Today is the 8th anniversary of that Tuesday in September of 2001. It would have been just another forgettable workday like so many others but it's now etched into the memory forever. Today, like on every anniversary, they read the names of the victims. It takes a while and as it goes on it becomes an emotional undertaking.
That day started out as a regular day at the office when we started getting reports about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. Many of us just assumed it was a small 4-seater who lost its way but as info started coming in it was obvious this was bad - real bad. Our huge office building was considered to be a "target of opportunity" before we knew that there were such things. This day started a whole new mentality and vocabulary thanks to some lunatics. We had to evacuate immediately and we met - as per plan - at a local midtown Manhattan park. People were confused, upset and scared. I saw a woman who worked for me crying and it was then I realized her brother worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on one of the top floors - he didn't make it we later found out. It started to become very real after that point - this was no Disney attraction. The smoke rising from the 2 towers was visible from the intersection of 5th Ave and 42nd St.
A co-worker and myself made our way over to a friend's apartment on Park Avenue where we watched the TV for updates. Of course there were no trains or buses thus no way to exit the city so we just watched the screen in horror. I can recall the first tower collapsing and feeling the floor in the apartment rumble - quite an effect.
I made contact via e mail with my sister in North Carolina. For some reason she was the only one who I could contact and she did her best to advise family. My wife was somewhere in Pennsylvania on business and my son was soon to be released early from school. I wasn't sure how I'd get home that day. Many people just started walking. Manhattan seemed like a movie set with hoards of people on the sidewalks and streets. I made contact with a friend at one of the TV networks who drives into the city. He was there and had his car but he was officially on duty until further notice. His son, however, worked nearby and was going to take the car and head home - I was offered a ride.
As I walked over to where the car was parked - a good 1.5 miles taking me through Times Square - I was able to walk in the middle of Broadway since there was no auto traffic. I also saw fighter jets flying up and down the East and Hudson Rivers. I could look south and see the smoke since now both towers were down. Even though I was in a hurry I stopped and looked around to remember the scene. Sounds corny but I remember thinking "Ugh, this is OUR Pearl Harbor"...
We got to the car and had the West Side Highway all to ourselves. No cars except for police and fire. We got to a security checkpoint before the tolls and for some reason - later to be determined we had NY Press license plates - they let us go through. It took a while but we got home and watched TV for the next 48 hours. Talk about time killing? Nothing lighthearted about this though..
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Uptown Wed night
What's the best way to kill time on a basic week night - movie, TV, softball?? On this night I finally got down to the new Yankee Stadium. Coincidentally, it was a big night for the team - specifically for Derek Jeter (more on that later)..
I guess I became a Yankee fan when I was a little kid. My parents were Brooklyn Dodger fans. They talked about their times at Ebbet's Field but then that team moved to California. When I was growing up it was the Yankees who just won year after year. I used to watch their games in black and white on rabbit ear TV -- usually on weekends. I also remember listening to some of the World Series games during weekdays at school (sneaky transistor radio trick). There was no NY Mets at this time - at least not until the early 60s - so it was Yankees all the way..
I remember really enjoying a couple of Yankee movies in those days. One clunker I really liked was the Babe Ruth story starring William Bendix (also the star of the TV show Life of Riley).. You could tell Bendix wasn't a lefty like Ruth and he just didn't seem Ruthian - but the damn movie was entertaining. The more sophisticated movie was Pride of the Yankees starring Gary Cooper. This was a much better movie and actually had the REAL Babe Ruth playing himself. The movie was about Lou Gehrig whose name is now associated with that dreaded disease named for him.
So Gehrig's name had now been in the news every day since Derek Jeter closes in on his all-time 'hits as a Yankee' record. We were lucky enough to be at that exciting game last night. We bought these tickets a month ago not having any idea it would be a historical event (ok, so maybe historical is pouring it on a bit). In any case it was very entertaining. The new stadium is really incredible and a must-see for anyone.
Even my anti-crowd issues were under control as the place was so well organized you never felt crunched..The field level seats had mucho leg room and were cushioned (like super cushioned). Could have sat through any extra inning event.
We took the train down to the game. We experimented since there is a new train stop at the Stadium. It was very convenient - a touch expensive - but well worth it to me. The ride was very peaceful on the way down and as we got on the return train it was almost empty ---- ahhh, just my style. We walked through the cars looking for a 2-seater that was completely isolated so we could enjoy our trip in solitude. As we walked though this one car - in our Yankee regalia - some guy (obviously bombed) started yelling at me "TELL ME RIGHT NOW THAT YOU'D RATHER BE A MET FAN --- TELL ME..I'M RIGHT - AIN'T I?" .... I didn't even slow down and had no time to explain my baseball background. Nor did I tell him I rooted for those crazy Mets in 1969 and 1986 while my Yankees were dormant ... I just agreed "you may have a point".. This drunken bastard LOVED my response and I went to the next car and peacefully ate my M&Ms...
I guess I became a Yankee fan when I was a little kid. My parents were Brooklyn Dodger fans. They talked about their times at Ebbet's Field but then that team moved to California. When I was growing up it was the Yankees who just won year after year. I used to watch their games in black and white on rabbit ear TV -- usually on weekends. I also remember listening to some of the World Series games during weekdays at school (sneaky transistor radio trick). There was no NY Mets at this time - at least not until the early 60s - so it was Yankees all the way..
I remember really enjoying a couple of Yankee movies in those days. One clunker I really liked was the Babe Ruth story starring William Bendix (also the star of the TV show Life of Riley).. You could tell Bendix wasn't a lefty like Ruth and he just didn't seem Ruthian - but the damn movie was entertaining. The more sophisticated movie was Pride of the Yankees starring Gary Cooper. This was a much better movie and actually had the REAL Babe Ruth playing himself. The movie was about Lou Gehrig whose name is now associated with that dreaded disease named for him.
So Gehrig's name had now been in the news every day since Derek Jeter closes in on his all-time 'hits as a Yankee' record. We were lucky enough to be at that exciting game last night. We bought these tickets a month ago not having any idea it would be a historical event (ok, so maybe historical is pouring it on a bit). In any case it was very entertaining. The new stadium is really incredible and a must-see for anyone.
Even my anti-crowd issues were under control as the place was so well organized you never felt crunched..The field level seats had mucho leg room and were cushioned (like super cushioned). Could have sat through any extra inning event.
We took the train down to the game. We experimented since there is a new train stop at the Stadium. It was very convenient - a touch expensive - but well worth it to me. The ride was very peaceful on the way down and as we got on the return train it was almost empty ---- ahhh, just my style. We walked through the cars looking for a 2-seater that was completely isolated so we could enjoy our trip in solitude. As we walked though this one car - in our Yankee regalia - some guy (obviously bombed) started yelling at me "TELL ME RIGHT NOW THAT YOU'D RATHER BE A MET FAN --- TELL ME..I'M RIGHT - AIN'T I?" .... I didn't even slow down and had no time to explain my baseball background. Nor did I tell him I rooted for those crazy Mets in 1969 and 1986 while my Yankees were dormant ... I just agreed "you may have a point".. This drunken bastard LOVED my response and I went to the next car and peacefully ate my M&Ms...
Friday, September 4, 2009
Survey says!!
As part of my continuing time killing quest I just discovered that one of my 850 cable channels is a game show channel. I guess I always knew it was there but I never watched it. Mostly it's a bunch of old games shows - Password, Pyramid, Match Game. They seem to have been taped somewhere between the 70s and maybe 80s. You can usually tell from the fashion styles and the set design. Lots of browns and oranges. You can also tell the time line by what kind of prize money is available. These days people can win way more on Jeopardy, Survivor and Amazing Race but you have to be willing to risk your life or embarrass the hell out of yourself with a one in fifteen chance of winning, however, one million seems to be worth it to the contestant.
Of all the old shows the one that stands out as the weirdest (to me) is Family Feud - the original one with Richard Dawson. Richard, as you recall, was known for his role on Hogan's Heroes. I think his name was Newkirk and he was very British. On the Feud he was known for his cutting comments, his expressions but most of all for his kissing of all female contestants. NO woman escapes his smooching. You don't see that on any of the newer version of this show. There's been a bunch of hosts since Dawson and none of them kiss. Ray Combs didn't kiss - but he did kill himself; That gray haired Peterman guy from Seinfeld was pretty normal and the other guy Richard Karn from Home Improvement. No kissing allowed.
What stood out to me on the original Feud was the amount of money the family of 5 can win. Usually it was $5,000 and when they won they reacted like they were on drugs - went crazy, fanatical, jumping, yelping, hooting and hollering. Let's sort through this. That's 5 people or $1,000 each after taxes maybe $750 or less per person. Maybe they get extra if they act like idiots? Sort of like the current Jerry Springer guests who - I am convinced - get paid for fighting and ripping off their clothes and spitting out their dentures.
There are other shows that have equally smallish dollar amounts. The Match Game was kinda cheap and looks to have been shot in the 70s (or earlier?). And this show and others had celebrities I never heard of. Maybe I knew them 40 years ago from their episodes of The Love Boat. There is one connection, however, the most popular celeb guest on The Match Game was Richard Dawson ------ LOOK OUT - he's puckering!!!!!!!!
Of all the old shows the one that stands out as the weirdest (to me) is Family Feud - the original one with Richard Dawson. Richard, as you recall, was known for his role on Hogan's Heroes. I think his name was Newkirk and he was very British. On the Feud he was known for his cutting comments, his expressions but most of all for his kissing of all female contestants. NO woman escapes his smooching. You don't see that on any of the newer version of this show. There's been a bunch of hosts since Dawson and none of them kiss. Ray Combs didn't kiss - but he did kill himself; That gray haired Peterman guy from Seinfeld was pretty normal and the other guy Richard Karn from Home Improvement. No kissing allowed.
What stood out to me on the original Feud was the amount of money the family of 5 can win. Usually it was $5,000 and when they won they reacted like they were on drugs - went crazy, fanatical, jumping, yelping, hooting and hollering. Let's sort through this. That's 5 people or $1,000 each after taxes maybe $750 or less per person. Maybe they get extra if they act like idiots? Sort of like the current Jerry Springer guests who - I am convinced - get paid for fighting and ripping off their clothes and spitting out their dentures.
There are other shows that have equally smallish dollar amounts. The Match Game was kinda cheap and looks to have been shot in the 70s (or earlier?). And this show and others had celebrities I never heard of. Maybe I knew them 40 years ago from their episodes of The Love Boat. There is one connection, however, the most popular celeb guest on The Match Game was Richard Dawson ------ LOOK OUT - he's puckering!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Sting - well, almost
Not sure what happened to summer. We had an abbreviated version - 9 or so days in a row where we needed to run AC but mostly we had mild days and lots of rain. Who cares? Maybe Al Roker, I dunno. I was reminded today that this time of year is when my late mother used to like to visit and enjoy the cool breezes of September. This was after coping with the intense Florida heat for 6 or more months. I can't see how people function down there in summer. I was stationed in Florida in 1971 and experienced the white sands of Pensacola which meshed so nicely with my freckled skin. I don't think sunscreen was invented yet.
This is good deck weather. Perfect for time killing and reading. I know I need to read more and the deck provides the perfect light. I seem to need more help seeing and this helps. I even have reading glasses now which I've avoided since getting my first pair of regular glasses as a 12-year-old.
During the summer months the insects (mainly wasps) were all over the place. I killed a bunch but still as I settled into my deck chair I tried bravely to ignore the kamikaze-like attacks of these yellow jackets. If you ignore them they will ignore you. I remember somebody's mother telling me that when I was a kid. There is some truth to that I guess but still I've been stung a few times.
So today I was out there killing time and reading with total confidence that the yellow jackets checked their calendars to see it was now September and they should be building their winter nests or dying. Whichever they do best. I felt confident turning pages, feeling the cool breezes and watching the leaves just start to turn - it was very pastoral and relaxing. I reached for my small cup of OJ I had on the table and took a sip. The glass was about half full and as I took my sip I felt a tickle on my lip.. oy veyyyyyy.. Want to see a relaxed man act like a lunatic? Damn wasp was helping himself to some Tropicana and I flung the cup and almost fell out of my chair. He did NOT sting. He (I guess it was a he) had no chance as I spasmodically swung my arms and retreated into the house - safe and sound.. BUT the joke is on that damn bug - the OJ was mixed with MiraLax - a fiber powder laxative. Let's see him leave the hive tomorrow!!!!
This is good deck weather. Perfect for time killing and reading. I know I need to read more and the deck provides the perfect light. I seem to need more help seeing and this helps. I even have reading glasses now which I've avoided since getting my first pair of regular glasses as a 12-year-old.
During the summer months the insects (mainly wasps) were all over the place. I killed a bunch but still as I settled into my deck chair I tried bravely to ignore the kamikaze-like attacks of these yellow jackets. If you ignore them they will ignore you. I remember somebody's mother telling me that when I was a kid. There is some truth to that I guess but still I've been stung a few times.
So today I was out there killing time and reading with total confidence that the yellow jackets checked their calendars to see it was now September and they should be building their winter nests or dying. Whichever they do best. I felt confident turning pages, feeling the cool breezes and watching the leaves just start to turn - it was very pastoral and relaxing. I reached for my small cup of OJ I had on the table and took a sip. The glass was about half full and as I took my sip I felt a tickle on my lip.. oy veyyyyyy.. Want to see a relaxed man act like a lunatic? Damn wasp was helping himself to some Tropicana and I flung the cup and almost fell out of my chair. He did NOT sting. He (I guess it was a he) had no chance as I spasmodically swung my arms and retreated into the house - safe and sound.. BUT the joke is on that damn bug - the OJ was mixed with MiraLax - a fiber powder laxative. Let's see him leave the hive tomorrow!!!!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tennis anyone?
I've mentioned before that I've been playing softball for most of my adult life (weather & season permitting) and I've been phasing this out. I've also mentioned that I enjoy the interaction the games provide even though I've been stuck to the bench like a piece of chewed gum. I voluntarily sit out because the youth movement has taken our team to new heights. I feel I am part of this even though my only contribution is to coach first base and tell 20-year-olds who run like the wind to "take second".. I always look like I know what I'm doing. Well, then again I also send out e-mail game reminders and keep track of who's going to be there and who won't. I lead the team in administrative skills.
So besides needing more exercise I need to keep the Time Killing at an acceptable level. The last 4 or 5 Mondays I've been playing tennis with some other non-employed friends. This includes my wife who IS employed but has Mondays off. Luckily she has taken on the role of my doubles partner. She is a slightly better player than I. OK, since she's reading this, she's much better than I. The good news is I've been improving each week which is good because I like to win. One of the keys is to play others who are at your skill level. So far that hasn't been hard to do.
I can remember playing tennis with my father when he was about my age and he used to complain about having no "life" in his legs. I always used to wonder what he was talking about and thought he was just kidding. I now know what he means since running around isn't too easy. I feel like I have two broom sticks for legs. Luckily tennis requires short bursts unless you're tracking down a lob. I've been trying to play up at the net to cut down my running but now I enter a whole new zone - sluggish reaction time. Gotta work on that. For now I'll let my loyal partner do the running, keep practicing and time killing. Is there any running in golf?
So besides needing more exercise I need to keep the Time Killing at an acceptable level. The last 4 or 5 Mondays I've been playing tennis with some other non-employed friends. This includes my wife who IS employed but has Mondays off. Luckily she has taken on the role of my doubles partner. She is a slightly better player than I. OK, since she's reading this, she's much better than I. The good news is I've been improving each week which is good because I like to win. One of the keys is to play others who are at your skill level. So far that hasn't been hard to do.
I can remember playing tennis with my father when he was about my age and he used to complain about having no "life" in his legs. I always used to wonder what he was talking about and thought he was just kidding. I now know what he means since running around isn't too easy. I feel like I have two broom sticks for legs. Luckily tennis requires short bursts unless you're tracking down a lob. I've been trying to play up at the net to cut down my running but now I enter a whole new zone - sluggish reaction time. Gotta work on that. For now I'll let my loyal partner do the running, keep practicing and time killing. Is there any running in golf?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tanks for the memory
How does one kill an entire day and improve the environment? This isn't a riddle. Today was the day we scheduled the removal of our oil tank from underground in front of our house. You can't sell your house these days with a tank underground for fear that it's leaking. No lenders will lend and no insurance companies will insure. The biggest fear of all, however, is IF there is leakage you have to have an EPA inspection along with a cleanup. I've heard many a horror story so naturally I delayed doing this thinking that would actually make it better.. I had heard about people spending up to $75 thousand to clean up contamination.
We had a yard full of trucks including back hoes, front hoes, nasty hoes and about 6 workers. To their credit they seemed to be very coordinated and hit the different areas in teams. It was like an immunity challenge on "Survivor" without the Tiki lights. I tried to stay in the house and let them do their work but my neurosis wouldn't allow me not to check out every rumbling noise coming from the driveway or the boiler room. Overall it was very interesting to see how the job went. It was somewhat what I expected but more coordinated. Certain guys showed up during the day, did their part and disappeared.
Before we could fire up the new tank we had to have it inspected by our town engineer. He was late but luckily one of the tankmeisters knew him and got him to come by so they could continue the project and we could re-gain hot water. We passed that inspection fine and the new tank was filled with fresh oil - Texas tea, black gold..Things seem to work fine and we had minimal damage to our yard which needs reworking anyway..
The main guy told us we should have bought a lottery ticket this day since we actually dodged the bullet and had no leaks in our tank. He said that about 70% of jobs have leaks which require a clean up. Jeeeesh, I am glad I didn't know that beforehand. I would have pictured some kind of crazy hazmat team camped out in our yard checking all the dirt molecules and a taxi-style meter running as they did their sanitizing. So now I guess we SHOULD buy that lottery ticket since one of those wacky megaball, megamondo lotteries is now at some kind of $158 Million dollar level..Just how the hell DO you buy one of those and can you pad your order with a slurpee?
We had a yard full of trucks including back hoes, front hoes, nasty hoes and about 6 workers. To their credit they seemed to be very coordinated and hit the different areas in teams. It was like an immunity challenge on "Survivor" without the Tiki lights. I tried to stay in the house and let them do their work but my neurosis wouldn't allow me not to check out every rumbling noise coming from the driveway or the boiler room. Overall it was very interesting to see how the job went. It was somewhat what I expected but more coordinated. Certain guys showed up during the day, did their part and disappeared.
Before we could fire up the new tank we had to have it inspected by our town engineer. He was late but luckily one of the tankmeisters knew him and got him to come by so they could continue the project and we could re-gain hot water. We passed that inspection fine and the new tank was filled with fresh oil - Texas tea, black gold..Things seem to work fine and we had minimal damage to our yard which needs reworking anyway..
The main guy told us we should have bought a lottery ticket this day since we actually dodged the bullet and had no leaks in our tank. He said that about 70% of jobs have leaks which require a clean up. Jeeeesh, I am glad I didn't know that beforehand. I would have pictured some kind of crazy hazmat team camped out in our yard checking all the dirt molecules and a taxi-style meter running as they did their sanitizing. So now I guess we SHOULD buy that lottery ticket since one of those wacky megaball, megamondo lotteries is now at some kind of $158 Million dollar level..Just how the hell DO you buy one of those and can you pad your order with a slurpee?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
No Internet on Interway
I know I've realized that I (and many others) are very dependent on Internet connectivity. I just had a reminder when we lost our connection for almost 24 hours in a storm-related mishap. Ten years ago that would have been an inconvenience. Today it's a bit more than that. When you realize how many functions one performs with the web - including email - you start to wonder what your options are for these functions AND the all important time killing. Can't do banking, can't order tickets, can't check weather, can't check movie listings, can't read the NY Times, can't certify unemployment. Just like the pioneers..unhitch the horses!!
As a fail safe I can use my iphone which has very reliable Internet connectivity a la Blackberry. I use it to check e mails when I'm away but for me it's a bit clunky trying to return a message that has more than one sentence OR checking the web browser. I think that is generational as my son seems to have no issues with that mini keyboard and can text the Gettysburg address in 2 minutes. And since I was a trained US Navy teletype operator I stand behind my 85 wpm final test with a cast on my wrist (another story). On the iphone I make a mistake every 3rd word. Needless to say, I need my cable connectivity.
As a side note and on theme with time killing I must have spent at least 2 hours trying to re-boot, re-start and analyze the problem with the dead web. For the first time ever I called our cable provider. This was the most automated system I've ever heard. I can't believe the variables they've programmed in there - "If this doesn't work, please say HELP ME RHONDA and we will continue to another step"... It was spooky cavorting with this robotic tech at the cable company, but here's the kicker. I finally got things working after taking a shot at rebooting a second blu ray router I have hooked up BUT before I followed the robot's latest reboot directives I had to Hang Up. This because I have cable phone and as soon as I reboot the modem the phone cuts out. So, use your iphone (or cell phone) to do this. Isn't this where I started?
As a fail safe I can use my iphone which has very reliable Internet connectivity a la Blackberry. I use it to check e mails when I'm away but for me it's a bit clunky trying to return a message that has more than one sentence OR checking the web browser. I think that is generational as my son seems to have no issues with that mini keyboard and can text the Gettysburg address in 2 minutes. And since I was a trained US Navy teletype operator I stand behind my 85 wpm final test with a cast on my wrist (another story). On the iphone I make a mistake every 3rd word. Needless to say, I need my cable connectivity.
As a side note and on theme with time killing I must have spent at least 2 hours trying to re-boot, re-start and analyze the problem with the dead web. For the first time ever I called our cable provider. This was the most automated system I've ever heard. I can't believe the variables they've programmed in there - "If this doesn't work, please say HELP ME RHONDA and we will continue to another step"... It was spooky cavorting with this robotic tech at the cable company, but here's the kicker. I finally got things working after taking a shot at rebooting a second blu ray router I have hooked up BUT before I followed the robot's latest reboot directives I had to Hang Up. This because I have cable phone and as soon as I reboot the modem the phone cuts out. So, use your iphone (or cell phone) to do this. Isn't this where I started?
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