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"Short Notes" | will's diary pages
archives | apr 10-16 | apr 17-26 | apr 30-May 5 | may 16-30 | jun | jul 1-9
 
8 july | our tour guide Immigration history | Ellis Island was a moving experience. The Park Ranger's recount made the experience of immigrations processing sound moderately less severe than historical anecdote would suggest. He told us that that somewhat less than 3% of those who came to Ellis Island were turned back and deported. That group went back for one of 3 or 4 reasons:
• they had communicable diseases
• anarchists
• it seems they'd be likely to become "wards of the state"
But the darker (but by no means surprising) side to this picture was that we were also told that only travelers in "steerage" who had limited money that got sent to Ellis Island. The rest could get off at the shipping dock. Those who did get "processed" were shunted, sometimes 12,000 to 17,000 people per day, from Ellis Island, part of which is in New Jersey room to room in the center. First constructed in the 1880-90s, it was when the Federal government first got directly into the immigration processing business. It seems that the free-marketers, [they worked out of an old fort "Castle Clinton" ~and no, I ain't touchin' that] were so blatantly corrupt that it was impossible to overlook.
The complex of buildings on Ellis's Island were the result. Built in consideration of what appeared to be a downward immigration trend, it got completed to see the first great surge of immigrants coming to the USA.
World Trade Center Statute of Liberty, New York Harbor  
6 july | new yawk citi | A sudden adventure spurred by the visit of my brother and his new wife, Charlene (hope that's the right spelling). We will be total tourists. The Statute of liberty, Ellis Island and the World Trade Towers. Then I'll try to get 'em to Margaret's Wall Street Viewing Room (more about that later) and some place fancy to dinner.
While coming into new york I sat acorss from a Danish man on his first trip out of Europe in his life. He's coming to a concert at Madison Square Garden and staying at ...well who knows where. But's it's clear that he's on an adventure. Good Samaratin that I am, I couldn't leave him stranded at Penn Station at 10 pm where the East or Middle Asian family at Hudson News wouldn't give him cash change to real money. Unsuccesful at geting coins to use the phone, he walked over to New York's (and Penn Station's) Finest, who looked him ...and me...up and down, sneering saying, "You'll have to buy a phone card then" and pointed him back to the store. When he went back (that's the Hudson News stand near track 9 & 10 across from the AMTRAK waiting area) even though there were only one or two customers in the shop, all four or five of the folks busily counting money totally ignored his request to try to buy a phone card. So I punched his calls to the folks he is staying with in on my own phone card to get him connected to real people.
Do I derive some consolation in that the apparent foriegners were just as indifferent to this guy and our born and bred New York policemen or should I be disgusted with both groups. (Hmmm. is this a problem for the NY Times ethicist?). Now it sems to me that it's no great sweat to help out a total stranger with no motivating factors, but it behooves those who are the first line of greeting to be courteous and polite to strangers. (then again, Hudson News-Penn Station. buncha indifferent creeps. don't go there maybe it's Rudy's fault for consistently giving the wrong message to his gendarmes that it's okay to treat people like shit. What these people gave this pleasant and new to the nation visitor was a fine f**k you greeting. I hope the rest of his trip is entertaining, adventuresome, fun and exciting and ...ultimately... safe.
jul 4 | health & well being | I've begun exercising and watching what I eat. Note I have not said dieting. Setting a goal of getting down to below 220 lbs (100 kilos?) by September. If I do this I shall reward myself with a wolfs' head tattoo. Since beginning this endeavor in May I've dropped about 15 lbs/7.5 kilos. We'll see.
farewell to the gold Chevy | Well. Bruce went with me and I bit the bullet and bought another truck. An S-10 this time. 4 WD; 6ft bed; standard transmission (a joy!!! Too long waiting!) black with a cap & but only a V-6 engine. And for the first time in 15 years there's a radio and tape deck in the vehicle. My main problem. The truck is waay too pretty to drive to the town dump or haul wood.
fireworks money money money the national religion thing | I expect I'll get boos and flame mail on this but while I was indeed impressed by the fireworks spectacle from New York City this evening, (and a simultaneous thunder/lighning storm at home ~neato!) I was also more that a little disgusted and disenheartened by the sheer grandiosity of it all. Were I at work, I'm certain the nation would be diagnosed as manic in its display. It was also interesting for it to have been held in New York City. For while I don't doubt that Washington DC had a display on the Capitol Mall of its own, that the Prez and others chose to celebrate this event in NYC points to this city being the power capitol of this regime. Suggesting strongly how much the two bigger "Green Parties" are so much beholden to the financial capitol, which, in turn, lords over all the rest of us.
in Higganum Connecticut
jul 2 | The Blue Oar | This place doesn't have a website. It doesn't do much advertising either. Just as well in my book. 'cuz I hate sharing the place with others.
Why? Bad boys and society girls at a BYOB grille house on the river at the end of a poorly marked off-the-beaten-path road.. Used ta' be you'd bring your own plates, too. Ya needed to! The thick juicy chops, succulent (and creative) salads did a number on the paper ones. Now they use more food friendly The Blue Oar heavy plastic picnic dishes, which they use to serve you on the deck (just outside the area where literally everything that's cooked gets done on open grilles. Or you eat down on picnic tables by the river, watch speed boats buzz by, sketch and scribble or enjoy some other delights (like the wild mushroom salad my friends Chris & Gerry Miller once brought along) all while scoping out those aforenamed bad boys (imagine bikers in old Chris Crafts) and the occasional kickboxing demonstration. Great fun!
But in the past couple of years the summer people and the McMansion folks discovered this fantastic eatery. So they come with their Ceramica salt/pepper shakers and cruets; costly wines in chilled cannisters. Hell! We even saw author Dominick Dunne eating there the other night.
So now I tell folks I don't know that the food is bad ...and hope they don't realize that if that's the case, how come I'm wearing their t-shirt everywhere?
the Chevy C-1500 Driving Woes | Time to find a new vehicle! A couple of weeks ago I was driving home pulling up that long hill south of Middletown when the idiot heat light went on. And low and behold without a great deal of advanc\e warning, I find myself with most likely a busted head gasket. The oil on the dipstick showing a very pretty and stylish tan hue (pretty much like the background color of this page). All that notwithstanding, with water I had in the back of the truck I was able to make it 8 miles south and park it in a public lot. A few days later, and about four stops enroute, a friend and I made it back to East Haddam. But it's time. The last gasp up the hill behind the house saw a most impressive cloud of oil infused smoke which took a couple of minutes to clear throu the trees. And now I'm looking for another Chevy, thank you.
RECAP | Straight-Acting.com is a website for gay guys who want to see how they make the measure of appearing straight-acting.com's website heterosexual to the world without Gaydar. Mind you, I fall into the camp of not caring what people know about my general orientation, yet I am also acutely aware (as you can see by my low rating) that I've made more than one woman blow out her coffee at me when she found out I wasn't coming on to here but just being a friendly guy. Back to the website... SA calls itself the "masculinely politically incorrect site, but it has got to be with tounge-in-cheek (considering that there's an advert for a Cher CD at the top of the page). For my money, it's good clean dirty fun. Go look.




archives apr 10-16 | apr 17-26 | apr 30-may 5 | may 16-May 30 | june | july

Catch you on the rebound!

~Will Brady

on the cape hatteras ferry, may 2000

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"Short Notes" was the title of a column I wrote while working for a newspaper in the Adirondack Mountains some years ago. The format was similar to what you'll find here, except augmented with pictures and maps. The subject matter shall sometimes be personal, at other times comments on events or situations of which I am aware. Comments, suggestions welcomed but not always acted upon.
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