As someone who doesn’t drive, I recognize the variables drivers face when getting out of the car. They have to watch for cars, bicycles, and the occasional jaywalking pedestrian.
Unless they’re parking on a one-way street with parking on both sides, they don’t have to worry about uneven curbs, trees, and the like.
In front of the houses both north (pictured) and south of our house, large shade trees stand. They do a wonderful job keeping the street a bit cooler in the summer. I would hate for them to go.
But each of them pushes the curb into the street and slightly upward, no more than a few inches, but enough to make it difficult for someone on the passenger side to get out of the car. And walking over the roots is an adventure in balance.
You say verges, I say berm
I’ve become very, I say very, cognisant of uneven road verges. What? It is “a strip of ground cover consisting of grass or garden plants, sometimes shrubs and trees, located between a roadway and a sidewalk. Verges are also known by other names such as parkway, grass strip, nature strip, curb strip, berm, park strip, or tree lawn, the usage of which is often quite regional.” There are other terms.
Recently, I was getting out of the car, and the verge was at least a 30-degree angle. I don’t usually need my cane to get to the sidewalk, but I did that day.
Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!
This week we’re inspired by Blogography. More than 20 years ago, he stole this meme from Neil, his blogging buddy. Alas, Neil’s blog no longer exists, so that’s where the trail goes cold.
Another Sunday, Just Another Meme
1. Do you have a business card? If yes, what’s your job title?
No, but I’m seriously thinking of getting one. I would hand it out when I’m trying to get people to give book reviews or author talks for the Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library. Maybe my titles would be library volunteer and blogger. Optimally, it would be green and have a picture of the duck.
When I WAS working, I had at least four different business cards, for each of our office spaces: SUNY Central (the castle), 41 State Street, 22 Corporate (frickin’) Woods, and 10 N. Pearl Street. I believe the phone numbers changed each time. I was an Information Specialist.
2. What day of the week were you born?
Saturday’s child has far to go.
3. What vegetable do you refuse to eat?
Kale. This past week, my ophthalmologist gave me a list of veggies good for eye health; kale was at the top, but I despise it. Spinach, fortunately, was third.
4. How many times have you stayed overnight in the hospital?
Lessee: the nosebleed when I was five; the car accident when I was 19; and the arrhythmia, which was more than 10 but less than 20 years ago.
Not Franklin Pierce, either
5. Do you have more piercings or tattoos?
Neither. But here’s Tattooed Love Boys, from that great first Pretenders album.
6. Do you like to shop?
Not at all. I DID like to buy music online for a time, especially during COVID, but I’m running out of room. As I wrote here: “One time this past decade, my wife was going to buy me a winter coat for Christmas, so we went into JCPenney’s. I looked at two coats and liked the second one. I tried it on; it fit, and I said, ‘Okay, we’re done.’ She said, ‘Don’t you want to look at some others?’ ‘NO!'”
7. How much cash is in your wallet right now?
$37, three tens, a five, and two ones.
8. Let’s play MASH: Do you live in a mansion, apartment, shack, or house?
A one-family house. Before my wife and I moved here 26 years ago, she lived in a two-family dwelling which she owned. When she moved here, her voter registration carried over the Apt. 1; this was rectified about three months ago.
9. Where are you in the family birth order (oldest, middle child, youngest, or only child)?
I am the eldest of three; two younger sisters.
10. When you were 5 years old, what did you call your parents?
I am not sure. Maybe Mommy and Dad.
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.
Aaliyah is my daughter’s favorite artist in the genre
The Hot R&B Singles for 1996, formerly Hot Black Singles and so many other categories I can barely keep track of, has some crossover with the pop charts, but here are plenty of other songs.
Down Low (Nobody has to know) – R Kelly featuring Ronald Isley and Ernie Isley, seven weeks at #1
*Tha Crossroads – Bone thugs-n-harmony, seven weeks at #1; #1 pop
Killing Me Softly – Fugees featuring Lauryn Hill, five weeks at #1 as an album track; no, I don’t really know how that works. The song was written by Gimbel and Fox, and was a #1 pop/#2 soul/#2 easy listening hit (as Killing Me Softly With His Song) by Roberta Flack. I do have the Fugees album The Score, from whence the 1996 hit came.
If Your Girl Only Knew – Aaliyah, two weeks at #1. My daughter has gotten into 1990’s soul, and Aaliyah was the lynchpin. This is why we went to the New Edition tour. She recently bought me an Aaliyah compilation.
Pony – Ginuwine, two weeks at #1. My daughter’s affection for ’90s soul turned me on to this artist, who I had not heard of previously.
These are number one from one week
You’re The One – SWV (Sisters With Voices). I own their 1992 debut album, It’s About Time.
Rockbottom Dam in the Susquehanna River in Binghamton, NY
My dear friend Carol, who I’ve only known since kindergarten, sent me this link to a WNBF radio story, “Rockbottom Dam Removal To Be Studied By City of Binghamton.” That would be in my hometown. She asked, “Didn’t you almost drown there?”
I replied, “Why, yes, I did. And I almost got arrested for skinny dipping the same day.” Carol noted, “I see a blog here, unless you’ve already done that.” No, I had not noted when I almost drowned. I said, “Okay, a blog post it will be! Thanks. I always need content.”
First, a bit of description. “The Rockbottom Dam, which has been a fixture in the Susquehanna River for two centuries, might become a thing of the past.” I did not know this: “According to historians, the dam was built in 1828 to power a nearby gristmill. The city acquired the structure several decades ago to control river levels for the nearby water filtration plant.”
And: “Three Binghamton firefighters died in the flood-swollen river near the Rockbottom Dam over a two-day period in September 1975. The mayor said the dam continues to pose a ‘‘huge safety risk’ for the downtown district and prevents people from safely using the river.”
Sketchy recollection
Here’s the thing, though: I don’t remember a lot of the details of my misadventure. For instance, it was likely in the summer of 1970, when I would have bicycled there. But it could have been the year before or after. I don’t know what month it was.
Obviously, it was hot enough for me to decide to go swimming. It was a spontaneous decision to go into the river. I didn’t have a swimsuit, but I figured I wouldn’t be seen from the nearby Brandywine Highway. I was only in the water above the dam for about five minutes when I obviously got too close to the undertow. For about 30 seconds, I was pretty sure I was going to die.
I have never been a strong swimmer, though I was pretty good at holding my breath underwater, a skill I honed from hanging out in the above-ground pool in the backyard of my maternal grandmother’s next door neighbors; one of the girls who lived there was one of my sister Leslie’s best friends.
In any case, I made it to the shoreline. I put on my underwear, pants, and shirt. At that point, two city of Binghamton cops came toward me from the roadway. One asked, “We got a report of a man skinny dipping here. Were you skinny dipping?” I lied, “no.” The cops looked at each other, shrugged, and one said, “Okay, then.”
I went home. I don’t recall that I told anyone, such as my family, though OBVIOUSLY I told friend Carol. I don’t remember doing that either.
CDC Issues Emergency Response for Florida Dengue Outbreak.
Ahead of Biodiversity Summit, UN Chief Warns Countries Are ‘Subsidizing Suicide’ by Backing Fossil Fuels. “I urge governments everywhere to end these handouts once and for all, and to use the savings for people and planet instead,” said António Guterres.
Voters in Oil-Rich Alberta Strongly Reject Leaving Canada.
In Virginia, Racism and Redlining Are Fueling a Flock Camera Backlash.
Dolores Huerta, Labor Leader and Force for Civil Rights, Has Died. She co- founded the United Farm Workers.
Tom Skerritt has died at age 93. I watched him in many movies and TV shows, but my favorite was his run on Picket Fences.
Walter Koenig, Chekov From ‘Star Trek,’ Has Died. As the Russian navigator of the U.S.S. Enterprise, he was a mainstay of the original television series and seven films. He was 90.
The Dominican Baseball Factory – A teenage prospect’s family was promised $1.8 million, and most of it was gone within a few years thanks to the moneylenders who circle young players.
A Final Scream at the End of the Movie. Not quite an end credits scene, but worth the wait.
Ohio’s Republican Governor Calls on Vivek Ramaswamy to Take Down Attack Ad. It features the estranged mother of Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton, and has drawn widespread criticism, though FOTUS strongly defended it.
Could House Republicans refuse to seat Democrats? FOTUS might try
FOTUS Signs Order Exempting Russia From Sanctionss Law. The sanctions were part of a measure that was named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July.
“I’d Like to Report a Theft”: Bernie Mocks FOTUS’s Anti-Fraud Tipline. “A man inside our government illegally spent nearly $22 million in taxpayer dollars on bogus campaign ads praising himself. He now resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”
902 pregnancy-related prosecutions in three years after Dobbs. Pregnancy Justice found that most cases involved child neglect or endangerment charges
FEMA tells states to handle disasters on their own
Women are disappearing from top roles in the regime
Musk chose to restrict Ukraine’s access to SpaceX satellite network
Most of Ken Paxton’s Money Can Be Traced to Elon Musk. The world’s richest person, who has become the biggest known midterm donor, gave $158 million to a group that quickly spent that much to help Mr. Paxton’s Senate bid in Texas.
MUSIC
The Smooth Jazz Show on The Soul Of London Radio– Thursday 15th October 2026. The “Album Of The Week” is the latest from vocalist Rebecca Jade. Released in 2022 and entitled “A Shade Of Jade”, Paul Russell features several tracks from the Album on the show. The interview came ahead of her LIVE performance at The Indigo @ The O2 on Friday, 16th October.