Or rather, Got Out and Voted
There was a town election today. Because we live outside of the heart of New Paltz, we can't vote in Village elections. That's a shame, really, since fewer than 25% of the 4,000 Village residents bothered to vote for their own mayor last week. I try not to miss a chance to vote. In college, I sent in absentee ballots, and after college, I voted in all of the elections except maybe one. For the record, I voted for all of the right people, tho they didn't always win. Example: I voted against Bush both times (all three, if you include his dad). I also voted for Bloomberg (a republican) and even for Giulianni (his incumbent opponent was a poor leader). In fact, my chosen candidate has always won except for the last two presidential elections, the first of which Bush stole by manipulating the votes, the second of which he won by manipulating the voters. To save time, I offer my services as professional voter. When an election comes up, just let me pick the winner. Think of the savings to tax payers (most of whom already don't vote in the first place).
Voting in New Paltz was a minified version of voting in Manhattan. In both cases, the election is held in a school gymnasium with voting machines that have levers, curtains, and handles. But in New Paltz, there is a good chance you'll find yourself next in line behind one of the candidates. That happened to me today when I realized that I was standing next to Edgar Rodriguez, who was running for the school board. His chances are good, since there were only two candidates for the three positions. Mathematically, then, I know I voted for at least one of the two winners.
There were also two referenda, both of which had to do with school issues. As a parent of three kids under 12, it wasn't hard to make up my mind there. I voted yes on the one that asked if kids should have less homework so that they can spend more time cultivating their imaginations and no on the one that asked if the Pledge of Allegiance should be followed up with a recitation of Joyce Kilmer's poem, "Trees." I've always hated that poem. I remember writing a viscious revenge poem about it when I was 11. It started, "I think that I shall never see/A poem worse than Kilmer's 'Trees,'" and it went on to expound on several of the problems I had with that short bit of frilly 19th century twaddle. Honestly, I loathe that poem.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Mother's Day in New Paltz
Our first Mother's Day in New Paltz, and we spent it all in neighboring towns.
We started at the Red Rooster in Gardiner. For Manhattanites, that's the equivalent of Sarabeth's Kitchen: not too fancy or expensive (Popover's), not ethnic (Barney Greengrass), not too big (Artie's). Best of all, there is rarely a wait, and if the weather is nice, you can eat outside. We had our usuals and then headed to venue #2.
The Mohonk Preserve is in Gardiner, too, but on the other end. We drove there for a little tour of the trails near the Visitor Center. Maeve loved one of the walks because it had ten marked posts. She liked putting her finger in the numerals at each post, a game I started her on in order to help her learn the shapes of the numbers (teachers always find those 'teachable moments'). She had a great time running from post to post, shouting, "Look, another one! It's a seven!" After this short trail, we drove to a nearby one that we'd visited last year while getting to know New Paltz. By the time we got there, Maeve was asleep, so Shirra took the bigguns in while I stayed back in the car with Maeve.
Shirra had her heart set on getting some plants, and who can deny a mama on Mother's Day (or any other day)? We next drove to Kerhonkshen to a plant nursery where Shirra and the big kids picked out some berry bushes and other plants for our gardens. Maeve and I continued our naps.
On the way home, we stopped in an antique store in Accord. I found an old Coca Cola sign and a tiny fireman-themed tiepin. A few minutes after we got back to New Paltz, I was on the scene of a fire in a home in Gardiner (see below); meanwhile, Shirra and the kids played in the playground and looked for places to plant their purchases.
We started at the Red Rooster in Gardiner. For Manhattanites, that's the equivalent of Sarabeth's Kitchen: not too fancy or expensive (Popover's), not ethnic (Barney Greengrass), not too big (Artie's). Best of all, there is rarely a wait, and if the weather is nice, you can eat outside. We had our usuals and then headed to venue #2.
The Mohonk Preserve is in Gardiner, too, but on the other end. We drove there for a little tour of the trails near the Visitor Center. Maeve loved one of the walks because it had ten marked posts. She liked putting her finger in the numerals at each post, a game I started her on in order to help her learn the shapes of the numbers (teachers always find those 'teachable moments'). She had a great time running from post to post, shouting, "Look, another one! It's a seven!" After this short trail, we drove to a nearby one that we'd visited last year while getting to know New Paltz. By the time we got there, Maeve was asleep, so Shirra took the bigguns in while I stayed back in the car with Maeve.
Shirra had her heart set on getting some plants, and who can deny a mama on Mother's Day (or any other day)? We next drove to Kerhonkshen to a plant nursery where Shirra and the big kids picked out some berry bushes and other plants for our gardens. Maeve and I continued our naps.
On the way home, we stopped in an antique store in Accord. I found an old Coca Cola sign and a tiny fireman-themed tiepin. A few minutes after we got back to New Paltz, I was on the scene of a fire in a home in Gardiner (see below); meanwhile, Shirra and the kids played in the playground and looked for places to plant their purchases.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Hot Mama ('s Day)
Fire on Mother's Day
It's rare for me to get on a fire truck heading to a fire. For one thing, there are few structure fires in the area. Moreover, I live nearly 4 miles from the fire house, so by the time I've gotten into my car and driven to the station, most likely I've missed the truck or trucks. Of 140 calls answered, I've probably been on a truck 25 times.
When the call came in today for a structure fire in the neighboring town of Gardiner (assistance requested from our department), I figured I'd end up waiting back at the fire house. I was mentally preparing to find ways to keep busy. But this time, because we sent out our ladder truck late in the game, I got to go along to the fire.
When we got there, companies from Gardiner, some of the other local fire houses, and the firemen from the earlier New Paltz truck, had already extinguished most of the fire. After the ladder truck got there, the group I was with assisted with the last stages, searching for hot spots with the use of thermal imaging cameras. We lifted a tall ladder so that firefighters could check out one roof, and we sent two firemen onto the highest roof using the ladder that's attached to the firetruck.
Since I haven't completed this summer's Firefighter 1 class (or fire camp, as Shirra calls it), I couldn't go up a ladder, so I tried to help as much as I could without getting in the way. I helped get the fan so that we could blow the last of the air from the house, and I helped roll hose at the end.
Happily, no one was hurt in the fire. I think that the house can be repaired, and more importantly, all of the occupants, including a dog, two cats, and many birds, escaped. One of the cats was the last one to leave the house, carried out in the arms of our chief and put into the EMS truck for oxygen. That was the best moment of the day....
Except for the fact that it's Mother's Day. But that's a separate post.
It's rare for me to get on a fire truck heading to a fire. For one thing, there are few structure fires in the area. Moreover, I live nearly 4 miles from the fire house, so by the time I've gotten into my car and driven to the station, most likely I've missed the truck or trucks. Of 140 calls answered, I've probably been on a truck 25 times.
When the call came in today for a structure fire in the neighboring town of Gardiner (assistance requested from our department), I figured I'd end up waiting back at the fire house. I was mentally preparing to find ways to keep busy. But this time, because we sent out our ladder truck late in the game, I got to go along to the fire.
When we got there, companies from Gardiner, some of the other local fire houses, and the firemen from the earlier New Paltz truck, had already extinguished most of the fire. After the ladder truck got there, the group I was with assisted with the last stages, searching for hot spots with the use of thermal imaging cameras. We lifted a tall ladder so that firefighters could check out one roof, and we sent two firemen onto the highest roof using the ladder that's attached to the firetruck.
Since I haven't completed this summer's Firefighter 1 class (or fire camp, as Shirra calls it), I couldn't go up a ladder, so I tried to help as much as I could without getting in the way. I helped get the fan so that we could blow the last of the air from the house, and I helped roll hose at the end.
Happily, no one was hurt in the fire. I think that the house can be repaired, and more importantly, all of the occupants, including a dog, two cats, and many birds, escaped. One of the cats was the last one to leave the house, carried out in the arms of our chief and put into the EMS truck for oxygen. That was the best moment of the day....
Except for the fact that it's Mother's Day. But that's a separate post.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Foreigner in My Old Hometown
I had to stay overnight in Manhattan yesterday. My brother (the composer) was having 4 of his pieces performed at Merkin Hall, near Lincoln Center, so I decided to spend the night at my mom's. Shirra had the brilliant idea of combining this overnight with a trip to the nether-reaches of Brooklyn in order to get the DVD player fixed at the dealership where we bought our new car.
The trip on Wednesday was uneventful. I made it from the Noop to Manhattan in excellent time, dropped off a few things at Mom's, and then headed to Plaza Auto Mall. I could have had the DVD player replaced elsewhere, but Plaza did it for free, and it's hard to beat that price. After dropping the car off there, I decided to unicycle from Nostrand and Avenue M in Brooklyn to 89th and Broadway in Manhattan, breaking the trip with a stop just before the Brooklyn Bridge in order to take care of an errand and also to see some old friends at my previous school, Packer. In all, I unicycled about 20 miles.
After tutoring, I dressed and headed to see John's show. Because I was running a bit late, I took the crosstown bus over to Broadway. I realized during the ride that I hadn't taken a NYC bus in over 5 years. In that time, I didn't forget how to ride a bike, but I did forget how the Metrocard fits into the machine on the bus, but luckily no one mistook me for a tourist just yet. Then I hopped onto the subway for a couple stops down to Lincoln Center. I'm a bit more familiar with subways, and that trip went fine, tho a later one didn't.
After the show, I decided to take the bus back uptown with my in-laws, who were kind enough to attend the performance, too. The bus didn't arrive for 15 minutes, so when it finally showed, it was crowded and hot. This seems to explain why I hadn't taken a city bus in so many years, but actually the explanation is that buses served me no purpose. I could take a subway for long rides when I was in a rush, and I could unicycle any other time. And now that I've taken my first and second buses since Fiona was in diapers, I feel that I can wait at least another ten years before bothering with that again.
Today I had to retrieve my car at Plaza. Because I loved riding over the Bridge, I decided to uni down the West Side Bike Path (always a joy) and head over the Bridge before hopping onto the subway from there. This plan worked great until I took the wrong subway in the wrong direction. I hopped off after only one stop, tho, and eventually made it to Plaza just as the mechanic was finishing up the work.
The GPS had me driving up the West Side Highway, tho I normally head up the FDR Drive across town. I figured, how bad could the WS H'way be. Answer: I almost missed my first student. Traffic crawled, and there was no hope of switching to a better route because, as I remembered, there is none.
I thought I was a City boy at heart, but it turns out that I'm just a bumpkin after all.
The trip on Wednesday was uneventful. I made it from the Noop to Manhattan in excellent time, dropped off a few things at Mom's, and then headed to Plaza Auto Mall. I could have had the DVD player replaced elsewhere, but Plaza did it for free, and it's hard to beat that price. After dropping the car off there, I decided to unicycle from Nostrand and Avenue M in Brooklyn to 89th and Broadway in Manhattan, breaking the trip with a stop just before the Brooklyn Bridge in order to take care of an errand and also to see some old friends at my previous school, Packer. In all, I unicycled about 20 miles.
After tutoring, I dressed and headed to see John's show. Because I was running a bit late, I took the crosstown bus over to Broadway. I realized during the ride that I hadn't taken a NYC bus in over 5 years. In that time, I didn't forget how to ride a bike, but I did forget how the Metrocard fits into the machine on the bus, but luckily no one mistook me for a tourist just yet. Then I hopped onto the subway for a couple stops down to Lincoln Center. I'm a bit more familiar with subways, and that trip went fine, tho a later one didn't.
After the show, I decided to take the bus back uptown with my in-laws, who were kind enough to attend the performance, too. The bus didn't arrive for 15 minutes, so when it finally showed, it was crowded and hot. This seems to explain why I hadn't taken a city bus in so many years, but actually the explanation is that buses served me no purpose. I could take a subway for long rides when I was in a rush, and I could unicycle any other time. And now that I've taken my first and second buses since Fiona was in diapers, I feel that I can wait at least another ten years before bothering with that again.
Today I had to retrieve my car at Plaza. Because I loved riding over the Bridge, I decided to uni down the West Side Bike Path (always a joy) and head over the Bridge before hopping onto the subway from there. This plan worked great until I took the wrong subway in the wrong direction. I hopped off after only one stop, tho, and eventually made it to Plaza just as the mechanic was finishing up the work.
The GPS had me driving up the West Side Highway, tho I normally head up the FDR Drive across town. I figured, how bad could the WS H'way be. Answer: I almost missed my first student. Traffic crawled, and there was no hope of switching to a better route because, as I remembered, there is none.
I thought I was a City boy at heart, but it turns out that I'm just a bumpkin after all.
Buggy Days are Here Again
...and it's not even summer.
When we were looking at the house last summer, we noticed a lot of bugs and knew that we'd be dealing with the same thing a year later, but we kinda imagined it wouldn't happen till July or August. Nope. Bug Day 2007 was May 10.
When I was at sleepaway camp 20 -- oops, 30 -- years ago, back when the earth was cooler, there used to be a crazy day like this when the insect population increased a hundredfold overnight. It seemed to depend on the weather and some switches that activate bugs' eggs and cocoons. Since camp was up in Maine, the temperature was a bit chillier than it is here in New Paltz, so Bug Day up there was consistently much later, like mid-July. I remember that after Bug Day, it was easy to tell which kids had more severe reactions to mosquitos, like my brother. Looking at his arms and legs, you'd assume that he was an 8-year-old heroin addict. Mosquitos hated me, however, and my bites produced only tiny welts that barely itched. So I'd come home with single-digit blemishes, but John would be covered head to toe with what appeared to be about 200 new nipples. He actually counted one year, and 200 was the number he came up with.
So it's Bug Day all over again here in the Noop, but we still have about 4 warm months left. Oh, joy. And wouldn't ya know it, but I married someone with my brother's type of blood, the kind that the mozzies love. As it happens, our eldest inherited her mom's bad luck with bugs. Of the younger two, one of them is like me, but the other is a total mosquito magnet. I can't remember which one of them it is, but I think we'll know soon enough!
When we were looking at the house last summer, we noticed a lot of bugs and knew that we'd be dealing with the same thing a year later, but we kinda imagined it wouldn't happen till July or August. Nope. Bug Day 2007 was May 10.
When I was at sleepaway camp 20 -- oops, 30 -- years ago, back when the earth was cooler, there used to be a crazy day like this when the insect population increased a hundredfold overnight. It seemed to depend on the weather and some switches that activate bugs' eggs and cocoons. Since camp was up in Maine, the temperature was a bit chillier than it is here in New Paltz, so Bug Day up there was consistently much later, like mid-July. I remember that after Bug Day, it was easy to tell which kids had more severe reactions to mosquitos, like my brother. Looking at his arms and legs, you'd assume that he was an 8-year-old heroin addict. Mosquitos hated me, however, and my bites produced only tiny welts that barely itched. So I'd come home with single-digit blemishes, but John would be covered head to toe with what appeared to be about 200 new nipples. He actually counted one year, and 200 was the number he came up with.
So it's Bug Day all over again here in the Noop, but we still have about 4 warm months left. Oh, joy. And wouldn't ya know it, but I married someone with my brother's type of blood, the kind that the mozzies love. As it happens, our eldest inherited her mom's bad luck with bugs. Of the younger two, one of them is like me, but the other is a total mosquito magnet. I can't remember which one of them it is, but I think we'll know soon enough!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
First Fire Followup
I had no idea it was so late when we got back to the fire house after finishing our work at the sorority. I would have guessed we'd been there for 90 minutes, but really it was more like twice that. Lucky for me, my day starts late, so I could sleep late and then take it fairly easy till 3pm. In fact, I'll have a chance to snooze a bit on the ride to Manhattan, so by the time I have my first student, I won't be too tired. I really feel bad for the fire fighters who had to be up and at work just a few hours later. Today will be tough on them, which makes them that much more heroic in my mind.
Perhaps because of this knowledge, I felt guilty about having a chance to sleep late. I had a dream where the rest of the fire fighters were back at the station, cleaning trucks, cleaning hose, and so on, and I wasn't around to help. When I woke up, I briefly remembered that we'd been dismissed and that everyone had left, so I went back to sleep, only to have the same dream. I think what I'll do is head to the firehouse soon so that I can clean off the trucks or help in some other way.
It's worth noting, too, that 4 or 5 firemen from Gardiner were on call until we got back to the station. It didn't occur to me until we returned there that 'on call' means they were actually waiting at the firehouse in case of an emergency elsewhere, but of course it wouldn't be too helpful to have them standing by 6 or 7 miles away. So these guys stayed up till past 3am and had nothing to show for it. Good on ya, Gardiner!
As for the NPFD, we had 20 firefighters at the scene along with 5 trucks. From what I understand, everyone did a great job. No one was hurt, property damage from the fire was minimized, and the entire operation ran smoothly. Considering how few actual structure fires occur in New Paltz, that's pretty impressive. Good on ya, New Paltz!
Perhaps because of this knowledge, I felt guilty about having a chance to sleep late. I had a dream where the rest of the fire fighters were back at the station, cleaning trucks, cleaning hose, and so on, and I wasn't around to help. When I woke up, I briefly remembered that we'd been dismissed and that everyone had left, so I went back to sleep, only to have the same dream. I think what I'll do is head to the firehouse soon so that I can clean off the trucks or help in some other way.
It's worth noting, too, that 4 or 5 firemen from Gardiner were on call until we got back to the station. It didn't occur to me until we returned there that 'on call' means they were actually waiting at the firehouse in case of an emergency elsewhere, but of course it wouldn't be too helpful to have them standing by 6 or 7 miles away. So these guys stayed up till past 3am and had nothing to show for it. Good on ya, Gardiner!
As for the NPFD, we had 20 firefighters at the scene along with 5 trucks. From what I understand, everyone did a great job. No one was hurt, property damage from the fire was minimized, and the entire operation ran smoothly. Considering how few actual structure fires occur in New Paltz, that's pretty impressive. Good on ya, New Paltz!
First Fire (For Real)!
The call came in at 11:48pm...structure fire on N. Manheim. As I headed to the car, I tried to remember just where that is, and realized that it's right off Main, across the street from SUNY. I drove right to the scene. I had a feeling this wasn't just a false alarm, and that was confirmed when I realized that all of our trucks were at the scene.
The building housed a sorority. The fire seems to have started in a 2nd-floor ceiling fan, and luckily it didn't spread too quickly. No one was hurt, and I don't think there was much damage to the personal property of the women in the house. None of the firefighters were hurt, either, tho some of the people who went into the smoky house needed some water to slake their thirst: The chief estimated that the temperature near the fire and smoke was about 400-500 degrees!
Interesting note: Just before we left, the firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to check for hotspots, and my partner found one. We opened a small hole in the ceiling of one of the rooms, and to our surprise, there was a bird's nest inside, along with a dead bird. When she came by to collect some of her things, the woman occupying that room told us that she had heard bird noises for a long time and that the bird's name was Bob. I guess that would be Shishka Bob now.
We were back at the firehouse by 2:45 am, and after a little cleanup, we left about a half hour later; I was home by 3:20. My clothes are a little whiffy but not too bad.
The building housed a sorority. The fire seems to have started in a 2nd-floor ceiling fan, and luckily it didn't spread too quickly. No one was hurt, and I don't think there was much damage to the personal property of the women in the house. None of the firefighters were hurt, either, tho some of the people who went into the smoky house needed some water to slake their thirst: The chief estimated that the temperature near the fire and smoke was about 400-500 degrees!
Interesting note: Just before we left, the firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to check for hotspots, and my partner found one. We opened a small hole in the ceiling of one of the rooms, and to our surprise, there was a bird's nest inside, along with a dead bird. When she came by to collect some of her things, the woman occupying that room told us that she had heard bird noises for a long time and that the bird's name was Bob. I guess that would be Shishka Bob now.
We were back at the firehouse by 2:45 am, and after a little cleanup, we left about a half hour later; I was home by 3:20. My clothes are a little whiffy but not too bad.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Driving Under the Influence (of Testosterone)
While driving back from Manhattan this evening, I didn't concede to an aggressive driver; later, he swerved in front of me and decelerated suddenly before switching back to the right lane and taking the exit. I reflected on how relaxed I've become while seated behind the wheel. Where once I might have gotten angry at that doofus, I merely reminded myself that I'll be outliving him by decades. He who laughs last, etc.
In my 20s and early 30s, I was more aggressive on the road. My proudest achievement was being honked at by Israeli taxi drivers. For the most part, when I was behind the wheel, I drove fast. Occasionally I pulled ahead of slowpokes in the fast lane and then let my car slow down until they switched to the lane they belonged in. It was more about righting a wrong than driving dangerously, but I don't do that anymore. I am totally blase these days. If I'm in a rush, I'll drive speed limit + 9 mph. If not, I'll stick to the limit or, if no one is behind me, I'll go slower. I usually drive the highway at 55-60 mph. I no longer drive under the influence of testosterone.
I was thinking about when this started, and it seems to have coincided (not coincidentally) with our move to New Paltz. Life is a lot calmer up here for us, and drivers are generally much more considerate. Yet another reason to leave life in the big city.
In my 20s and early 30s, I was more aggressive on the road. My proudest achievement was being honked at by Israeli taxi drivers. For the most part, when I was behind the wheel, I drove fast. Occasionally I pulled ahead of slowpokes in the fast lane and then let my car slow down until they switched to the lane they belonged in. It was more about righting a wrong than driving dangerously, but I don't do that anymore. I am totally blase these days. If I'm in a rush, I'll drive speed limit + 9 mph. If not, I'll stick to the limit or, if no one is behind me, I'll go slower. I usually drive the highway at 55-60 mph. I no longer drive under the influence of testosterone.
I was thinking about when this started, and it seems to have coincided (not coincidentally) with our move to New Paltz. Life is a lot calmer up here for us, and drivers are generally much more considerate. Yet another reason to leave life in the big city.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
April Showers
In mid-April, New Paltz was hit by a nor'easter. I took a few photos to help you understand some of the worst flooding New Paltz has seen in at least 30 years.
Springtown Road gets flooded every year or so, but 2007's flooding was the worst since the 1950s, according to one woman whose basement we un-flooded. The water was so high that the firetrucks hadn't been able to make it there for three days. Normally we would have taken the Wallkill Bridge to get to this area, but the bridge was closed because the area on the other side of it was under 10 inches of water. [Notice in the photo how the road just disappears on the other side of the bridge into a wide lake.]
Most basements in this area have sump pumps that can deal with some flooding, but occasionally the pumps get overwhelmed by the volume of incoming water. One man came home from a trip to Arizona to find two feet of water in his concrete basement even tho the surrounding area was pretty dry. Sometimes, people with dirt-floor basements have water seep up thru the ground as high as the water level outside their homes. We visited a home where water had reached nearly up to the front door even tho the house sat about two feet above the ground. Helpful hint when buying a home: Avoid street names like Springtown Road, Water Street, or Sump-Pump Alley.
Springtown Road gets flooded every year or so, but 2007's flooding was the worst since the 1950s, according to one woman whose basement we un-flooded. The water was so high that the firetrucks hadn't been able to make it there for three days. Normally we would have taken the Wallkill Bridge to get to this area, but the bridge was closed because the area on the other side of it was under 10 inches of water. [Notice in the photo how the road just disappears on the other side of the bridge into a wide lake.]
Most basements in this area have sump pumps that can deal with some flooding, but occasionally the pumps get overwhelmed by the volume of incoming water. One man came home from a trip to Arizona to find two feet of water in his concrete basement even tho the surrounding area was pretty dry. Sometimes, people with dirt-floor basements have water seep up thru the ground as high as the water level outside their homes. We visited a home where water had reached nearly up to the front door even tho the house sat about two feet above the ground. Helpful hint when buying a home: Avoid street names like Springtown Road, Water Street, or Sump-Pump Alley.
Friday, May 04, 2007
My Amazing Musical Brother
My brother, John, is an amazing pianist and composer. He's currently the composer for all new music for the children's group The Paper Bag Players, and he's also their pianist. He goes on the road with them for about 250 shows a year! John has also composed music for ballets and other performance pieces, and on May 9 (his b'day!), he's having 4 of his pieces performed at Merkin Hall in NYC, which is an awesome way to spend your birthday.
Check out his blog -- I've linked it to mine. He's got many of his short pieces attached to the blog, so you can listen to some of his best music there.
Check out his blog -- I've linked it to mine. He's got many of his short pieces attached to the blog, so you can listen to some of his best music there.
Attention Surplus Disorder
How can someone drive a coach for a living? I can understand how people can drive NYC buses; they have lots of stopping and starting, and while that's stressful, it certainly keeps you awake!
Those drives from New Paltz to Manhattan are only 80 miles of smooth sailing, yet they take a lot out of me. I often arrive home exhausted. It's hard for me to concentrate that long. My mind tends to drift. I find myself looking around to see how the leaves look or to notice for the first time some derelict building that's rotting away, just off the road. But the Trailways drivers who take me to and from Manhattan four days a week... They're amazing. They never take their eyes off the road, and they (almost) never have side conversations. They just drive. And if I had to do that day after day, it would just drive me crazy.
Some people have difficulty paying attention to one thing. If this is serious enough, it can get labeled as Attention Deficit Disorder. But these coach drivers must be tested. The company has to look for people who can focus on one thing for hours on end. They need people who suffer from Attention Surplus Disorder.
You heard it here first!
5/8/07 update: OK, maybe you didn't hear it here first. I googled 'attention surplus disorder' and got 676 hits. The phrase has been along for at least five years. You heard it here 677th!
Those drives from New Paltz to Manhattan are only 80 miles of smooth sailing, yet they take a lot out of me. I often arrive home exhausted. It's hard for me to concentrate that long. My mind tends to drift. I find myself looking around to see how the leaves look or to notice for the first time some derelict building that's rotting away, just off the road. But the Trailways drivers who take me to and from Manhattan four days a week... They're amazing. They never take their eyes off the road, and they (almost) never have side conversations. They just drive. And if I had to do that day after day, it would just drive me crazy.
Some people have difficulty paying attention to one thing. If this is serious enough, it can get labeled as Attention Deficit Disorder. But these coach drivers must be tested. The company has to look for people who can focus on one thing for hours on end. They need people who suffer from Attention Surplus Disorder.
You heard it here first!
5/8/07 update: OK, maybe you didn't hear it here first. I googled 'attention surplus disorder' and got 676 hits. The phrase has been along for at least five years. You heard it here 677th!
Uni Sumo and the Linkerpink
Two Sundays ago, I sprained a pinky during a bout of unicycle sumo wrestling.
Uni sumo is a pretty unusual sport, but my injury was fairly pedestrian. While tousling with an excellent rider from Austria, I felt a twinge as we tried to push each other out of the ring. I might have stopped then, but instead we had one or two more skirmishes because the adrenaline rush in my brain overpowered the pain in my hand. That ache kicked in later, right at the base of my left pinky knuckle.
It can't have hurt as much as the Dutch guy who had his left pinky amputated by his kidnappers in late 1989. That poor guy's 'linkerpink' was sent to his family as proof that he was still alive. I've always loved the word linkerpink.
My linkerpink hurt for a few days before I took action. I did take inaction right away, however: I stopped using the hand as much as I could and avoided anything that required a left pinky; thankfully the only things that need this particular digit are the letters q, a, and z. A few days later, however, the pain hadn't abated, so I buddy-wrapped my linkerpink to my ring finger. That helped, but since I didn't think to get gauze and special tape, I just used Band-Aids, and those took a toll
on the underlying skin.
Today I called my doctor at 8:30, and by 9:15, I was in his office. Tho he guessed it was simply a sprained ligament, he sent me for x-rays just in case. By 10:40, he was telling me that the x-rays had exonerated my sumo partner: There was no broken bone.
I love that I can get this level of care so quickly and cheaply. I was done in 90 minutes after seeing a radiologist once and my doctor twice, all for a $5 copay. Go New Paltz Family Practice.
Uni sumo is a pretty unusual sport, but my injury was fairly pedestrian. While tousling with an excellent rider from Austria, I felt a twinge as we tried to push each other out of the ring. I might have stopped then, but instead we had one or two more skirmishes because the adrenaline rush in my brain overpowered the pain in my hand. That ache kicked in later, right at the base of my left pinky knuckle.
It can't have hurt as much as the Dutch guy who had his left pinky amputated by his kidnappers in late 1989. That poor guy's 'linkerpink' was sent to his family as proof that he was still alive. I've always loved the word linkerpink.
My linkerpink hurt for a few days before I took action. I did take inaction right away, however: I stopped using the hand as much as I could and avoided anything that required a left pinky; thankfully the only things that need this particular digit are the letters q, a, and z. A few days later, however, the pain hadn't abated, so I buddy-wrapped my linkerpink to my ring finger. That helped, but since I didn't think to get gauze and special tape, I just used Band-Aids, and those took a toll
on the underlying skin.
Today I called my doctor at 8:30, and by 9:15, I was in his office. Tho he guessed it was simply a sprained ligament, he sent me for x-rays just in case. By 10:40, he was telling me that the x-rays had exonerated my sumo partner: There was no broken bone.
I love that I can get this level of care so quickly and cheaply. I was done in 90 minutes after seeing a radiologist once and my doctor twice, all for a $5 copay. Go New Paltz Family Practice.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Frog Spotted on Main St
New Paltz is a small version of some of the cooler nabes of NYC. We have coffee bars, tattoo parlors, tchotchke vendors, antique stores, and head shops (3 of 'em!). Main St is a combination of Columbus Ave and Greenwich Village. But one thing is conspicuously absent: conspicuous consumption.
Yes, New Paltz has its share of Beamers, Benzes and Jags, but those mostly return to their Upper West and -East Side garages by Sunday night when the second-homers return to Manhattan. People don't walk the narrow sidewalks of New Paltz decked out in the latest designer duds; we're more likely to see students on streetcorners sporting sweatpants and sneakers. So it came as a shock to me when I spotted a young man pushing an $800 stroller past the bus station today. That Frog
When we lived in Manhattan, we began to see Frogs and Geckos as soon as they came to this country. We first spotted them when stores just had prototypes and were taking orders months in advance. I was surprised how popular these strollers became, given their price and impracticality: they don't fold up small enough to fit on a bus or subway, so basically they're only meant to allow rich people's babysitters to take Dakota or Max for a stroll to Barnes & Noble.
Now, I don't have anything against rich people. It's the impracticality of these strollers that kills me. Maybe it's because I used to go thru strollers quickly, but if you added all of the strollers we had over the past 11 years, they still wouldn't add up to $800. Weirder still is that New Paltz doesn't have stroller-friendly sidewalks. The main shopping and walking areas tend to be narrow and hilly. In our 8 months in New Paltz, I've only seen a kid in a stroller two or three other times. But spring is upon us and summer isn't far away. Maybe we'll be seeing more of these schmancy parambulators in the months to come.
Yes, New Paltz has its share of Beamers, Benzes and Jags, but those mostly return to their Upper West and -East Side garages by Sunday night when the second-homers return to Manhattan. People don't walk the narrow sidewalks of New Paltz decked out in the latest designer duds; we're more likely to see students on streetcorners sporting sweatpants and sneakers. So it came as a shock to me when I spotted a young man pushing an $800 stroller past the bus station today. That Frog
When we lived in Manhattan, we began to see Frogs and Geckos as soon as they came to this country. We first spotted them when stores just had prototypes and were taking orders months in advance. I was surprised how popular these strollers became, given their price and impracticality: they don't fold up small enough to fit on a bus or subway, so basically they're only meant to allow rich people's babysitters to take Dakota or Max for a stroll to Barnes & Noble.
Now, I don't have anything against rich people. It's the impracticality of these strollers that kills me. Maybe it's because I used to go thru strollers quickly, but if you added all of the strollers we had over the past 11 years, they still wouldn't add up to $800. Weirder still is that New Paltz doesn't have stroller-friendly sidewalks. The main shopping and walking areas tend to be narrow and hilly. In our 8 months in New Paltz, I've only seen a kid in a stroller two or three other times. But spring is upon us and summer isn't far away. Maybe we'll be seeing more of these schmancy parambulators in the months to come.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Keeping Organic
When we lived in Brooklyn, we fell in love with the Park Slope Food Coop. Its membership has since doubled to about 14,000, but the PSFC is still a great place to shop due in large part to the wonderful people on our shift and the incredibly low prices. To shop there, members must work 2.5-hour shifts every 4 weeks. The rewards are an amazing selection of high-quality foods at a markup of just 22% over wholesale. Over all, you can't beat the coop's prices.
Shirra and I were lucky enough a few years ago to find ourselves with a great group of people in the 'food processing' unit. This is where people prepare the spice, cheese, olive, dry fruit, and tea items of the cooperative. Our group has six workers, and for most of the past 5 years, they've been the same people. When we moved to New Paltz, we found that we couldn't give up the monthly trips to the coop. Logistics proved difficult, but we've managed.
We obviously can't get all of our needs taken care of in a monthly trip to Brooklyn, so we've had to subsidize our diets by shopping locally. The good news is that New Paltz has several excellent choices to keep our fridge filled with healthy foods. Our favorite spot is Healthy Foods, located in the New Paltz Plaza (off the north end of Main St). The prices are generally great, and when that's not the case (like the high cost of almonds these days), we simply find other favorites until we can hit the PSFC again.
On the lower end of Main St, across from the tattoo parlor, is another good healthy food shop. The choices are different, but I haven't shopped there enough to compare them with Healthy Foods. This shop is smaller, so it's lacking somewhat in feng shui in comparison to its larger competitor, but it's great to have a place to get a healthy snack when we're in the center of town.
If we wanted to save a little money while shopping locally, there is another great choice in High Falls. I came upon it accidentally while antiquing, and I got a good feeling about it right away. It reminds me of the hippy days of the Park Slope Food Coop (from what I've been told), when the membership was smaller and people had to share a lot in the upkeep of the store.
The downside with this place is that the discount is only 10%, so its prices are quite a bit higher than its bigger cousin from Brooklyn. Apparently this savings is comparable to that of other nearby food coops, so I'm not complaining. I guess it just shows how amazing the PSFC is and why it's so hard for us to give up our monthly trips to the old neighborhood.
Shirra and I were lucky enough a few years ago to find ourselves with a great group of people in the 'food processing' unit. This is where people prepare the spice, cheese, olive, dry fruit, and tea items of the cooperative. Our group has six workers, and for most of the past 5 years, they've been the same people. When we moved to New Paltz, we found that we couldn't give up the monthly trips to the coop. Logistics proved difficult, but we've managed.
We obviously can't get all of our needs taken care of in a monthly trip to Brooklyn, so we've had to subsidize our diets by shopping locally. The good news is that New Paltz has several excellent choices to keep our fridge filled with healthy foods. Our favorite spot is Healthy Foods, located in the New Paltz Plaza (off the north end of Main St). The prices are generally great, and when that's not the case (like the high cost of almonds these days), we simply find other favorites until we can hit the PSFC again.
On the lower end of Main St, across from the tattoo parlor, is another good healthy food shop. The choices are different, but I haven't shopped there enough to compare them with Healthy Foods. This shop is smaller, so it's lacking somewhat in feng shui in comparison to its larger competitor, but it's great to have a place to get a healthy snack when we're in the center of town.
If we wanted to save a little money while shopping locally, there is another great choice in High Falls. I came upon it accidentally while antiquing, and I got a good feeling about it right away. It reminds me of the hippy days of the Park Slope Food Coop (from what I've been told), when the membership was smaller and people had to share a lot in the upkeep of the store.
The downside with this place is that the discount is only 10%, so its prices are quite a bit higher than its bigger cousin from Brooklyn. Apparently this savings is comparable to that of other nearby food coops, so I'm not complaining. I guess it just shows how amazing the PSFC is and why it's so hard for us to give up our monthly trips to the old neighborhood.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Flood
When the snow invariably melts, the fire department invariably gets called to pump out some basements. Many people have their own sump pumps so that the water that seeps in is dealt with before it rises too high. We get called when the sump pumps don't work (or don't work fast enough), or when flooding happens to a house that doesn't have a sump pump (yet).
I've been to a few pump-outs. They're considered 'public service' jobs, but they're still more interesting than many calls (like the false alarms at SUNY). Here is what the hose looks like when it's in full swing. I'd guess that we remove a few hundred gallons from a typical basement. Often the water is above our knees.
I've been to a few pump-outs. They're considered 'public service' jobs, but they're still more interesting than many calls (like the false alarms at SUNY). Here is what the hose looks like when it's in full swing. I'd guess that we remove a few hundred gallons from a typical basement. Often the water is above our knees.
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