Walt Shepperd is a veteran of Central New York's political scuffle, having covered government and politics in Syracuse for more than four decades before being asked for press credentials.
He is the Senior Editor of the City Eagle and the Mayor of Montgomery Street in downtown Syracuse.
Shepperd is also the producer of the The Media Unit, Central New York national award winning teen performance and production troupe.
Samadee is his alter ego. At least that's the rumor.
With less than a month before the Iowa caucuses, Samadee had two priorities - he needed to make a formal announcement of his presidential candidacy, and he was hungry. For the announcement he needed a place that served food but would not be playing Christmas music, a place with some aplomb. He approached Pastabilities hesitantly...
Samadee had eaten breakfast on Montgomery Street almost every day for 15 years. There had been lapses between incarnations of the storefront on the five story building next to the alley walkthrough to the One Park Place parking lot. Rene of Brown Baggers fame had it for awhile, hoping to run a straight restaurant in the storefront and a gay bar downstairs, but was ultimately thwarted by the inability to get a full liquor license due to the proximity of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Rose Ann maintained it as Checkers, building a steady breakfast trade, particularly among lawyers practicing in the city and county courtrooms a block away. The lapses posed inconvenience, but Samadee was most distressed at the most recent lapse, when Rob and Maggie closed the Brick Alley Grille House...
Samadee had gone to Shari Washington’s holiday concert in the Justice Center and got a big hug from the Sheriff, but the only television cameras there were broadcasting the music closed circuit throughout the facilities pods, so the encounter would not be of benefit to his still unannounced presidential candidacy. He had considered announcing in the jail, but he knew there was an issue about what happened to people’s voting rights after they had been locked up, and Shari wanted him to open the show talking about hope. Too late, he remember the closed circuit tape would be edited and presented by C-Jack Run Productions for broadcast the day after Christmas at 1 p.m. on Time Warner Cable’s public access channel 98, followed by C-Jack’s tribute to James Brown at 9:30 p.m...
Holiday week seemed to diminish the political tension, but for Samadee it was only a momentary distraction. Celebrating their traditional Christmas Eve dinner at the Dinosaur, with split pea and ham soup, catfish and macaroni and cheese, he had a hard time staying focused on the discussion.
“Maybe I could still do Iowa with a calliope,” Samadee said, reflecting of Mike Huckabee’s rapid rise in the polls after touring the state playing bass in his own rock band. “Do you think there’s still time?”
“There’s still time to certify you,” sneered the Wannabee, “and I’m not talking about the electoral process.”
“Timing is, of course, everything,” the Has Been reflected. “But the person who would really know is Ed Szczesniak...
