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| Love Theatre - North Carolina 2009 |
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| RobertaM Roy, Author Publisher of Jolt: a rural noir |
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Monday, April 26, 2010 The Appearance of ProprietyAmong certain leaders there may exist more the need for an appearance
of propriety than for the fair and considerate treatment of those they serve. The history of the world has been
irrevocably affected by this. And so, too, has it affected the current trust level of people for the state of the
economy, the financial system, and certain religions. And around the world it tempers the tenor of the times.
10:36 pm edt
CommentsIt Russia they say that as long as their leaders lend to a sense of stability and order, the Russians experience them, from Kubla Khan forward, as necessary and therefore acceptable. In Sudan, the recent election has brought to the presidency one Omar al-Bashir, a man whom the the International Criminal Court has charged with war crimes in Darfur (of which al-Bashir says he is innocent). In the Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, has been said to have responded questionably to allegations of sexual abuse in Oakland, CA; Tucson, AZ; and Munich, Germany. Then, too, there is the case of Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollada, of Mexico, founder of the Catholic order The Legion of Christ, suspended but reinstated after having been accused by a number of his own seminarians who claimed they had been sexually abused themselves by Maciel. All of which leads one to wonder not only about such elected and appointed officials of the world, but also about the people who elect, appoint, and revere them. And then, speaking of leadership gone awry, there is Goldman Sachs full-service global investment banking and securities firm. As it turns out, Goldman Sachs is central to the current Wall Street and big-bank financial debacle and has been brought up on charges of having committed fraud that when fleshed out will be described in the billions of dollars. And worse yet, Goldman Sachs' venture is and has been carried on the backs of the sub-prime mortgage holders whom to begin with they funded, bonded, and then, to add insult to injury, bet against. In sum, Goldman Sachs insured its interests just in case (which it knew would be the case) . . . just in case the mortgages foreclosed. And when the mortgages foreclosed and the bonds collapsed, Goldman Sachs and others like them grabbed their bags of gold (collected in the form of insurance payouts) and ran, not to the hills, but to the banks where, thankfully, they found the Republicans willing to filibuster against any bill designed to protect the nation from having this kind of dishonesty and fraud occur again. This in turn caused those at Goldman Sachs to jump for joy and send their lobbyists off to join the fray. Goldman Sachs' purpose? To prevent the proposed financial reform bill from ever reaching the Senate floor, the result of which may yet turn out to be that, should they succeed, the financial reform bill will be never debated, never passed. Just what the ailing economy needs: the richest men and women in the country sending lobbists to work to block legislation that could protect the rest of us from future financial exploitation and unnecessary economic woes. But that's all right. They dress well. Their teeth are straight. They're nails are pared and buffed. They look good. And given their extreme wealth, surely they offer a certain air of status and propriety despite the evidence to the contrary. Roberta in Po-Town, Truckin' Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Asperger's: Atypical as Told by Jesse A SapersteinI really didn't expect to be so artlessly pulled in by Atypical: Life with
Asperger's in 20 1/3 Chapters by Jesse A. Saperstein. As I read Jesse telling about his perseverative letter
writing, off beat ways of interacting, and penchant for letting bodily noises and odors interrupt any social event, I just
wanted to shake him. "Come on, Jesse. Get a leg up on this. You're smart. You're really savvy." Well, I'd guess
he was--after all, he wrote and published the book I was reading (which thoroughly caught me), didn't he? And he's a
graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. And good-looking guys like Jesse usually have all the women in the world to,
if nothing else, coach them to the highest level of civility. Sunday, April 11, 2010 StuffnmuchDespite my need for friends and family, by nature I'm a private person.
Perhaps that's why I'd prefer to write about the ferry crossing at Crown Point or Michelle Obama's trip to Mexico. Saturday, April 3, 2010 Free Ferries Up and Running in Crown PointWhere the Champlain Bridge linked the counties of Addison in Vermont
and Essex in New York, now, seven days a week until midnight, two long, low, white stately ferries glide to
and fro across Lake Champlain. From my window in Port Henry I watch them in their dedicated journey, the sight marred
by the derek on the barge in the middle at work removing the submerged debris from the imploded bridge. And I note the uncomely, large length
of attached but collapsed bridge in Addison and across the water, the more abbreviated stump of a bridge on the Crown
Point side--very disheartening to see such ugliness where once a graceful white bridge sang out a sense of connectedness with
the world.
11:10 pm edt
CommentsSo I took the ride that once I loved. I drove to Vergennes. I remembered it last as seamless and quick. A half hour at most. I didn't time it this time but it was definitely longer. From the time I sensed the ferry pull away from the dock until the chain came down and we could again turn on our motors, I measured seven minutes going and seven on the return. But then one has to also to consider the length of the line of cars and the wait for the time of departure. So my estimate is that on a good day it turns the half-hour trip into a fifty-minute one and on a bad day, an hour. Which means that for those who work in Burlington, instead of forty-five minutes, an hour and fifteen. I don't know if you've ever commuted, but I will tell you that in my experience a half hour commute on both ends of the day is doable, forty minutes is pushing it, and anything after an hour is just sheer exhausting. I know. I've done them all. So here's my take on it: Ferries are fine as long as they are not viewed as an answer. The Crown Point Ferries help, but beyond ruining the pleasure of zipping along easily back and forth to work, they lengthen a commuter's day among a work force already stretched to the limit. My only hope is that the Crown Point replacement bridge remains a priority for the area and is up and open at the earliest possible date. Anything less than that compounds what has already caused a serious impact on an area with enough economic concerns without having also to deal with the increased costs of longer commutes on worker's health and happiness. Next time, given the depressed economy in the area that has been exacerbated by the imploding of the Crown Point bridge, I will blog about what I believe is an imperative--that not less than ninety per cent of the workers employed to build the Crown Point replacement bridge be North Country and Addison County residents. Roberta in Po-Town, Concerned |
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