saturday morning and rush (safely) to Boscov's to get a great deal on a SLR camera (Nikon D40x with the standard 18-55 lens and a 55-200 zoom lens) that I was dying to get. The best part? I got a bunch of extras with it for free (including a free printer with mail-in rebate!). A friend of mine got the same camera a couple months ago and was jealous about all the bonuses I got for only 100 dollars more than he spent.

Now, why would I be telling you about this? Well, I don't know if you've seen, but occasionally I take pictures for The Phoenix. Now, I will be able to take better pictures and more of them as well (I was using Barry Taglieber's point-and-shoot until now). I hope to start taking pictures for our blog, to give you my view of what I see in Phoenixville as I run around for work. I admit though, I am not as good or experienced as Taglieber, but I hope that having a fresh eye will keep some of you coming back for more.

P.S. I rarely shop on Black Friday, so this was super exciting for me. I didn't get to go to downtown State College to shop like I wanted, but I think this Nikon makes it all worth it.

Posted by
Laurie Perini

‘Enchanted’ is a lot of corny fun in the Disney tradition

Moviegoers were more than enthralled with “Enchanted,” as it made the Walt Disney Pictures film the No. 1 movie of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

“Enchanted” earned $35.3 million over the weekend — $50 million since its opening last Wednesday.

Our story is first told in old school Disney animation, involving the lovely Giselle (Amy Adams). Adored by woodland creatures, Giselle pines away for everlasting love and hope to find herself a Prince Charming.

Although not necessarily Charming, she lands upon the lap (literally) of Prince Edward (James Marsden), and within a day’s time, vow to wed each other. I guess after completing each other’s songs is enough to walk the wedded aisle in this film.

However, the impending nupitals doesn’t sit well with Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), who doesn’t want to lose her royal placement to Giselle.

Disguised as an old hag, Narissa dupes Giselle into falling down a wishing well the day of the wedding.

While adorned in full-blown princess wedding gown, Giselle ends up in the busy streets of Manhattan, and in human form. She’s a long way from her dream wedding in Andalasia, and now has to fend for herself in the real world of New York.

When Giselle is spotted trying to enter a Palace Gambling billboard by divorce attorney Robert Philip (Patrick Dempsey) and his daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey), Robert decides to assist Giselle with Morgan’s urging.

Of course, Robert was planning on getting engaged to long-time girlfriend Nancy (Idina Menzel), much to the dismay of Morgan, who believes in princesses and fairy tales.

After spending the night, Giselle unintentionally turns Robert’s life inside out, as she “ah-ha’s” surburban creatures to clean Robert’s messy apartment, and making a new dress out of his curtains. By the way, for being a bachelor, Robert doesn’t have the most manly drapes in his place.

Anywho, Prince Edward and sidekick Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) go down the wishing well to retrieve Giselle. However, Edward isn’t finding New York much to his liking, while Nathaniel is secretly doing the bidding of Narissa.

Along for the ride and sparring with Nathaniel is Pip the Squirrel, who doesn’t have much luck in communicating with Edward about Nathaniel’s deceit.

So while Edward is running around New York in search of Giselle, she is spending more and more time with Robert, which turns this love story from a triangle into a square.

“Enchanted” could be described in one word — wow! There was all of the usual Disney fodder such as animation, singing, talking domesticated animals, an impish girl, a prince and evil stepmother. What I didn’t expect was all of that and a lot more.

While it does start off sugary-sweet in animation, once it goes live in New York, the comedy really kicks in. I’ve often wondered what it would be like if a Disney character would come to live. This film has that, and enough comedy and jokes to capture everyone’s attention.

Adams is spectacular as Giselle, as she’s sweet, innocent and embodies everything that a Disney princess should, including singing and pleasant optimism.

Dempsey is great as Robert, who doesn’t know if Giselle is literally crazy or if she could be as real as his daughter would like her to be.

Marsden portrays the prince in typical Disney mode — charming and brash. Spall’s Nathaniel is perfect as the comedic foil, and is the butt of a lot of jokes.

One of the hottest scenes is when Sarandon’s Narissa comes to life, as she struts across the street while waving her witchcraft in making cars stop at her presence. While this isn’t a huge role for Sarandon, it was a pleasant surprise seeing her cast this way.

The only minor flaw I didn’t like about this film is that five minutes of corniness towards the end could’ve been lopped off, but I suppose that was more for the children’s sake.

This time around, Disney has taken its formula of “girl meets boy, get married and happily ever after” and tweaks it between animation and real life. If only a lot of past Disney classics were given some real life fusion.

A perfect holiday film for all ages, “Enchanted” will leave you feeling happy even after with four out of four stars.

“Enchanted” is rated PG for some scary images and mild innuendo. Running time is 1 hour, 48 minutes.

Last week’s No. 1 film, “Beowulf,” toppled to third place with $16.2 million — its two-week total reaching $56.4 million.

For more information and show times, contact Regal Cinemas Marketplace 24, 180 Mill Road, Oaks, at 610-666-6697.

Posted by
Dennis J. Wright dwright@phoenixvillenews.com

If you've been following the news recently, you've probably heard that Neil Diamond revealed the inspiration behind Sweet Caroline, that old-time favorite of Red Sox fans and drunken revelers at bar's closing times everywhere.

Diamond said he wrote the song when he saw a picture of Caroline Kennedy when she was seven-years-old. So the truth is finally revealed.

Or is it? Here's an alternate reason/urban myth for all of you to enjoy (or more likely, yell at me and say I'm full of something.) My Dad use to be a broadcast journalist for several networks throughout his career, and at one point worked in Boston. There, he worked with a camera-woman named Carolyn, who claimed she used to date Neil years earlier. They were dating when he wrote the song, and he told her he dedicated the song to her, only changing her name slightly for rhyming purposes. She apparently bought this and told my Dad the song was for her.

Make of that what you will. Maybe the couple were just having a HUGE fight at the time, and Diamond figured that would soothe her anger nicely. That'd be awesome. But maybe there's some truth to it; after all, Sweet Caroline is a pretty romantic song...if you're sober enough to notice when listening to it. Seriously, it needs to be banned from bars the world over.

Until next time,
Brian

Posted by
Brian Mccarthy

I find it interesting how persuasive advertising is, even when we know that the point of a piece of advertisement is to get us to buy something, to feel like we need that item.

I was driving with a friend the other day and we saw a billboard for AT&T. He commented that he really liked the “raising the bar campaign” that Cingular (now AT&T) has had for the past however many months. I asked him if that made him want to switch his phone service to AT&T and he actually replied he might want to switch.

I also have a friend who will buy items because they have unique packaging or seem out of the ordinary.

Now, I may have taken classes on advertisement, but I know that I’m not the only one that realizes that advertisement has one goal - to get you to buy the product. The advertisers want you to think that you have to have the product to feel whole (maybe that’s a little extreme, but at least on some level, that’s the point).

So, we know better, but it still works. What gives?

I guess it has something to do with the psychology of advertising. It’s fascinating and actually a bit scary too.

Posted by
Laurie Perini

I went to Spring Ford High School today for an assignment and going to schools is always challenging for me. At least middle school and high schools. See, I don't look like I'm 22. I'm lucky if I pass for 16. I'm always worried when I go into a school that the teachers are going to think I'm a student and ask me "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

While I was trick-or-treating with my cousin, another group of kids met us at a house and one of the girls said hello to my cousin. Then she saw me and said "Thank God I'm not the only high school student out tonight." I didn't say anything, but inside I was laughing. I found out later that girl was a freshman.

At the bars up at school, I would always have to show a second form of ID because the one I have now is a duplicate (long story involving losing my renewal slip, etc.) and I'm sure they thought it was a fake.

I guess it's a blessing that I look so young because most women want to look younger, but I still have that fear when I go into a school I'm going to get scolded. Thankfully, I normally get a visitor tag, so I have some protection from getting sent to the principal's office.

Posted by
Laurie Perini

Laurie and I went to The Katharine Gibbs School in Norristown Monday Morning to attend a forensics lecture on crime scene investigation, in order to get experience in covering crime scenes.
Sound boring? Well actually, it was kinda neat. Many of the people who attended were students at the Gibbs School who take a class taught by Michael Dayoc, a former Montgomery County police detective. Dayoc's friend, Detective Mike Gilbert, set up a mock crime scene in the class room complete with caution tape and fake blood splatter.
There were two "guns" concealed in the crime scene, bullet casings, footprints, and a mannequin with rope tied around its torso representing the dead body.
I'm not gonna lie, most of the things the experts discussed I've already learned from watching CSI or one of it's terrible spinoffs. The lecture/workshop basically boiled down to DNA, and how EVERYTHING can be used to look for DNA leading to a suspect.
Shocking, right? What was interesting was that when Det. Gilbert discuss every possibility for the crime scene and the students laughed at his responses, he was quite serious when he said all of those scenarios have really happened.
The victim died with rope tied around himself due to a personal perversion of his, it was self defense and the rest of the crime scene was staged to cover up the crime, glass shards on clothing have led to convictions; all of these things have apparently happened in real life.
Man. Guess television isn't always fictional. If this writer's strike lasts too long the networks can always contact police.
Truth is stranger is fiction. I'm glad I went to the seminar but I hope I never have to cover crime scenes like that.
Posted by
Brian Mccarthy

Think your vote won't count? In Conshohocken, Anthony Tucci and Robert O’Neill tied 117-117 for a council seat. The winner will be decided by a random drawing on Black Friday. Tucci, a general science teacher at Renaissance Academy in Phoenixville, says he has been sharing the democratic process with his students. Maybe this experience will inspire all of them to vote when they’re older.
* * *
To those who still have campaign signs scattered around the roadways, almost a week after the election: clean up your act! Okay, it's not as bad as after a general election, but any eyesores at all are still too many. Politicians, push your supporters to go out and clean up after themselves. Especially those of you who claim to support open space!
This time of year, I'm always reminded of Ogden Nash's parody of Joyce Kilmer's "Trees" poem:
"I think that I shall never see
a billboard lovely as a tree.
Indeed, unless the billboards fall
I'll never see a tree at all."
Admittedly, the lawn and road signs are mostly blocking grass and shrubbery, not trees, but the principal remains.

Posted by
Patricia Matson
Editor, The Phoenix

At the last Upper Providence Board of Supervisors meeting (11/05), a few residents made comments about how they were having trouble finding information about developments and road closings. One resident suggested a liaison for the development company that the township would require the developer to pay for. I think this is an interesting idea and has a lot of potential, but I was wondering about a few aspects of it. So I am asking Upper Providence residents to further think about this topic with these questions in mind so that maybe they can bring it up with the Board again and make this suggestion a reality.

First, who would the liaison be? Would it be someone from the company? Or would it be a resident? If a resident, would that person have to live close by? What criteria would this liaison need?

Second, would the liaison be the same for all developments, or site specific?

Third, When would this liaison be able to be reached? Would they have normal business hours or hours in the evening when most people are at their homes?

Fourth, and finally, what types of information would this liaison be responsible for knowing? I know that road closings and traffic are important, but what about stages of the development? Would the liaison need to attend meetings before development started in order to understand the full process of the development? Would the liaison need to visit the site, and if so, how often?

These are all just questions I had about this role if it were ever to come into being, but I thought that this was a creative solution to lack of information about project specifics.


Posted by
Laurie Perini

As I begin yet again another new career (my 3rd since venturing from the warm safe protection of the collegian world) I realize that I have always envied people who grew up knowing what they wanted to be, those who at a early age would say “when I grow up I want to be…” I never had that, when I was a kid, I had no idea what even interested me. Of course I had He-Man, but even in elementary school, this did not seem like a realistic future career choice. And once I found out that the military in fact did not have motorcycles with a missile strapped to the side, G.I. Joe was no longer an option. I realize that very few people actually find employment in the field they chose when they were six, even so it must have had some influence on their choices later on in life. When it was time for me to choose a major in college all I knew was that I liked to argue about subjects I could effect very little change about, so I majored in political science. So it’s the age old story, boy goes to college, boy graduates college, boy can’t find a job, boy works at a pizza shop, boy finds a job, gets laid off job, boy reexamines his life as he collects unemployment and waits for a new opportunity to present itself.
Fortunately for me an opportunity did present itself, before I started hitting the bottle. But I can’t help but wonder, what the future holds from here. What opportunities are in store for me? Will I ever be at a job long enough to start putting money in a 401K?

Posted by
Matthew Byrd

PHOENIXVILLE — To kick off this holiday season of giving, The Phoenix is one of seven local businesses who will be participating in this year’s Toys For Tots Program.

Along with The Phoenix, 225 Bridge Street, the following businesses are participating in this year’s program:

· Redner’s Warehouse Markets, 202 Schuylkill Road, Phoenixville;

· The UPS Store, 518 Kimberton Road, Phoenixville;
Advertisement

· O’Grady’s Restaurant, 273 Schuylkill Road, Phoenixville;

· Phoenixville Hospital, 140 Nutt Road, Phoenixville;

· Phoenix Karate, 243 Bridge Street, Phoenixville;

· Gateway Pharamacy, 165 Nutt Road, Phoenixville; and

· Amerikick Karate, 280 Schuylkill Road, Phoenixville

All of these businesses will have huge Toys For Tots boxes available for new toys to be dropped off for donation.

The Toys For Tots program collects new, unwrapped toys during November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

The public is invited to drop off a new toy at any of the participating businesses.


Posted by
DENNIS J. WRIGHT

So, last Thursday I was stuck in the office (ok, not stuck, but still...) when Scrubs came on, so even though it was on our TV, I couldn't pay attention to the whole thing.

As of last night, I have been able to watch it and now I plan to share my thoughts. I am going to assume that you, too, have seen the episode, so if you haven't and plan to, don't continue raeding.

First off - oh my God! Laverne was back! I know she just made a tiny appearance but I was so psyched to see her. And I loved how JD was like "she seems familiar."

Overall, I feel like the stories aren't spending as much time on comedy because they have to spend too much time on plot development. I guess this is because they have to resolve story lines since this is the last season. I hope now that Sam is born they will be able to have more comedy.

I think my favorite parts were with Elliot, even though she was on screen for a total of like, three minutes.
"Keith, I know I ruined your life, you can stop calling me." (crying on the other end) "Oh! Hi Kim!"
That was pretty funny.

As a side note, I think that Keith's "Oh, that's disgusting" is pretty lame. The first one, with the open neck wound comment was funny, but the second one was just kind of misplaced.

One final thought: I was quite disappointed when JD asked Cox "Would you be proud if I were your son?" and Cox replied "This conversation is over." I was kind of hoping that his response would be one of those rare moments when he's almost kind to JD and that he would have said something that could be interpreted as a "yes." Oh well, I guess I have a few more episodes to hope he'll be nice.

That's all I got for now. We'll talk more after next Thursday's show.


Posted by
Laurie Perini

Back when I was in elementary and middle school, the most artistic thing we ever did was sketch covers to our favorite books, or do something involving paper mache. I don't even remember.

But man, at the Soroptimist International of Phoenixville Art Show I went to yesterday, arguably the most interesting and complicated works were all done by Phoenixville Area School District Students. Kids in elementary school made these brilliant multicolored collages, an eighth grader made a 3-D diorama mixing drawing, acrylics and pastels of the famous Mario Brothers villain Bowser, and the works by high school students were, dare I say it, even better than works by some of the professional artists.

I can't recall half of the art projects I did. Half of them involved toothpicks and cotton balls, I think. It's great to see so many Salvador Dalis and Pablo Picassos in the making from our very own community.
What's sad, or cool, depending on your perspective, I guess, is that many of these kids probably look at their art class assignments as just another piece of homework to do, right after algebra and Napoleonic history.

Posted by
Brian McCarthy

So I've mentioned to you all before that I am a big fan(atic) about Scrubs and yesterday (Thurs the 25th) was the season premier.

Warning, this next bit may contain some information about the episode that may give away some bit of the plot (there aren't any huge spoilers, but...better safe than sorry).

First, oh my God, Keith's nicknames for Elliot throughout the show were hysterical. Though I can't repeat them here because this is a family newspaper (and newspaper website) I was rolling with the "straw-haired, stupid..." bit at the end, especially when Carla was like "You're not straw-haired."

The episode had all the things I love about Scrubs, exploration of the main characters (JD and Elliot, at least), repeated ideas/phrases during the episode and a lesson that wasn't so cute that you gag on it.

I did miss the slapstick humor that's normally somewhere in the episode. But Turk and Carla made up for it with the decision about the candy bar. And I have to say that I didn't know they stopped making Mars Bars until Elliot told Turk. But Bit-o-Honey? Come on, that's not a good, powerful, filling candy bar. He should have picked a Snickers (Hungry? Why wait?) or something like that, that had everything but the kitchen sink in it.

I do have to say, the ending was such a crappy way to end a first episode of a seaon, but I guess there's still hope. I hope Keith stays around too, even though I don't really like him that much.

Even though this is the last season, viva la scrubs (in dvd form, I guess). I am already counting down the hours until next week's episode. Catch ya then.


Posted by
Laurie Perini

It is terrible that the borough's draft budget will not be made public until a week after the election, at the meeting Nov. 13. Manager Anthony DiGirolomo blames the computers while praising the "streamlining" of the process, but what it means is that even council members (who now expect to receive the budget Nov. 9) will have very little time to examine it and debate it, let alone alter it, before they have to vote on it. Their constituents will have even less.

Borough residents have a right to weigh in on how much of their money will be taken by taxes and fees, and how it will be spent, but the process has been set up so that ignoring them will be not only easy, but almost necessary, as council rushes through the approval process to meet the state-required deadline.

Posted by:
Patricia Matson
Editor, The Phoenix

I was at the YMCA last night and as I was doing some on a
treadmill I happened to see a interview on the news about Video games
which contain violence. These games included fight scenes where you
could either chop the opponent to pieces with a sickle or beat them
to death with a club or a shovel. The reporters were asking a doctor
if he thought that young adults and young kids, who get there hands
on the games illegally, would actually act out these scenes if they
were faced with similar circumstances in real life. Well hello I'm no
doctor or genius but I know from my own experience as a kid and an
adult that we always want to emulate the tough guy heroes we see on
tv or in these games and I often imagined if I got into a real fight
I would do the same things to my opponent that I did to him in the
game. If you can sit there and commit those acts of violence in a
game over and over to the point you become desensitized and it has no
affect on your conscience than you will have no problem doing it in
real life. Maybe we all need to go to the wizard of OZ and ask for
some more brains.


Posted by:
Laurin Seaman

Now that we have this blog, I have the chance to write about the little things that I notice or happen to me in Phoenixville that I otherwise would never have the chance to put into print.

Take, for example, last weekend, when I was strolling to the office past the Bank Street fountain, when a young pre-teen stops me.

"Hey dude! Give me a dollar!," the little guy asked.
"Why?"
"I can make a killer awesome bird noise for a dollar. It's seriously the coolest thing you've ever heard."
I told him nah, no thanks, I'm pretty satisfied with my desire for animal noises at the moment, but the young entreprenur wouldn't have any of it.
"Wait, wait!" He pulls something out of his back pocket. "I got this wrench! Dude, this is a really nice wrench. Good stuff. One dollar, and you'll never need another wrench again!"
I waved him off and continued on my way, wishing him good luck as he shouted "Hey! Tell your friends!"
Did I mention I was on the phone the entire time? Yeah. Great.

Good to see our younger generation is going with the flow and contributing to our booming business community before they're even allowed to drive.

Later on- Brian

Posted by Brian McCarthy

Welcome to our newest addition to PhoenixvilleNews.com, The Phoenix Files. This is PhoenixvilleNews.com's first endeavor in the world of blogging. We believe this section of the site will allow you to learn a little more about us, while sharing our thoughts on a wide variety of topics.

This blog will be populated by any and all of the staff members here at Phoenixville Newspapers, who feel like sharing their thoughts and feelings on a particular subject not just our newsroom.

We hope that you enjoy this new adventure and of course, your feedback and interaction with the blog is greatly encouraged and appreciated.

Posted by:
Alexander Gould