Escape to New York

 In a former life, wifey and I were frequent visitors to New York City.  We'd travel there 3 or 4 times per year, mostly to see Broadway shows, but also to partake of all the culture in a large metropolitan center- museums, parks, shopping, dining, and all that.  We really grew to like the city and became comfortable moving around in it.  On our last trip over the first weekend of March 2020, however, there were already rumblings of a looming disaster.  Cases of a new disease that would come to be called Covid had been detected in nearby Westchester county the weekend we were there.  But we largely did our usual thing- travelled by subway, ate indoors at restaurants, and went to movies and Broadway theater.  We saw a very fine production of The Lehman Trilogy at the Nederlander Theater which starred Adam Godley, Ben Miles, and Simon Russell Beale.  In fact, we saw the first performance of the show in previews on March 7, 2020.  We flew home Monday the 9th.  And by Thursday the 12th, the show had closed and the city of New York began lockdown.  The global pandemic had begun.

The rest, as they say, is history.  It was a couple years before the country would begin to emerge from the pandemic limitations, and longer yet before wifey and I would travel.  But more than four and a half years later, we return to New York, eager to resume where we left off.  This time, we travel as part of a group from UAB, with the purpose of attending the UAB-Army football game at West Point, NY on Saturday.  But we'll have time to do some familiar things in Manhattan as well.  In preparation for the trip, we got the most recent Covid and flu vaccine booster shots, and eagerly look forward to the adventure.

Alas, the cynic in me always points out that air travel in the USA is reliably a hot mess.  I can't remember any of our NYC trips ever going completely smoothly and according to schedule.  This one was no exception, right off the bat.  Past experience had taught us to book non-stop flights after many missed connections.  But since we were part of a tour group, we had no say in the arrangements for this trip.  Our journey was to have two legs on American Airlines: from Birmingham to Washington DC, a 90 minute layover, then on to New York Laguardia.  We were all seated and buckled in for an on-time departure from BHM when the pilot came on the speaker to tell us there was a mechanical problem with the airplane and we'd have to de-plane for repairs to take place.  The problem? A broken armrest on one of the seats. With this inauspicious beginning, we all got off the plane and waited in the gate area.  While we waited, we heard over at the adjacent gate that their inbound plane would have to be taken out of service, as there had been an "event" in flight and all the overhead oxygen masks had been deployed.  So those passengers were out of luck as their plane would be unusable.  Could be worse for us, or so I thought.  The seat "repair" (a mechanic simply duct taped the armrest out of the way and put a sign on the seat saying it was not to be used) was quickly finished, and so we all re-boarded the plane, sat down and buckled up.  Then we waited.  And waited.  No info from anyone while we waited as our layover in DCA ticked away.  After nearly an hour of waiting on the hot, stuffy plane, we departed and were headed to DCA at last.

We landed with what seemed like just enough time to reach our connecting plane at Reagan Airport.  But with great cruelty, American Airlines wouldn't make it quite so easy.  We landed, then waited and waited for a gate assignment so that we could get off the plane.  Once we finally did, it was, naturally, a gate far from our connecting flight. So we ran (or as close to running as I can manage these days) and reached the NYC bound plane with mere minutes to spare.  Finally!   This flight departed on-time and the rest of the short journey to NY was smooth and on schedule.

It was a beautiful, sunny, cool Autumn day as we landed at LaGuardia Airport, which had been an absolute dump in the midst of a major remodeling the last time we had been there.  Now, it is actually rather nice: modern, clean, and reasonably well laid out.  It also seems a bit bigger- we had a long walk to baggage claim and then the group bus that took us to our Times Square hotel.  But at last, we arrived at The Knickerbocker Hotel, our base of operations for the next few days.  We checked in to the very nice room, then went to the St. Cloud rooftop bar for a Martini, supposedly invented here at the Knick.  Our first day of travel was complete, and we are back in Manhattan at last, after four and a half years.

Even Dozen

 Today marks my 12th anniversary as a member of the international postcard exchange project known as Postcrossing.  Twelve years ago today I began an adventure that has occupied a significant amount of my leisure time, and has been rewarding in many ways.  Over that time, I have sent 10,709 postcards to 117 different countries, and I have received 10,684 postcards from around the world. Among the 74,946 registered Postcrossing members in the USA, I rank 27th in terms of number of cards sent.  Among the 802 members in Alabama, I am #1 - the leading Postcrosser in The Cotton State.  It's been a rewarding experience, mostly in coming to know people from all around the world, and to realize that we are all the same, more or less.  We all have the same dreams and goals.  And in sending so many cards, I've seen some familiar comments in the thank-you messages I get when a recipient registers the card I've sent.  Among the most popular: "I knew of the Birmingham in England, but not the Alabama one."  or "I did know of Alabama- from the Lynyrd Skynyrd song, 'Sweet Home Alabama'." or, only slightly less often "Donald Trump?!  What the hell is wrong with you, America?"  Here's to many more years of Postcrossing.  Write on!

World Postcard Day

 On this day, we celebrate the 155th anniversary of the marvelous communication device, the postcard.  On this day in 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann, an Austrian professor of economics, wrote an article describing the advantages of a single, small piece of stiff paper to convey short messages through the postal system.  These early  Correspondenz-Kartes were quickly adopted by the Austrian postal system, and the familiar post card was born.  Since then, millions of people have bragged to friends and family about their holidays and vacations, long before such things could be done electronically.  Today, of course, the postcard is not commonly used as a communication device.  But postcards continue to live on in communities such as Postcrossing, where I meet interesting people from all around the world.  In upcoming travel, I intend to send postcards to all my friends and family and in so doing commemorate the humble postcard, which has brought joy to many throughout its long history.  Happy World Postcard Day!

Farewell, faithful servant

 A sad goodbye was said yesterday.  To a beloved car.  Now, you may say with some justification that it's unreasonable to personify a machine and become too attached to it.  But that's just what happened over the last decade and more to the family's 2010 Land Rover LR4.  The vehicle was purchased, "pre-owned", on the occasion of wifey's landmark birthday in 2011.  The new vehicle soon was named Elsa, a nod to the lioness in the movie "Born Free" who loved to sleep atop Land Rovers out on safari.  Our Elsa became part of the family and proved to be a sturdy and dependable vehicle, which is rather contrary to the general reputation of the brand.  Nonetheless, Elsa was quite reliable and gave very little problem over the next 13 years and 161,000 miles of use.  But the time finally came for Elsa to be replaced with a newer vehicle, Elsa 2.  The original Elsa was then donated to our local public radio station, and the auto service that handles that on their behalf came to pick her up yesterday.  It was a poignant moment to see such a familiar family friend leaving home for the last time.  But memories of her long and faithful service will never fade.  So long, Elsa.  And thanks.

Read Free or die

 Once again, it is Banned Book Week.  This is the time of year when we remind ourselves of the poor, hapless individuals in the world who are deeply threatened...by ideas.  Sad to say, it's a growing movement once again in this country, and especially in my part of it, to ban books.  Mostly in the guise of "protecting children", these misguided souls are rampaging through libraries and bookstores searching for anything they disagree with.  Not content with merely suppressing ideas, they are threatening the employment or even physical harm to those who they view as not sufficiently closed minded.  Quite predictably, the same people who want to post their Ten Commandments in schoolrooms and who offer the solution to "just don't look at them" to those who follow another faith or none at all, can't follow their own advice when it comes to school library books they choose to be offended by.  Or more likely, are told to be offended by, as it is often the case that book banners have never actually read the books they want to ban. So this week, take a moment to remember these troubled, perpetually aggrieved souls, who are burdened to go through life persistently outraged by ideas they can't accept.

Blinded by science

As my day job is working as a research scientist, I find it important to live by decisions based on empiric evidence.  Living in the USA, and especially in the Deep South, that's not always easy.  This is, after all, the region of the nation best known for discarding settled science in favor of various flavors of religion.  Alabama still requires disclaimers in school science textbooks that claim the principle of evolution is somehow still unproven.  Many other similar topics are disputed by those who can't or won't accept the scientific method:  climate change, the age, and even the shape of the earth.  Fortunately, these misguided individuals can be refuted by a most infallible authority- the slogan t-shirt.  In my collection, I have multiple shirt that proclaim "science doesn't care what you believe."  That is to say, science is true, whether or not you find it convenient to accept it.  This adage is most apropos throughout and after our most recent global pandemic.  For selfish personal and political reasons, many people chose to blame various parties for the origins of the deadly virus, despite having little or no evidence to support their claims.  Early on in the struggle with the new virus, there was little real evidence to be had that supported anyone's claims.  But that has slowly changed, and today another convincing piece was added to the pile.  The prestigious science journal Cell published a paper with strong evidence that the virus arose from a food market in the Chinese city of Wuhan.  This adds to previous work that suggests the most likely source of the virus was a natural spillover from animals sold as food in the market.  Not an accidental escape from a lab.  Not a deliberate pathogen released to target specific populations.  Not any other fanciful theory concocted without evidence and repeated by those with crackpot political views.  As far as humankind is able to determine at this moment in history, this is the best explanation of the pandemic's origin.  Of course, that's not to say future, better evidence will change things if and when it comes to light.  But that's how science works- more and better data improve our understanding of all things.  And as always, one's personal opinions, or religion, or politics don't matter, because science doesn't care what you believe.

 

Anniversary

 It was one year ago today that I began this blog, with the intention of returning to an online presence that involved more long form discourse, and less of the short-attention-span posts of the social media that is now the current fad.  As someone always drawn to anachronisms, blogging appealed to me partly because it is now considered old fashioned.  I've not really settled on a unifying theme for this blog, but instead share random observations about some of my interests: typewriters, postal mail, food, and books.  A year after it began, it's likely what is found here hasn't much altered the course of the world.  But whose hobby ever does?  Here's to another year!

Keep on truckin'

 After a long period of development, the newly designed US Postal Service's mail trucks are finally being deployed.   They certainly won't win any beauty contests, but of course that isn't their main goal.  Practicality is the primary aim, and from early comments by mail carriers who use them, the new vehicle is a success.  With many improvements in safety, comfort and reliability over the 1980s era Grumman-built mail trucks still in wide service, the new Next Generation Delivery Vehicle is a marked improvement in the delivery fleet.  The NGDV is part of an ambitious 10-year plan by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to streamline and modernize the world's largest postal system.  DeJoy has been widely criticized for the plan's implementation, which has triggered significant degradation of service in many parts of the country.  Whether these deficits can be overcome remains to be seen.  There are even concerns that postal delays will impede mailed ballots in November's presidential election, four years after new Trump appointee DeJoy was accused of deliberately slowing mail service to affect absentee ballots.  Hopefully, the growing pains of the USPS restructuring will be temporary, and the service can return to its previous efficiency.  Until then, at least some spiffy new trucks will be a welcome improvement.

Hot off the press 3

 Just received from the indefatigable press of Fred Woodworth: Mystery & Adventure Series Review #63.  This 40-page issue of the completely analog 'zine contains articles about the boy's adventure books A Trace of Memory by Keith Laumer, the Dan Perry series book Radium Island by Kent Sagendorph (which is referred to as "Indiana Jones on Steroids"), and the regular Typographic Corner column.  Of course, the issue also has an extensive "Letters to the Editor" section, in which Fred interacts with his loyal readers.

As always, copies of this and other Fred Woodworth publications may be obtained by writing postal mail to him at Fred Woodworth, PO Box 3012, Tuscon AZ 85702.  (The familiar city of Tucson, AZ is purposefully misspelled in Fred's usage for purposes of protest.  Humor him and spell it that way; your mail will reach him all the same.)  As for cost, Fred writes, "Subscription is at no fixed price - free or whatever you care to donate, if anything.  Donations, however, MUST be in either cash or stamps, not checks. I cannot accept checks."  In the past, Fred has described banking errors that have led him to completely avoid them.  I occasionally send him cash via mail without trouble.  Join me as a reader of Woodworth publications and you will support a magazine whose "purpose is to promote obsolete culture and its ideals."

#winasone

 The day eagerly anticipated in the Deep South is here at last: College Football Season is fully here.  Sure, there was a "Week 0" game last weekend in Dublin, Ireland.  But with the kickoff tonight of the UAB Blazers vs Alcorn State Braves at Protective Stadium, the season is officially underway.  Second year head coach Trent Dilfer expects an improved Blazer defense this year to support the impressive offense led by quarterback Jacob Zeno.  On a warm late summer evening, the Blazers will work towards getting the season off to a strong start.  While I certainly hope for a good result from the Blazers, I also am looking forward to one of life's guilty pleasures:  stadium food. 

Addendum: UAB won, 41-3. Go Blazers!