Sad, mad and glad

image: http://bettertomorrow.sodexousa.com

Last week was a weird week in the news. I mean like the kind of week when I almost feel ready to abandon reading anything beyond cooking and fashion magazines so I have a prayer of staying in my happy place. Are they going to print those upbeat type of glossy publications on Hearst’s new press?

Ever since I saw this story on the TU website I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.  I understand that these accidents occur with far too much frequency, but for reasons I haven’t quite grasped yet, this one has really had an impact on me.  My God, did you see the car?  It doesn’t seem possible that someone could have survived that crash and I’m left wondering what the future holds for the driver of that vehicle. How many times will he wish for a do-over, for the chance to take it back and do it all again differently?  As a parent, I’m tempted to begin printing out accident scene pictures and the related obituaries and start wallpapering my boys’  bedrooms with the consequences of bad decision-making. I’m scared and my heart aches for the families involved who both lost their children that morning, because I’m certain the young man who was driving that car will never be the same.

And how do you feel about the smoke story?  No, not the Pope Francis thing, this one.  Apparently, Assemblyman Steve Katz, an opponent of legalizing medical marijuana, has no personal problem with getting blazed and speeding up the NYS Thruway – at 10:00 a.m, by the way.  Perhaps he is anti-medical marijuana because he understands it won’t cure the severe case of hypocrisy he appears to be suffering  from.  What a jerk.  Throw him out of office and let him wake and bake on his own time.

If marijuana could in fact cure hypocrisy, maybe Rob Portman has been indulging in the wacky weed, too.  Seems that now that his own son is at risk of being denied basic civil rights because he is gay, Portman has had a change of heart in his consistently anti-gay marriage stance.  I don’t really understand why his son’s life and access to the benefits of marriage are somehow more important than the millions of other gay Americans who have been denied access to wedded bliss.  I’m sincerely glad he’s changed his position, but I’m even more glad that I could never imagine believing that my own child’s opportunities are somehow more valid than those of anyone else’s child.

I’ll go back to my Bon Appetit now.

Snow job

Today, without a doubt, was the best cross-country skiing I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy in the past 2 winters.  The company, the conditions, the lighting, it was all perfect.  The only thing that ever so slightly marred the afternoon was an exchange we observed between a couple as we headed up a hill following our loop through the back nine. We decided to climb one of the steeper hills rather than remain on the slightly groomed path that skirted around the golf course.  As we duck walked up the hill, we watched a mom climbing up the hill with two sleds in tow, one of which had a cute passenger of about 3 years-old. As she steadily made her way up the hill, a man, comfortably ensconced at the top of the hill, yelled down to her.  Words of encouragement, you might assume. Or, perhaps, an offer of assistance, right?  No, it wasn’t either of those things he was conveying.  What he said, repeatedly, was “You can’t do that” followed by “You know you can’t do that, don’t you?” I honestly don’t know if it is a function of my age or my personality, but I was immediately pissed.  How dare he tell her what she was and was not capable of doing?  Was she somehow internalizing his lack of confidence in her?  How were those boys she was shepherding up the hill processing the man’s skepticism in her ability to help them to reach the top?  I stared daggers at the guy as my friend and I not-so-quietly talked about what an ass he was.  Screw him.

I don’t hate guns

image everydaynodaysoff.com

I hate what people use guns to do. Guns scare me, but I don’t hate them.  Today, more than two dozen people were massacred in a(nother) school shooting.  Twenty-seven people, including 20 children, woke up today for the last time.  I went for a run tonight and thought of the terror that was school today for those children and adults in Connecticut.  Each time I imagined the fear those children must have felt, I gasped anew, feeling my  heart nearly stop with my exhale.  Horror.

I couldn’t post today about the 12 Days of Dining DelSo. How could a person even consider a holiday season on a day like today?  This day belongs to those lives lost.

Peace.

Don’t fence me in

Running around my neighborhood and the Whitehall Road area, I notice things.  It is amazing how no two runs are exactly the same because there’s always something new or different to mentally note.  We’ve been so fortunate that all of the additions (The Cheese Traveler, All Good Bakers, the newish branch of the public library, etc) have been positive, but there are two fairly recent changes that I’m not too keen about. Fences and walls have come down (in one case only partially), and it looks pretty crappy.  Let’s talk.

The first wall that fell, and which has continued to fall, brick-by-brick, for the past year or so, faces Delaware Ave, in front of that little shopping plaza.  The sole positive thing I can say about this wall, which seemingly is being nocturnally deconstructed, one brick at a time, is that it distracts the eye from the hideousness that is the former Friendly’s, vacant for at least the length of my youngest child’s life.  This low wall seems to be speeding up in its artificial “decay” and while the situation has been noted, as evidenced by orange plastic fencing and sawhorse barrier things, there doesn’t appear to be any real course of action planned since the thing just keeps getting smaller.  And uglier.  What’s up with that?

The other barrier which no longer exists in its entirety, is the chain link fence at the end of Arcadia which borders the western edge VFW parking lot.  You’d think I’d be happy to see this one, which prompted a trip to the ER from a failed attempt at scaling it, go, but I’m not liking it.  The metal chain link material has been removed leaving behind only the poles to which it was once affixed.  I don’t know if the plan is to replace the fencing or leave it permanently removed, but I’m really hoping it is the former because I don’t like the idea of people cutting through there for quick access to my neighborhood.  You see, my neighborhood is a destination, not a mere short cut, a condition which was addressed decades ago when the shortcut from Whitehall Rd. to Delaware Avenue was eliminated.  I like the fact that it takes a little effort to get my street (a minimum of two turns depending upon approach) and would prefer that it not be accessible by a walk through a parking lot.

So, I’m wondering if any of you have some idea about what is going on? I mean, I like to think that the DelSo neighborhood is welcoming, without limits or restrictions, but some barriers are certainly meant to remain.  Who do I need to call for some answers?

If I were mayor – driving edition

image: http://images.lexmark.com

You know what makes me insane? I mean, other than bad service and people not respecting the rights of pedestrians in the crosswalk?  Double parking when there is a space available.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen this done with the frequency I see it happening in Albany.  It seems that usually when I observe this, the driver is still in the car – perhaps waiting for some sort of colossal geographical shift in the earth to park the car for them, at which point they will simply lock the doors and go on their merry way.  I must admit, there have been times when I have triple-parked momentarily just to ask – “Hey, are you going to park in that available space right there or did you forget how to parallel park immediately after your road test?”

My other issue with driving in Albany is red light etiquette.  It has been well documented that Albany drivers excel at running red lights.  I know that when I’m driving, I usually do a mental 5 count before proceeding through my fresh green as a precaution – how about you? And if you’re making a turn at the red light, be it a right or a left at the intersection of two one way streets, you must stop first. Stop and yield are not the same thing and I find it shocking how many drivers apparently do not understand this fact. If I were mayor, I would have police officers writing tickets left and right for these reckless drivers.  It’s another one of those situations where the laws are in place, perhaps it is time to simply enforce them.

My final Albany driving pet peeve originates, like many of my life lessons, in my youth in groovy Greenwood Lake. Teenagers do lots of boundary pushing and experimenting, right? Well, thanks to Aloysius’ antics (with perhaps the contribution of another young man in a bathrobe. In the car. In the afternoon) we all learned the precise difference between stopping at a stop sign and rolling through a stop sign. Now, not everyone has had the benefit of having their friend arrested for such an offense, but, take my word for it – Stop means all forward motion of the wheels ceases and that’s what lawful drivers are expected to do. For more information on this topic, please speak to Aloysius. He is the expert. 

Being better drivers by respecting pedestrians and traffic laws doesn’t cost anything. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we all tried just a little bit harder to make Albany a city that abides by traffic laws?

Reading between the (budget) lines

A number of years ago, then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo conducted a press conference in the library where I have worked for the past 8 years. The topic was predatory lending to college students and the media was there with notepads and cameras. This may have been the first time I became aware of Cuomo’s self proclaimed assertion that he was to be a voice for the students, their powerful ally in a world looking to take advantage of them. We spoke briefly. I earned his laughter when I responded to his question regarding why the librarian field was so dominated by women with a cheeky, “because the job requires a lot of multitasking,” letting the reply lie there for the moment it took for him to get the joke. His aide said it was the best answer to a question he had received all day.

But maybe my answer was incomplete. Maybe it’s time to consider some additional factors that might make the position more appealing to woman than to men. Because, while dividing my attention, sometimes in 200 ways when “my” library approaches capacity is something I do every single day, there are some other aspects of the role of school library media specialist to consider. And, no, they’re not on the evaluation form Mr. Cuomo has strong armed districts around the state to adopt. I have a facility with more than 40,000 items – books, movies, audio books, electronic items such as databases and e-books, equipment, newspapers, 60 computers stations… There is a budget to be supervised and staff as well, but these items will prove to require less attention as money and staff are further eliminated each year, I suppose.

Another reason females may be more prevalent in the librarian field is the fact that women are typically more accustomed to being marginalized. Year after year librarians are made to justify their contributions to the academic success of students. Elementary librarians are continually being replaced by untrained clerks and parents because the state does not mandate trained professionals fill a position that is often perceived as one where reading and shelving books are the primary focus. And we all know anyone can do that.

My library is anticipating a reduction in our staff by nearly 50% for next year. People, just so you know, the fat is gone – we’re cutting through muscle and bone at this point. I’m disturbed, dismayed and disappointed by the decisions which have been made regarding which positions to eliminate, but I can’t be angry with my district. Not to the degree that people seem to be angry with teachers, that is. Can we clarify a couple of things here? Thanks, I’ve got a couple of points to make…

For the last three years my union has voluntarily given our salary increases back to the district to preserve programs. We were under no legal obligation to defer our raises, but it was the right thing to do in these economic times (for which we, as a profession, are completely devoid of responsibility) and it was done with very little grumbling. I haven’t ever noticed a professional athlete returning their salary due to their having a less than stellar season, but teachers, who will never make in a lifetime what an exceptional baseball player makes in a single season, allowed their anticipated income to be redistributed for the benefit of the students. And I don’t ever hear anyone complain about how few days a year a professional athlete works either.

The salary and benefits package a teacher earns are negotiated and agreed upon. For teachers to be vilified for coming to an agreement with the representatives the residents have freely elected, is unfair and small minded. Health insurance premiums continue to increase, yet, I don’t recall demands for fiscal conservatism or retention of current rates, being made of these corporations. We all recognize that our economic situation as a nation has suffered in the last decade and future contracts will certainly reflect these conditions, but please, can we stop blaming teachers for the current fiscal state of affairs?

My district is moving ahead with an action to challenge the governor’s 2% tax cap. I was proud of the leader of my district for taking this stand, yet found it more than a little bit ironic that the news conference to discuss this legal action was held, again, in my library. I couldn’t help but consider why the library media center is perceived as such an ideal location for news conferences, yet is held in such low regard educationally. I have to wonder if future news conferences might be just as convincingly conducted with the backdrop of a magical green screen and an lcd projector. It seems that the library media center after all is merely the setting for a story which I’d rather not have to read.

Can’t get no satisfaction

If only everything was as good as Yono’s pork belly

Maybe this is the payback for eating a mess of pork belly and bakmi last night?  Despite the brilliant warm sunshine today, I seem to be having the most frustrating day I can remember.  Here’s how it has gone down, dare I say, so far…

Woke up and recognized that with that hour being stolen from me (and you, too!), there was no way I could do the three things I had hoped to manage.  And still feel like I had a day off, that is.  Immediately cancelled my lunch plans via text and allowed myself to imagine an afternoon reading the paper and puttering.  Ate some breakfast and walked to yoga and found the parking lot surprisingly crowded.  Realized that today was a special workshop or something and there was no Sunday morning Sadhana.  Consoled myself with thoughts of leisurely reading the paper and perhaps doing some yoga at home.

Bought the paper, walked home and grabbed my scissors to clip coupons.  What?  No coupons?  Did some investigating and determined that none of the “good stuff” was in my paper – no coupons, no book reviews, no weekly restaurant skewering or “journalistic” ridiculousness to mock for the week.  Someone at Stewart’s didn’t do their job correctly.  Crap.  Hopped in my car to go to Lowe’s for some moth traps so I can finally confirm that the closet moths are truly gone.  Guess what I found on the shelf?  Yep, nothing.  They’re all out.  Merde.

Decided to stop in at Marshall’s in the still optimistic mindset that perhaps I could find something green for next week’s Running of the Green.  Nope, definitely not experiencing the luck of my people today, unless you’re considering the Potato Famine era.  Drove to the pharmacy to pick up the two prescriptions I dropped off last week, fully prepared for them to be closed.  Was slightly gratified to see the Open sign illuminated.  Was completely nonplussed when the pharmacist said he didn’t have enough synthroid to fill my order.  Of course, he doesn’t.  Why would he on such a day? Scheisse.

So…what to do?  How about a load of laundry and hope the machine doesn’t break down?  Maybe rake the front yard and release those crocus from the leaves and debris which have sheltered them all winter.  Rake the back yard, as well, because it is something I can do without relying upon anyone or anything else.  And go for a run.  Better make it a long one.