Airport Security

All of us, at one time or another, have suffered through the inconvenience of the security check- in line - belts and shoes off and a gentle pat down. Passengers with disabilities are ushered through express gates in their wheelchairs. A request for a wheel chair is granted without a "show cause." Some airline folks have noticed that when the lines grow long there is an increase in requests for wheelchairs. A case in point was a flight where six wheelchairs appeared at the departure gate. It was said that the airline wires ahead so that six "chairs" are provided at destination. On this flight two of the six remained unused at destination ramp so it would appear that several miracles occurred in the rarefied air at  thirty thousand feet. The truth is that selfishness lives on in our society.
tjs
Next - Autumn Leaves

Gnashing of Teeth III

                                                                  THE OLD FASHIONED

There is something about an Old Fashioned - that kindles a cardiac glow-

It is soothing and soft and impassioned - as a lyric by Swinburne or Poe.

There is something about an Old Fashioned - when dusk has enveloped the sky -

And it may be the ice, or the pineapple slice, but I strongly suspect it's the RYE.

tjs
Next - TBA (Mon.)

Potpourri VI

It isn't the cough that carries you off - it's the coffin they carry you off in. Must be time for those flu shots.

On November 1st, five days before our general election, there will be a global conference of world investors held in the Cayman Islands, a popular location for offshore investments. The keynote speaker has been announced as George W. Bush and the timing of this event should bring no joy to the R candidate.

Seen on a headboard of a Manhattan hotel "Everyone ought to have a Lower East Side in their life."

Blogger will be away celebrating Columbus Day weekend - expect to resume mid-week or thereabouts.
tjs

The Barnes Museum

The Barnes Art Museum recently moved from suburban Philadelphia to a new building location in center city. In so doing they have received an award from the U.S. Green Building Council for how they handled construction waste and landfill to warrant this highest environmental rating. The N.Y. Times reported that other "green" elements of this new museum include a " vegetated roof, wood flooring reclaimed from Coney Island's boardwalk and a system designed greatly to reduce potable water consumption." Friends who have visited the museum tell me that this latter "system" refers to the toilets. There have always been mixed opinions about the manner in which Barnes displayed his eclectic collection but I would like to witness it if nothing more than to visit the restrooms.
tjs
Next - Potpourri VI

Amnesty II

On July 19th we commented on the effort of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to offer amnesty for the return of pilfered merchandise. They really didn't expect much recovery - it was more an effort to place the venerable landmark for attention by the social media. Anyway, the deadline for surrender of items has passed and the following have been turned in: one coffee pot, two butter knives, one fork and a coaster.  Other hotels have had amnesty programs. At the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. the most sought after souvenir was the brass plated plaque from room 871 which once housed a certain New York State governor entertaining a lady of the evening. I guess some folks liked those digits to play the trifecta at the local racetrack or perhaps a hot LOTTO hunch. (Update by James Barron NYT 9/27/12)
tjs
Next - The Barnes Museum

Bowled Over

Not having seen the New Yorker's latest cartoons I can only nominate as cartoon of the week "Bibi's Bomb", the one with the curly pigtail as a fuse. It resembles my old twelve pound bowling ball, the one with the three holes. In my prime I carried a 150 average - which with perfection considered as 300 - that meant I only "scored" fifty percent of the time - but at least higher than those 47% of the masses. My bowling career took place prior to automatic pinsetters. We had live pinboys in the pits and if you didn't play at a pace to suit them, they would bang the pins against the wall which was both intimidating and unnerving, which might have been Bibi's intention with his artwork. At least he didn't draw us a mushroom cloud. So, using  the jargon of the "alleys" I can only say "Bibi, don't STRIKE - SPARE us,!"
tjs
Next - Amnesty II

Pseudonyms

Jim Dwyer's "About New York" column last week (NYT) concerned an Albany staffer being reprimanded for using a fictitious name while defending an assemblyman on the Internet. This was a case of "sock puppetry" - a new word for your lexicon. Apparently the practice is widespread throughout the blogosphere. A British historian invented a nom  de plume to review his own work. Even Benjamin Franklin used several names in Poor Richard's Almanac. A New York individual created seventy-two identities to hold on line debates- and the list goes on and on. A friend of mine once signed his letters "Osgood Hooker"  more in playfulness than deception. And I must confess having succumbed on a few occasions. You see, my surname is as common as Chang in the Hong Kong directory and on several occasions I have lost restaurant reservations to imposters. My address in Yonkers, N.Y. at the time was on David Lane and henceforth I was Mr.  David Lane on the reservation book. When my "name" was called over the P.A. system I only hoped that none of my neighbors were in the crowd. How someone could remember seventy-two identities I will never understand since I sometimes forget what PIN I am using. That individual could make a fortune in Las Vegas counting cards.
tjs
Next - TBA