Catch Me Now, I'm Falling

Here is why I posted a piece on people not shoveling or clearing their walks Thursday.
Walker Evans and I were taking our daily stroll through the neighborhood when we turned off of Norwood Avenue onto Highland Avenue, heading toward Elmwood Avenue. In almost exactly the middle of the block, there was a house with its sidewalk and driveway entirely covered with an inch or two of ice and, where there was no ice, snow even deeper. This was a frequent site on our walk, but most yards had at least a bit of their walk cleared.
So Walker continued walking, using his four-leg approach to handle things nicely; I took one good, firm step, and then the second one was where the fun started. My foot went up about a foot in the air and clumsily to the front, and I started the please-let-my-feet catch-some-traction ice dance. After a moment, I thought I had caught myself, but then the next step led to my right leg going up high, and I fell.
I landed on my left knee and hip, both which remain sore now, almost 24 hours later. I limped away, but fortunately, the pain subsided and my soreness isn't too bad, along with some slight brush burns. My back, which didn't immediately hurt, is a bit sore now, but not overly painful. The leash came out of my hand, but Walker not only stopped, but came over to me right away.
Let's just say that the owner/owners of that house should feel damn lucky I am neither hurt badly nor a litigious minded person, because it would appear that a worse injury could have led to a lawsuit. I'd prefer that these and other people just clear their sidewalks.

Mea Culpa, Somewhat

Yes, I know I said I was going to start posting here more, and after two comments in one day, it's been a week since I added anything.
I am still busy job hunting and doing some other things, and I have to go into downtown Buffalo with my mother to do some business for her today. I do have some things to write about, so maybe I will find the time soon.

Shovel This

Like many Buffalonians/Western New Yorkers, I had to do a serious amount of snow removal from our property in the last 24-30 hours.
I was out three times in this period, including two sessions of more than an hour each of snow shoveling. We got a pretty good amount of snow over this period, about 15 inches; nothing horrible, but certainly enough to shovel as much and well as possible. The colder than normal temperatures and strong winds certainly didn't add to the joy of having to shovel out our double-front property, including porch, driveway and walkway in addition to the sidewalk.
What irritated me the most today was before my final shoveling of the last inch or two at about 5 p.m., Walker Evans and I took our daily stroll in the neighborhood, although skate or climb was more like it.
Our West Side/Elmwood Village neighborhood is usually very good at snow blowing, shoveling or plowing snow, but for some reason, way too many people had apparently not even been out the night before to take care of their sidewalks. The worst was a corner property on Ashland Avenue (I forget which corner), which had not been touched, causing Walker and I to jog and hop through close to a foot of snow for much too long.
I know I temporarily have some extra time on my hands, but come on, people, let's clear the snow.

I'm Still Here

Sorry for the absence, folks; I have been busy, as you might imagine, with job hunting, insurance, benefit and other financial considerations recently, and it did not hit me until yesterday that it has been more than a week since I posted here.
I do have a few things I want to get to in some detail, so I will try to get to that later today, but I am doing OK, if a bit pissed off and depressed, as I enter week 3 for being unemployed. This is no fun at all, in fact it is a bit scary, and I appreciate that no one has even joked that I am on some kind of vacation.
On the job front, along with scouring all kinds of help wanted lists and job postings, I applied to one job that I made the first cut of, and then was assigned two writing tasks and have turned in the samples. From these writing samples, the people to be interviewed for the position will be chosen. I hope to have some news on that effort very soon.

Another Vocabulary Crime

As a writer/editor for way too many years, I get annoyed at times at the bad, wrong or inappropriate use of certain words, and there is one I've been meaning to mention.
More and more, I have been hearing the word "decorated" used in place of "honored," especially on ESPN, for athletes and other people winning awards. No.
Decorated has a simple, long and rich meaning; it stands for people who receive decorations (such as medals and the like), as in military personnel, law enforcement officials, security/intelligence (CIA) and diplomatic personnel.
There is no reason the words honored, lauded, acclaimed, awarded and so on can't be used for athletes and others while the word decorated stands for those received decorations for heroic actions taken in the face of danger and for meritorious service in the defense and protection of others.

And I'll Probably Feel a Whole Lot Better

One of the first things Val noticed after I had been left unemployed by the political fun at the Erie County Legislature was that I seemed way calmer than before.
This is true; as soon as I saw that this could be the end result of changing leadership at the Legislature, in late November, I started clearing my office of personal belongings/effects bit by bit, and had just about everything taken home when the hammer came down January 7. All I had to do was load the desk photo of Val and me, my water bottle, a can of soup, some gift candy and maybe one other thing into my knapsack. This took about one minute to do; I had already packed up my CDs, radio and a photo Val took in Austin from our 2001 visit, among other things.
But the tension of possibly/probably losing your job while not being actually told this or anything else specifically would happen took its toll on many of us, particularly those of us who are now gone; the "Dead Man Walking" joke never got old. So, getting the letter telling me my services would no longer be needed handed to me at 5:55 p.m., and for me to basically be gone by 6 p.m., released a lot of tension.
Of course, there is a different kind of tension going on now in our household as I try to find a new job and keep our home going, and no doubt Walker Evans may get sick of me soon.

The Journey Continues

Yes, the tumultuous changes in my life, mainly my recent unrequested lack of employment and the events surrounding them, have caused lots of commentary and controversy in and around the media, including the Western New York electronic/online media, as I previously pointed out and and supplied links for (see below).
Except for what I already wrote on this subject, I don't believe I will be spending much time rehashing things or getting into the political chicanery, dishonesty and/or infighting that has been involved; it really won't accomplish anything for me at this moment, when my focus must be on gaining new employment and making sure our household can make it basically intact until that moment. My wife, Val, my family, including our dog, Walker Evans, and our house are by far my points of concentration.
Not that I won't discuss some certain effects events and situations have had, good and bad, but I think some things are already being written about in good manner. If you have any questions, I am certainly willing to read them and respond.

A Change is Gonna Come

And in fact, it already has; as some of you know or could tell, the major event occurred and, as I have written to explain things, I have now involuntarily joined the ranks of the unemployed.
In what was a controversial move to some, and destructive to others, I was one of eight people whose "services are no longer needed" by the Erie County Legislature Democratic Majority, where I served as director of communications. You can read about it here, here, here and even here, the last which makes a kind reference to me.
Actually, you should read several of the posts at both Buffalo Pundit (Alan Bedenko) and Buffalo Geek (Chris Smith) on this topic, because they have made some serious continued comments that should be read and discussed. This includes the classic explanation of events here and the same on Buffalo Pundit.