It’s raining here, which no doubt is putting a wet blanket on the Haunted House the Rotary Club is running as a fund raiser – as well as to have fun. I went over last night – I mean, how can you not go to a Haunted House that’s set up in a funeral parlor? The good folks of the area cooperated, and Pete (the undertaker) had no ‘clients’ for the two nights it’s running.
Halloween’s a quiet night in my personal corner of the world. I don’t get any trick or treaters, too far from the road, no close neighbors. In the village, two streets get hoards, mostly Kinderhook Street, where they do everything but bring in busses. There was an article in the paper this week with people living on the street saying they get 300 to 400 kids, or more. Payn Ave. gets a lot, too. That’s a lot of candy to buy. The people interviewed said they enjoy it, enjoy seeing the kid’s costumes, but that’s still a lot of candy to buy.
The fire department has a costume parade and a small party, and the nursery school parades their kids on Main Street. The merchants had a little Halloween day, with a scavenger hunt, and had candy for kids in their stores.
We don’t get a lot of mischief, either. Years ago, the fire department had ‘fire watch’ because there would be a lot of little nuisance trash and leaf fires, but there’s not much of that any more. There will be some smashed pumpkins and no doubt some soaped windows, but not a lot of that either.
I like that people decorate for Halloween. There’s everything from the traditional one or two pumpkins to lights, ‘gravestones’, monsters, spider webs, ghosts and witches and even one or two ‘bodies’ hanging in trees. Fun.
I can’t remember one single Halloween costume I ever wore, although I am sure that there had to be more than one cowboy one. We lived in the country, so my folks would take us into Kinderhook to trick or treat, hitting a few of the friends and relatives on the way. We’d go up and down the main streets and get a pretty good haul of candy, with a few cookies and apples as well. There used to be a bonfire at the school for the older kids, my sister got to go to that but by the time I was old enough they stopped having it.
One year two of my friends, twins, came with us, and I remember they dressed as clowns; one house we went to the screen door had no screen in it and the woman was apologizing and one of the twins said ‘oh, that’s all right, we’re clowns, we’ll just climb in’ – and did.
The only costume I remember of my daughter’s was when she was probably 2, and I put together a ‘little old lady’ with a skirt, top and hat from somewhere – and probably the only reason I remember that is because I have photos. Oh, well.
When I lived in New Hartford with my aunt and uncle, they did Halloween proud, Uncle John used to say it was his favorite holiday. One year I took my cousin Mark out to trick or treat, and as we were walking back up the hill towards their house, kids coming down were saying ‘go up to that house, they’re bobbing for apples!’ and Mark said ‘Oh, No!”. Oh, yes, it was our house, and the kids were lined up out the door to bob for apples. Probably wouldn’t get many takers these days.
Then there was the year that Aunt Dot and I went ‘trick or drinking’ with shot glasses instead of goodie bags, but that’s a whole ‘nother Halloween story. . . . .
Anyway, hope there were no bad ghosts and ghouls at your house and that Halloween was fun for you. Everybody should dress up and be somebody else every now and then.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Random stuff
* Sunday I planned to meet people to do a quick costume rental and then go for a nice hike somewhere, maybe the CLC down in Greenport, by the Hudson River. That all went down the tubes when two more people called about rentals that ended up taking most of the afternoon – but it was ok because one was Tirza and I haven’t seen her in a long time and we caught up chatting. Then I figured that since the day was shot anyhow, I might as well go to Walmart. Haven’t checked out the ‘new SuperWalmart’ in Hudson yet. Did that, it’s not as large as some I have seen in other parts of the country, but it’s still got a lot of stuff, and I did find some things I needed and probably a few I didn’t. I don’t like new grocery stores because you have to go around and around finding where things are, because they are all laid out differently and not all of them carry the same things. I did reflect as I went to check out that here I was with a bra and a pomegranate in the same shopping cart. Is this a great system or what? On the way home I got thinking that this big fancy store isn’t so different from the old time general stores – well, ok, they didn’t stock bras and pomegranates, but the family could come to town once a week or once a month and get clothing or fabric to make clothes, flour, penny candy, hardware, all the staples they needed until the next trip to town, which in those days was an event. So, we’ve made another circle in history, just updating to our era.
* TV – most shows have only been airing for about a month of the ‘new season’ and they’re showing reruns already. What?!? Are they running out of stories, or is this a new contract thing or what? I remember when shows used to run from fall to spring and then you got reruns. Oh, well, it gives me a chance to catch up on some that have aired opposite each other and I have to choose which to watch first. But, really, is this the new tv, three or four new shows and then two or three weeks of reruns? And they get paid how much for this?
* Speaking of getting paid how much, the radio station I listen to had a discussion on baseball player’s salaries yesterday. Not only baseball players, but some of the actors, singers and so on – not to mention CEO’s of some companies – ridiculous salaries, just so out of line. Yeah, they bring in the bucks to their employers, at least the players bring in bucks for their teams, and the stars bring viewers to movies and tv. Not gonna comment on the CEO’s and their ‘golden parachutes’. And for what? When our medics and EMT’s have to work two and three jobs to get enough hours to get enough to pay their bills. They save people’s lives. What do the ballplayers do? What’s wrong with this picture and our system? And will it ever get fixed? Nope, not that I can see. Sigh.
* Here’s what I think: they should put some of us ’common folk’ in charge to straighten out some of this stuff. We know where the priorities are. Will it happen? Nope, not that I can see.
* but I still think it's kinda cool that I can buy a bra and a pomegranate in the same store
* TV – most shows have only been airing for about a month of the ‘new season’ and they’re showing reruns already. What?!? Are they running out of stories, or is this a new contract thing or what? I remember when shows used to run from fall to spring and then you got reruns. Oh, well, it gives me a chance to catch up on some that have aired opposite each other and I have to choose which to watch first. But, really, is this the new tv, three or four new shows and then two or three weeks of reruns? And they get paid how much for this?
* Speaking of getting paid how much, the radio station I listen to had a discussion on baseball player’s salaries yesterday. Not only baseball players, but some of the actors, singers and so on – not to mention CEO’s of some companies – ridiculous salaries, just so out of line. Yeah, they bring in the bucks to their employers, at least the players bring in bucks for their teams, and the stars bring viewers to movies and tv. Not gonna comment on the CEO’s and their ‘golden parachutes’. And for what? When our medics and EMT’s have to work two and three jobs to get enough hours to get enough to pay their bills. They save people’s lives. What do the ballplayers do? What’s wrong with this picture and our system? And will it ever get fixed? Nope, not that I can see. Sigh.
* Here’s what I think: they should put some of us ’common folk’ in charge to straighten out some of this stuff. We know where the priorities are. Will it happen? Nope, not that I can see.
* but I still think it's kinda cool that I can buy a bra and a pomegranate in the same store
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A life lost and Morons
I originally wrote this back in the early summer, after a tragic accident in our area. Then, as some things do, it got lost in the shuffle that is my summer. Here it is, and if you change the word ATV to snowmobile, it’s for the upcoming season also.
Why would you let an 8 year old drive one of those? What kind of moron lets a kid that age drive something like that? That was the first thing I asked my daughter about a tragic accident last week. A man, watching his girl friend’s children, and also watching another friend’s house, let his son take his two sisters for a ride on an ATV owned by the house owner. Not a ‘quad’, but the kind with a bench seat for two people and an open bed behind.
The boy is 8. One sister is 10, the other was 3.
Yes, sadly I said was. They had the vehicle in another neighbor’s driveway, somehow it hit a tree and overturned, throwing the toddler out and landing on her. My daughter responded, with our rescue squad. They did everything they could. Nobody could have done anything. Being on the steps of the hospital would not have helped. A 3 year old child is dead. The obituary called her ‘our little angel’. Yet she was not precious enough for them to use some sense and not put her in the seat with a too young, not trained enough driver. Nothing has been said about seat belts, but there are only two on the vehicle, and there were three of them.
In our region there have been I think four deaths of young people/teenagers on various types of ATV’s in recent months. I went to one several years ago, a man in maybe his 30’s, married, couple of kids, out riding with his buddies on their quads. He always wore a helmet. You could see where it hit the tree. You could see where the quad hit the tree. In between those marks you could see where his face hit the tree. And when his wife called a couple of weeks after the accident to talk to someone in the squad about the accident, if the outcome could have been any different than leaving her a widow, guess who got to talk to her.
These are not toys, people! These machines are built for adults, with adult size steering wheels, adult size pedals, at adult length reach from the adult size seat to these. Not an 8 year old child’s reach, an adult’s reach. And yet anyone under the age of 16 can ride one, if on their own property and supervised. This time it wasn’t their own machine, or their own property, although they were allegedly supervised.
And now a man has to live the rest of his life knowing that his permission killed a ‘little angel’. An 8 year old boy has to grow up and live the rest of his life knowing he killed his little sister. Responders have to live with knowing they could not do anything to save this ‘little angel’. Our crew had to have a critical incident debriefing to help them resolve this fact. The little angel will not grow up to have a little angel of her own.
These are not toys, people! They are machines, made to be driven by adults, who will still have their own share of unfortunate and tragic mishaps. So, please, don’t take the chance of making someone else go through what this man, this boy, this family, these responders, all of the people affected, are going through. Don’t be a moron. Don’t let kids play with adult vehicles like this. Save a life. We’ll all thank you.
Why would you let an 8 year old drive one of those? What kind of moron lets a kid that age drive something like that? That was the first thing I asked my daughter about a tragic accident last week. A man, watching his girl friend’s children, and also watching another friend’s house, let his son take his two sisters for a ride on an ATV owned by the house owner. Not a ‘quad’, but the kind with a bench seat for two people and an open bed behind.
The boy is 8. One sister is 10, the other was 3.
Yes, sadly I said was. They had the vehicle in another neighbor’s driveway, somehow it hit a tree and overturned, throwing the toddler out and landing on her. My daughter responded, with our rescue squad. They did everything they could. Nobody could have done anything. Being on the steps of the hospital would not have helped. A 3 year old child is dead. The obituary called her ‘our little angel’. Yet she was not precious enough for them to use some sense and not put her in the seat with a too young, not trained enough driver. Nothing has been said about seat belts, but there are only two on the vehicle, and there were three of them.
In our region there have been I think four deaths of young people/teenagers on various types of ATV’s in recent months. I went to one several years ago, a man in maybe his 30’s, married, couple of kids, out riding with his buddies on their quads. He always wore a helmet. You could see where it hit the tree. You could see where the quad hit the tree. In between those marks you could see where his face hit the tree. And when his wife called a couple of weeks after the accident to talk to someone in the squad about the accident, if the outcome could have been any different than leaving her a widow, guess who got to talk to her.
These are not toys, people! These machines are built for adults, with adult size steering wheels, adult size pedals, at adult length reach from the adult size seat to these. Not an 8 year old child’s reach, an adult’s reach. And yet anyone under the age of 16 can ride one, if on their own property and supervised. This time it wasn’t their own machine, or their own property, although they were allegedly supervised.
And now a man has to live the rest of his life knowing that his permission killed a ‘little angel’. An 8 year old boy has to grow up and live the rest of his life knowing he killed his little sister. Responders have to live with knowing they could not do anything to save this ‘little angel’. Our crew had to have a critical incident debriefing to help them resolve this fact. The little angel will not grow up to have a little angel of her own.
These are not toys, people! They are machines, made to be driven by adults, who will still have their own share of unfortunate and tragic mishaps. So, please, don’t take the chance of making someone else go through what this man, this boy, this family, these responders, all of the people affected, are going through. Don’t be a moron. Don’t let kids play with adult vehicles like this. Save a life. We’ll all thank you.
Monday, October 19, 2009
HEART WALK FOR ‘THE PEDUZZI FLU’
I had a pretty good weekend, and managed to avoid doing much for work, for a change.
Saturday I went with my niece to the American Heart Association Start! Heart Walk. Walks have become a big fund-raising event for many causes; it’s become a pick your weekend and your cause thing. I did one several years ago for diabetes, but this is the first since then I’ve gone on, although I’ve donated to some since.
Anyway, Mary sent me an email saying she was doing this, because given the history of heart disease in our family, her generation is getting to where they need to think about it.
I think my father was the first, in 1959, the summer after I graduated from high school. As I recall the events, he came home from work feeling sick, called the doctor somewhere along the line, who said ‘it’s probably indigestion’ and told him to go to bed. At some point, don’t remember exactly when (I wasn’t home at the time, was working over across the river as a waitress in a small resort and that’s another story) he ended up going to the hospital, where they did tests and he spent time walking around the halls visiting people he knew, when two doctors came and grabbed him and carried him to bed and told him he’d had a heart attack. He was in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and then home recovering for a while after that. I went off to college while he was still getting better, and he wrote me letters – in one he commented about the weather being warm one day and chilly the next and said ‘Oh, well, that’s September for you”.
He went on to be as active as before, pretty much. Then in the 1970’s, he had bypass surgery. This was back when it was still fairly new, and he had to go to a hospital in New York City for it. My then mother-in-law had it done a few years before his, and I remember we took an ambulance down to NYC to bring her home-stopping in a diner along the way for lunch and saying we needed an order to go for the person on the stretcher. When my folks said that their daughter could bring a rig to take him home, the doctor said ‘an ambulance! How did you get here?’ ‘On the train.’ ‘Well, then take the train home’. They didn’t, my cousin who lived in the city and used to come up many weekends anyway gave them a ride.
There was something in the hospital about the ‘Zipper Club’, because the scar looks like a zipper down the chest.
I went down to the house a while after he’d been settled down, and he had a glass of scotch – ‘It wasn’t on the list of what I can’t have!’ he said.
Anyway, after his, I forget the order, but six of his brothers and sisters had heart attacks, a couple had the bypass surgery, at least one did not make it to that point.
Then, my Uncle John and his family at the time had gone to Florida, to Disney World. They came home to find an ambulance parked in front of the house, and my cousin, his youngest son, on the stretcher, I think maybe in his early 40’s at the time, having a heart attack. After being told that Mark was doing well and would be all right, Uncle John looked at him and said ‘Don’t worry, you’re just having the Peduzzi Flu!’
There’s a picture of my father and his three brothers someplace, the ‘Coronary Quartet’.
By now a few others of my generation have had heart attacks and/or bypass surgery. So far my ticker’s in good shape, they say. Still….
So I signed up for the walk and we went and had a dandy time. It was in a large community park, with paths to walk on that made a 3-mile loop. A lot of people, I won’t even try to guess but several hundred easily. Many families, work groups, school kids, people with photos of loved ones gone on t-shirts, at least one woman on a motorized wheelchair, a few with walkers and canes, many with strollers or kids in wagons. Several displays of heart-healthy things, a board to sign a remembrance on, healthy snacks and sandwiches after the walk, a radio live broadcast and singers, someone to do a warm-up exercise and even a ‘brass band’ to play as we started walking. Brownie scouts handing out water and more healthy snacks along the way. Pretty enough scenery for a place on the edge of the city, and some dance, yoga and music groups to watch as we walked. At each mile point there were people to cheer us on. Near the end there were more cheerers, and one woman said ‘this is the last hill’ and Mary and I, we’ve both hiked up mountains, said this isn’t a hill, this is a ‘rise’. A group congratulating the finishers. We had our sandwiches and a nice talked with a woman with a group called ‘Sistah’s With A Heart’, from a church group in Albany that raises thousands of dollars (made our paltry $500 + pretty skinchy, but every bit helps). Decided we need to get more of us and do it again next year. Oh, and we need at least one dog, too, there were lots of dogs, some wearing the same t-shirts the people with them had on. We can call ourselves ‘The Peduzzi Flu Crew’.
Here’s what I think: that these things are great. It’s a way to raise awareness – and money – that’s fun and gets you out in the fresh air, meeting new people and sharing experiences. Doesn’t get any better.
Saturday I went with my niece to the American Heart Association Start! Heart Walk. Walks have become a big fund-raising event for many causes; it’s become a pick your weekend and your cause thing. I did one several years ago for diabetes, but this is the first since then I’ve gone on, although I’ve donated to some since.
Anyway, Mary sent me an email saying she was doing this, because given the history of heart disease in our family, her generation is getting to where they need to think about it.
I think my father was the first, in 1959, the summer after I graduated from high school. As I recall the events, he came home from work feeling sick, called the doctor somewhere along the line, who said ‘it’s probably indigestion’ and told him to go to bed. At some point, don’t remember exactly when (I wasn’t home at the time, was working over across the river as a waitress in a small resort and that’s another story) he ended up going to the hospital, where they did tests and he spent time walking around the halls visiting people he knew, when two doctors came and grabbed him and carried him to bed and told him he’d had a heart attack. He was in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and then home recovering for a while after that. I went off to college while he was still getting better, and he wrote me letters – in one he commented about the weather being warm one day and chilly the next and said ‘Oh, well, that’s September for you”.
He went on to be as active as before, pretty much. Then in the 1970’s, he had bypass surgery. This was back when it was still fairly new, and he had to go to a hospital in New York City for it. My then mother-in-law had it done a few years before his, and I remember we took an ambulance down to NYC to bring her home-stopping in a diner along the way for lunch and saying we needed an order to go for the person on the stretcher. When my folks said that their daughter could bring a rig to take him home, the doctor said ‘an ambulance! How did you get here?’ ‘On the train.’ ‘Well, then take the train home’. They didn’t, my cousin who lived in the city and used to come up many weekends anyway gave them a ride.
There was something in the hospital about the ‘Zipper Club’, because the scar looks like a zipper down the chest.
I went down to the house a while after he’d been settled down, and he had a glass of scotch – ‘It wasn’t on the list of what I can’t have!’ he said.
Anyway, after his, I forget the order, but six of his brothers and sisters had heart attacks, a couple had the bypass surgery, at least one did not make it to that point.
Then, my Uncle John and his family at the time had gone to Florida, to Disney World. They came home to find an ambulance parked in front of the house, and my cousin, his youngest son, on the stretcher, I think maybe in his early 40’s at the time, having a heart attack. After being told that Mark was doing well and would be all right, Uncle John looked at him and said ‘Don’t worry, you’re just having the Peduzzi Flu!’
There’s a picture of my father and his three brothers someplace, the ‘Coronary Quartet’.
By now a few others of my generation have had heart attacks and/or bypass surgery. So far my ticker’s in good shape, they say. Still….
So I signed up for the walk and we went and had a dandy time. It was in a large community park, with paths to walk on that made a 3-mile loop. A lot of people, I won’t even try to guess but several hundred easily. Many families, work groups, school kids, people with photos of loved ones gone on t-shirts, at least one woman on a motorized wheelchair, a few with walkers and canes, many with strollers or kids in wagons. Several displays of heart-healthy things, a board to sign a remembrance on, healthy snacks and sandwiches after the walk, a radio live broadcast and singers, someone to do a warm-up exercise and even a ‘brass band’ to play as we started walking. Brownie scouts handing out water and more healthy snacks along the way. Pretty enough scenery for a place on the edge of the city, and some dance, yoga and music groups to watch as we walked. At each mile point there were people to cheer us on. Near the end there were more cheerers, and one woman said ‘this is the last hill’ and Mary and I, we’ve both hiked up mountains, said this isn’t a hill, this is a ‘rise’. A group congratulating the finishers. We had our sandwiches and a nice talked with a woman with a group called ‘Sistah’s With A Heart’, from a church group in Albany that raises thousands of dollars (made our paltry $500 + pretty skinchy, but every bit helps). Decided we need to get more of us and do it again next year. Oh, and we need at least one dog, too, there were lots of dogs, some wearing the same t-shirts the people with them had on. We can call ourselves ‘The Peduzzi Flu Crew’.
Here’s what I think: that these things are great. It’s a way to raise awareness – and money – that’s fun and gets you out in the fresh air, meeting new people and sharing experiences. Doesn’t get any better.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Animal Abuse
Is it just me or are there a lot more instances of animal abuse being reported in the news? Am I more aware of it after my Camp Katrina experience, is the news media more aware that animal stories will sell papers – or viewers? Or is there just more of this happening, just as it seems there are more of all other types of crimes?
Either way, it is bringing attention to this terrible thing. From animals being abandoned to a cat wrapped in duct tape like a mummy to hoarders having dozens of animals and not caring for them, to pets being stolen and killed, there is at least one story in the news just about every day.
That’s disturbing. That’s disturbing not just because of the suffering the animals, and the owners of the pets must go through, but because it indicates a general trend towards an absence of caring, of feeling, of doing things for more thrills, ‘just for kicks’ that seems to be happening in our society. Or, in the cases of the perpetrators, the absence of society. In so many of the cases, we are reminded that people who commit crimes against people often start out with crimes against animals.
Today’s news reported a story of two teens who tortured and killed a dog, and were given sentences that included community service, getting a GED, a few days in jail – enough of a return for a dog’s life? Enough of a lesson that they did wrong? Most of those who commented did not think so. I don’t. What would be enough? Apart for being put into a small room with a few animal rescuers with tire sticks and broom handles, I’m not sure. But there’s got to be something.
Meanwhile, those of us who do care can do something. We can be on the lookout for animal abuse instances and report them. We can try to educate young people. We can get involved. And maybe it will save a life and cure another. Maybe.
Spay and Neuter! Hmm – maybe spaying and neutering a few people – oh, that’s just too radical, but don’t we all have a story about seeing or knowing someone that it wouldn’t be the worst idea for?
Either way, it is bringing attention to this terrible thing. From animals being abandoned to a cat wrapped in duct tape like a mummy to hoarders having dozens of animals and not caring for them, to pets being stolen and killed, there is at least one story in the news just about every day.
That’s disturbing. That’s disturbing not just because of the suffering the animals, and the owners of the pets must go through, but because it indicates a general trend towards an absence of caring, of feeling, of doing things for more thrills, ‘just for kicks’ that seems to be happening in our society. Or, in the cases of the perpetrators, the absence of society. In so many of the cases, we are reminded that people who commit crimes against people often start out with crimes against animals.
Today’s news reported a story of two teens who tortured and killed a dog, and were given sentences that included community service, getting a GED, a few days in jail – enough of a return for a dog’s life? Enough of a lesson that they did wrong? Most of those who commented did not think so. I don’t. What would be enough? Apart for being put into a small room with a few animal rescuers with tire sticks and broom handles, I’m not sure. But there’s got to be something.
Meanwhile, those of us who do care can do something. We can be on the lookout for animal abuse instances and report them. We can try to educate young people. We can get involved. And maybe it will save a life and cure another. Maybe.
Spay and Neuter! Hmm – maybe spaying and neutering a few people – oh, that’s just too radical, but don’t we all have a story about seeing or knowing someone that it wouldn’t be the worst idea for?
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