tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44155892039053303632024-03-12T23:57:40.463-04:00What You Do Not Know Because You Are Not Me!I don't let the fact that I am grammatically challenged stop me from.....ChickenUnderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06025866506646843697noreply@blogger.comBlogger1385125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-49101210652170551982024-02-01T10:35:00.000-05:002024-02-01T14:31:35.448-05:00Boogie In Your Butt (nsfw)
i originally published this blog a little over 10 years ago. 10 years ago I had my first colonoscopy. This morning I had my second. A few things have changed in 10 years. First I learned from my mistake 10 years ago in that you shouldn't walk out of the hospital and go directly to the hall cart. Lying to the nurse's 10 years ago and telling them my wife was waiting for me outside and then inhaling a chicken and rice was a big mistake. 10 years ago I got on the subway and only made it one stop before all hell broke loose. Today I went home and had my daughter make me some eggs. Also, she actually met me in the hospital so I didn't go home alone. today I had my procedure at one of the many branches of NYU Langone Hospital. I went there because they have 99% of my medical records because they're the hospital I spent most of my time in recovering from Guillain-Barré syndrome.<div><br /></div><div>10 years ago I had the procedure at Mount Sinai Hospital. The Beth Israel branch on 2nd Avenue and 17th Street. They told me to walk in the emergency room entrance.I didn't know that a few months later I'd be sent there and would walk in the emergency room and be admitted directly into intensive care.</div><div><br /></div><div>10 years ago it was the first time I underwent any kind of anesthesia. I've lost track of how many times I've been put under since then. Today I knew enough to shave the inside of my armpits so when they put the IV in it wouldn't hurt so much when I took the tape off.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFJaXvw9Q-jVAPv3OEhliktnDbe67UTdcbbMVaaTVyMlWWX4ELlcVFYbv47xZBv924vFfFttXJxbvzzP4_ylR4rKd2p-gQKCY6_ZKhhSur6u881WdLO1rv6Di7vSa7zcKEWLUTsOqmTiCD2RvXNdiE2qa5gScmcTFBxyKaz6pmfxADhVOimltSDk7wFE/s600/Resized_20240201_140814.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFJaXvw9Q-jVAPv3OEhliktnDbe67UTdcbbMVaaTVyMlWWX4ELlcVFYbv47xZBv924vFfFttXJxbvzzP4_ylR4rKd2p-gQKCY6_ZKhhSur6u881WdLO1rv6Di7vSa7zcKEWLUTsOqmTiCD2RvXNdiE2qa5gScmcTFBxyKaz6pmfxADhVOimltSDk7wFE/s320/Resized_20240201_140814.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>I think I'm still the guy that exists at the edge of the bell curve. Today I wore two bracelets. I've had the blue one on since September when I ran the Berlin Marathon. I'm going to wear it till it falls off or until someone recognizes that that doesn'tKnow me already .The other I took off already. But it says I'm a FALL RISK. I can be both. A marathoner and a trip hazard. I'm also the guy who's taken accessoride to the starting line of an ultramarathon.</div><div><br /></div><div>Below is everything I wrote in 2014..........<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4le6Zr86ojs?rel=0" width="420"></iframe><br />
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I heard this for the first time in my car. I was with buddies and we had to pull over we were laughing so hard.<br />
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That was a while ago. Things just got real. <br />
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Since I just turned 50 I am supposed to have a colonoscopy. I subjected myself to this because it is a lot better than dying of <a href="https://www.ccalliance.org/colorectal_cancer/statistics.html" target="_blank">Colon Cancer.</a> The colonoscopy itself was not so bad. Basically you lay down with your butt sticking out of a gown in a very crowded little room. You get a shot and wake up somewhere else an hour later. A nice nurse brought me a cup of orange juice. Twenty minutes later I walked out the side door of the hospital and directly to the Halal guy for a chicken and rice. If it were above average I would have eaten another one. Then I meandered back to the subway for a ride home.<br />
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Here are some photos I left them small to protect your eyes.<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fPCpA2EhiEM/Utns2pzmh8I/AAAAAAAAnu8/KJ_0mSMleOc/s1600/butt+I.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fPCpA2EhiEM/Utns2pzmh8I/AAAAAAAAnu8/KJ_0mSMleOc/s1600/butt+I.jpg" width="187" /></a><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBuGPJC3EVI/Utnr6a-fheI/AAAAAAAAnu0/Hfkk_TsobJI/s1600/butt+II.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBuGPJC3EVI/Utnr6a-fheI/AAAAAAAAnu0/Hfkk_TsobJI/s1600/butt+II.jpg" width="320" /></a>.<br />
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Then I had to sign the bottom of a form so that the medical staff know I read this.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vZ-jAVZ9EtM/Utnt7sD9H8I/AAAAAAAAnvE/0_zsjjWsLFk/s1600/img057.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="46" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vZ-jAVZ9EtM/Utnt7sD9H8I/AAAAAAAAnvE/0_zsjjWsLFk/s1600/img057.jpg" title="3. Because air was put into your colon during the procedure, expelling large amounts of air from your rectum is normal." width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Because air was put into your colon during the procedure, expelling large amounts of air from your rectum is normal.</td></tr>
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I could have used a note for the subway ride home.<br />
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Oh, the procedure itself was a piece of cake compared to the prep. No solid food for an entire day. (No, melted ice cream is not solid food, I asked). In the afternoon, I went for a walk and kept tripping over myself to not go into every pizza place.<br />
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Then I had to drink The Gallon of Stuff. People told me it tasted horrible, but I did not think it was so bad, then again, I am used to drinking Gatorade. <br />
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Now I know where the expression Holy Shit comes from. It was kinda weird to have <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=exploding+diarrhea&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=b5jaUovXOdHmsASC9IDACw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=653" target="_blank">exploding diarrhea </a>and not be sick.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Michael/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/go%20lightly/2014-01-18%2008.58.21.jpg" target="_blank">Add caption</a></td></tr>
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<br /></div></div></div>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-64450902708275720392024-01-30T08:46:00.001-05:002024-01-31T13:13:42.516-05:00For safety sake?!?I go to MTA board meetings and attend committee meetings and discuss accessibility in the New York City mass transit system. A lot of other things are discussed at these board meetings that really I don't think have anything to do with me. But this week they were talking about the installation of these safety gates that were installed at the 191st Street Station on The 1 Train. I figured I'd go check them out.<div><br /></div><div>Well I knew I wasn't going to go visit a mass transit station like the <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/jfk-airtrain-architect-on-subway-sliding-doors-its-way-past-due">JFK Air Train</a> on the air train people are kept away from the platform the same way people are kept out of elevator shafts. It's kind of impossible to fall into the platform just like it's impossible to walk into an elevator shaft. Things have to go really wrong for that to happen. And then there's the doors at <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=disney+monorail+doors+closing&rlz=1CAVHDQ_enUS902&oq=disney+monorail+doors&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBggBEEUYOTIHCAIQABiABDIICAMQABgWGB4yDQgEEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgFEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgGEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgHEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgIEAAYhgMYgAQYigXSAQkxODI1MWowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9171587d,vid:bX8oYEol6ro,st:0">Disney World's monorail</a>.It would take a lot of focus to accidentally walk onto the track, there.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">So, when I went to 191st Street I really didn't expect to see the gold standard that we have at JFK nor the moving fence at Disney World.I understand, that to separate the platform in the same way we are separated from elevator shafts at almost 500 stations and thousands of platform would literally cost trillions of dollars. But what I found there was truly underwhelming And probably more hazardous than having nothing there at all.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Simply bolting a yellow fence into the ground to try to discourage people from walking towards the subway platform where the door will not be isn't going to stop anyone from falling or being pushed onto the tracks. And in fact I think they are actually a trip hazard themselves.I can't pretend to speak for how the visually impaired navigate the subway system. Perhaps I can update this blog with input from one of my visually impaired friends. But I can't speak as someone with mobility impairment. I see the fence and while I'm walking around it I would be worried that I would trip over the bolts that hold it into the ground.The one positive thing I can say about the subway system that it often goes unsaid is that there's no potholes on the sidewalks and platforms. For the most part it's a smooth surface. There are no metal plates sticking up out of the ground. <b>Except</b>, now at 191st Street. As the train approached the station I was easily able to see the fences and knew I can walk around them. And the train wasn't very crowded so I was the only one getting off. But if I was getting off the crowded train for the first time, it would be very likely that I would walk very close to that fence and trip over the bolts that hold it into the ground.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Maybe the MTA only wanted to spend a few $100,000 on this pilot project. But maybe a few hundred grand more would have been well spent on digging a little trench, so those brackets and their bolts could have been smoothed out. I know the MTA didn't want to spend a trillion dollars walls that would move when the trains actually rolled in. But what they did at 191st Street is worse than doing nothing. I hope this pilot and soon for safety sake.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwT4AIuocpugjSXqe609jyhx-3s64SU34XpmCMGNBnEqqaPvygZsYwJCNLh5CLGv92PQmGRgMSpDbgwxIT0LauhyphenhyphenSdQ_3HARY-4E0iszZceA91ifvjHZ6837MSQVILE3WsvNCE6z8nacBuogNFLOQ6wt2l7ItNd2mm80OeF1CK3KXn_XHmM6ltxaBT9Nw/s4608/20240127_141006.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwT4AIuocpugjSXqe609jyhx-3s64SU34XpmCMGNBnEqqaPvygZsYwJCNLh5CLGv92PQmGRgMSpDbgwxIT0LauhyphenhyphenSdQ_3HARY-4E0iszZceA91ifvjHZ6837MSQVILE3WsvNCE6z8nacBuogNFLOQ6wt2l7ItNd2mm80OeF1CK3KXn_XHmM6ltxaBT9Nw/s320/20240127_141006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">above is a picture of the downtown platform<br /> of the 191st Street one train taken from<br /> the uptown platform. It shows yellow<br /> fences evenly spaced that are<br /> intended to protect people from falling onto the tracks</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNsXtNVSnk5OU63Mm1ybrtj-J1oJm8w3dSIvvZ5OxNfsP6Gg390ZHKTkDVrB_TQyfHd14TmgI1OfbPqW77TpHAg-UQyEFkVEnKBoDSyqXbRfXw4cyUR2zs7iggCgCa-l7T4G2PixZqvRUCDwqKtu8ymMnrk60XoPtilmLVzmLp-8pSIvW832oe-w5E-E/s4032/20240127_144850.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNsXtNVSnk5OU63Mm1ybrtj-J1oJm8w3dSIvvZ5OxNfsP6Gg390ZHKTkDVrB_TQyfHd14TmgI1OfbPqW77TpHAg-UQyEFkVEnKBoDSyqXbRfXw4cyUR2zs7iggCgCa-l7T4G2PixZqvRUCDwqKtu8ymMnrk60XoPtilmLVzmLp-8pSIvW832oe-w5E-E/s320/20240127_144850.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">above is a close-up photo of the <br />bracket that holds the fence into the platform floor. <br />It looks like it's raised about half an inch and the <br />bolts themselves are raised in another half an inch</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>but here's the thing the MTA can do if they're concerned with safety. They can stop parking their vehicles in accessoride bus stops. Yesterday, well if you my friends and I were protesting in front of two Broadway we noticed an accessoride vehicle completely blocking the street for about 10 minutes so it could unload a passenger who was using a wheelchair.The reason it had to block the streetWas because the accessory bus stop that is place directly across the street from the MTA headquarters was completely blocked by government vehicles.One of them was a police car and the other one was in Accessoride Supervisor's car. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTIsaATG_xI_mddgz-hJ1jnCR2bnA2BX6ujRHAtzI6eu8U5laqJYFU32WmVG73AuyrjHKMCdZYcepPnjDJC7aOTZHqrGPkbgmi_NkFTzgaTbZJ6TL7M21LDLNg52s_TBPzIsyAVsMJcvYTuOrNs1g4_Wp_opHD3co30xaV5uRIDqkjquW0afAnorQl5I/s4032/20240129_091832.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTIsaATG_xI_mddgz-hJ1jnCR2bnA2BX6ujRHAtzI6eu8U5laqJYFU32WmVG73AuyrjHKMCdZYcepPnjDJC7aOTZHqrGPkbgmi_NkFTzgaTbZJ6TL7M21LDLNg52s_TBPzIsyAVsMJcvYTuOrNs1g4_Wp_opHD3co30xaV5uRIDqkjquW0afAnorQl5I/s320/20240129_091832.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">above is a photograph of a Toyota Camry parked <br />in an accessoride bus stop. It's license plate is MTA AC 1830</td></tr></tbody></table>I know that is is a accessoride supervisor's vehicle because when I went across the street to take a picture of its license plates the security guard or police officer who has been assigned to keep an eye on us while we protest came over and asked me why I was taking a picture. I told him because it's blocking the accessory bus stop which is causing that accessory vehicle to back up traffic all the way the city hall. And at the same time making the person who was using a wheelchair exit onto the street instead of the sidewalk. He told me if that supervises didn't park there someone else would so they park there. I began to tell him that that logic is completely faulty but I didn't want to get into an argument with him.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>I know that the MTA doesn't have control over enforcing bus stop regulations. That's the police department and the Department of Transportation. But they can't tell their employees not to stop for park in any bus stop. Especially one in front of their own headquarters that is designated for people with disabilities to use.</b><br /> <br /><p></p></div><div>I just updated this to add my 2 minutes of testimony on this subject to the MTA board on January 31st, 2024. </div><div><br /></div><div>I start speaking at 22 minutes and 30 seconds. Right after Robert De Niro made his 2 minute speech</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XV8v1uLxdh8?si=ybWSPI-sW5xRLeww&start=1351" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-79405049447461177562024-01-24T19:51:00.004-05:002024-01-27T13:47:17.422-05:00Richard Traum NOVEMBER 18, 1940 – JANUARY 23, 2024 - <p>Dick Traum died yesterday. He was the founder of Achilles International. Achilles is an organization that kind of has two functions. Their primary function is to help people with disabilities train for and compete in athletic events against people who are not disabled. There are other function is to give people with different types of disabilities a chance to hang out together. {i might be making all this up, I'm not looking at the <a href="https://www.achillesinternational.org/">Achilles website </a>to see what their goals are. This is what I think their goals are / should be and I did read the last two books that Dick wrote}. If you're looking for the official obituary for Dick Traum you can find it <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=richard+traum+obituary&rlz=1CAVHDQ_enUS902&oq=richard+traum+obituary&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg80gEJMjE3ODZqMGo5qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">here</a>.</p><p>I want to use this opportunity to talk about how of Dick Traum helped me get better. It wasn't just the stuff he did by creating Achilles. The model of bringing together athletes and people who want to help athletes really clicked for me. Now I'm out there recruiting guides. I tell people from my "other" Running Clubthat if they enjoyed cheering or helping organizing races they would really enjoy guiding a disabled athlete in a training run or a race. If you feel good about being one of 50 people thousand people run a race Imagine how good you'd feel if you are the one person who makes it so that one other person can run that race. Also, the friendships I've made here oh without a doubt greater than any I've made anywhere else.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjicmZwtGLXON1QU69XDdnmghHp8tfT1wJu-UyeyBLJ7Gl0DqvnIBSDJMUPHueQNHbp7S7nU9uny0TKj102EDws1mNLYvnsc5oUCvazoMlefaLIDR5QYcadKYOrq-jvFDnFg443z3M-yjQK9WEJ4y7xisnpu4u0FY2KwOFIc0Xe_To51cWtKYbtuk1rQ30/s500/image-asset.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="500" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjicmZwtGLXON1QU69XDdnmghHp8tfT1wJu-UyeyBLJ7Gl0DqvnIBSDJMUPHueQNHbp7S7nU9uny0TKj102EDws1mNLYvnsc5oUCvazoMlefaLIDR5QYcadKYOrq-jvFDnFg443z3M-yjQK9WEJ4y7xisnpu4u0FY2KwOFIc0Xe_To51cWtKYbtuk1rQ30/w400-h248/image-asset.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above is a photograph of Dick Traum in his three-wheeled handcycle.<br />It is opposed to picture taken in front of the reservoir in Central Park</td></tr></tbody></table>But I'm done talking about running. I want to tell the different kind of story about Dick Traum and how just knowing him made me better. Back in 2017 Dick Traum was still the President of Achilles International. Dick Traum well suddenly on different sides of a political fence. A really big fence. And everyone I knew was on my side. It affected the management and leadership of Achilles International. It was ugly and I don't have to talk about it here now.But I really wanted to let Dick know what I thought of what he did. He often came to the Saturday morning workouts in Central Park I would see him there and I had a whole speech prepared in my head.<p></p><p>I didn't have an opportunity </p><p><br /><br />But I did go up to Boston to cheer for everyone at mile 18 in the 2018 marathon. That year the weather was epically terrible. It's basically a point to point race and it was a headwind blowing sleet and rain into the faces of the racers. Hours into the race Dick Traum rolled by in his racing wheelchair. It was low to the ground and he was being splashed with ice water as the runners passed him. I cheered for him like I said for everyone else and I don't think he heard me.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLCUG80bTRYnRpBW-PrHPCUidNgfBrTnZKstTan7KBHKBLewUbatLaDhc8e9g81YMxjuplJsp27vHT44Myful199SnaRhyphenhyphenYyHWzXm503HXcGpKE-K7Lb1v1tDFdDTqStOQmNS_xZOQMfRP6AyYTmkgKEZ9AZXrDv1IZc3OQJnoksMQXXt80AB92onn88/s924/Screenshot%202024-01-24%202.13.17%20PM.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="924" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLCUG80bTRYnRpBW-PrHPCUidNgfBrTnZKstTan7KBHKBLewUbatLaDhc8e9g81YMxjuplJsp27vHT44Myful199SnaRhyphenhyphenYyHWzXm503HXcGpKE-K7Lb1v1tDFdDTqStOQmNS_xZOQMfRP6AyYTmkgKEZ9AZXrDv1IZc3OQJnoksMQXXt80AB92onn88/w400-h246/Screenshot%202024-01-24%202.13.17%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo above is a picture of people cheering <br />in the rain for people who are hand Cycling in the rain</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>A few weeks later on a beautiful Saturday morning I was at the Achilles workout in Central Park. Dick Traum was there doing his workout and there was a moment where it looked like I can walk over and tell him what I thought of his politics.But instead my mouth started doing things that my ears and brain weren't ready for. I was going to walk over and tell him what an asshole I thought he was, but instead...</p><p><br /></p><p>me: I was cheering a few weeks ago at mile 18 at the Boston Marathon and I saw you go by and I think you're the most badass guy I ever met.</p><p>dt: Why would you say that?</p><p>me: Because you was soaked through to your underwear with ice water and people were running by and splashing you. If you would have stopped there or not even have started. You look like you were pushing through hypothermia.</p><p>dt: Well, once you soak through your underwear what's the point in stopping.</p><p>me: yeah, that's what badass mother fuckers say. It's a pleasure to know you, sir.</p><p>I shook his hand, again and walked away feeling really good about what my ears heard my mouth say.</p><p>I know it wasn't your job, but Dick Traum, you have inspired me to be a badass motherfucker.</p><p>Rest in Power </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Editing to add this: it's been suggested to me that I reach beyond politics and talk to some of the people I happen to be related to. I would if they had any redeeming qualities. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-40988204448458596992024-01-18T09:11:00.008-05:002024-01-19T10:15:32.299-05:00Choose a carrot<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgv32O_8-9uFZx6O3gNvpozZUJqmgVmCnCgd-34GdKTpp_GUy1PNhGHvMxyyIWQR0VXpHq-VFRQ1o9vU4htuSelu_RK7NCDcdAepXljRLXtfmyq1fYD6qO3Bd9aI9ozGAzrnnKbznl46R8epBFnwPHf1U0X3o2-GfssY0rQF-C65cdb1_RoKltSg96mCE/s4032/20240113_171926.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgv32O_8-9uFZx6O3gNvpozZUJqmgVmCnCgd-34GdKTpp_GUy1PNhGHvMxyyIWQR0VXpHq-VFRQ1o9vU4htuSelu_RK7NCDcdAepXljRLXtfmyq1fYD6qO3Bd9aI9ozGAzrnnKbznl46R8epBFnwPHf1U0X3o2-GfssY0rQF-C65cdb1_RoKltSg96mCE/w480-h640/20240113_171926.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Above is a photograph I took from my <br />seat at the entrance desk.<br /> It shows about five or six carats hanging on a box<br /> that the shoppers<br /> can take when they enter the co-op. <br />Most of the carrots are actually upside down</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Once every 6 weeks I have to do workshift at the Park Slope Food Co-op. <div><br /></div><div>(i actually work once every 3 weeks because you'll never see my wife in there. And to digress... when I went to orientation I asked the orientation leader if it would be okay if I would do every work assignment for my spouse.The orientation leader who was young enough to be my child told me of course it would be okay for me to do all the work for my partner, many members do that. But then she turned and looked at me and told me it would be very important in terms of our relationship that she does something to make up for all this work I am doing. Instead of killing her I told her that my wife goes to work and makes all our money. she told me that was fine and I kept my mouth shut and was allowed to join the co-op ) <p></p></div><div>When I joined i took a job with the receiving squad. Our responsibility was basically to get the food from the truck to the shelf. Sometimes we unloaded the truck, sometimes we moved it around in the basement, and sometimes we moved it from the basement to the shelves. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed meeting my neighbors and we actually talked about the fact that they'd be five of us unloading a truck and between the five of us we had eight advanced degrees.We were happy we only had to do it for less than 3 hours and even paused to talk about what it must be like to do it for 40 or 50 or 60 hours a week. Physical labor could be fun for short periods of time.We acknowledged our privilege</div><div><br /></div><div>Then I got really sick. If you're just reading this blog for the first time when I say really sick I mean intensive care sick. 135 days in the hospital sick. Coming home by wheelchair sick. Not really gotten that much better sick. The food co-op doesn't make people work who can't work and I was given a medical leave for a number of years. But then I got a call from the office telling me they think I'm ready to come back to work. It didn't occur to me that I was but they kind of caught me walking around the street and told me to figure out what I could do.I realized I was fully capable of staffing the exit door.Just checking to make sure that everyone has a receipt.And then Covid happened and they took that job away. Now every three weeks I stay off the entrance desk. </div><div><br /></div><div> Below is the black and white job description</div><div><br /></div><div><h5 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"></h5></div><blockquote><div><h5 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Shift Description</h5><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: fira_semibold;">Every Wednesday and Thursday, the wearing of a face mask will be required on the shopping floor from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., starting 11/22/23.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Entrance desk workers will:</p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">check in working and shopping members</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">use the shopping tag system to maintain limits on shopping floor capacity</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">inform members of their individual and household status</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">read and interpret member information presented on the entrance desk screen</li></ul><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Entrance workers provide an essential member service and must be welcoming, polite, able to read and interpret information on the entrance desk screen, and clearly convey information about member status directly to members.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Entrance workers also provide a key security function, and must remain alert throughout the shift, which may have slow periods, therefore reading, writing, talking on the phone, texting, etc. are not allowed.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Punctuality and good attendance will be essential, as you will be the only entrance desk worker scheduled for the shift.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Coop staff will train you on your first shift, and provide support and answer questions going forward.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"> </p><h5 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Shift Requirements</h5><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Entrance workers should be punctual, have good attendance and be welcoming and polite to members and guests.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Other requirements are:</p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: fira_sansregular; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Communicate clearly information to members entering the Coop</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Work in a busy environment interacting with many members</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Pay attention to the flow of members entering the Coop</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: fira_semibold;">No eating while working at the entrance desk or on the shopping floor</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Being prepared to work continuously for the duration of the 2.75 hour shift without shopping or taking excessive breaks </li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Interact cooperatively and respectively with members and staff</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Report to and follow the instruction given by the Coop’s staff assigned to front end and technical support</li></ul></div><div></div></blockquote><div>What's not really clear in the job description is what the character all about. The co-op has a limited occupancy because of Covid. Everyone who walks in the door takes a laminated piece of paper that's hanging on a little hanger. All the pieces of paper are the same and they all have a picture of a carrot. There is a finite number of carrots. Shoppers hang the carrots on their wagon and when they're done shopping they either bring them back to me at the entrance desk or someone who's helping out on the shopping floor brings them back to me and clumps. When there's no more carrots to be given out We are at capacity and I can't let anyone in.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It wasn't really my plan but I seem to go beyond the job description. People have told me they enjoy shopping when I work at the entrance desk because I treat everybody with joy. I don't just, "Interact cooperatively and respectively with members and staff."</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>welcome to the shopping place</li><li>choose your carrot</li><li>take the carrot that is choosing you</li><li>don't give it so much thought it's a short-term relationship</li><li>Take the penultimate carrot... You get the ultimate carrot</li><li>I love it when we run out of carrots. Does that means the co-op is at capacity and I get to tell people they can't go shopping. My little power trip</li><li>There are many carrot jokes and puns. And I'm extremely uncomfortable when people choose an upside down carrot. </li><li>Some people want a different colored carrot. Now they are all orange because people used to fight over the green ones</li><li>But when it's not busy I'm so lucky because I get to flirt with the toddlers</li><li>I also like to remind people to buy everything they wanted to buy. Because they don't want to have to come back. It's a little bit of quick hypnotism. Maybe.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>Some of my friends who've interacted with me at the entrance desk Have pointed out how much a perfect fit it is for me.And I realized a few things.First and mainly, I'm a freaking extrovert and sitting in a doorway And greeting people is perfect for me. Also, I've told people that I spent four and a half months in the hospital. Most of that time I was staring at the TV or the walls. I've told people that I was just daydreaming about working at the entrance desk at the coop. (not really). </div><div><br /></div><div>But the other day I had a magnificent epiphany.</div><div><br /></div><div>Recently I've gotten busy as a disability rights activist. I really understand the term <a href="https://oer.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2021/04/reasonable_accommodation_disability_procedures.3.2021.pdf">reasonable accommodation.</a> I never asked for a reasonable accommodation at the co-op. I was simply told to go figure out which jobs I think I could do. Which I think actually is one of the best workplace reasonable accommodations you can ask for. My days have unloading trucks and stocking shelves are over. But when I do my shift at the co-op there's no reason I can't simply greet people and press two buttons on a keyboard and let them go shopping. I can read what the computer screen says and I can tell people if they have any issues before they walk in. My disability doesn't matter.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's it, for 2 hours and 45 minutes i'm doing what I can do. I'm contributing to society. I'm not someone who needs help. I'm doing the helping. Everybody wants to be relevant and useful and for 2 hours and 45 minutes I can be that.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I'm not just an extrovert who gets to greet people for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I'm a person with a disability who gets to do the job they're capable of doing. Not everybody has to be able to do everything. And while some people can't do anything, most people can do something. </div>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-91745186246478151462024-01-10T13:13:00.001-05:002024-01-10T13:13:15.425-05:00DFL Again<p>In the first week of this year I finished the dead fucking last in two races. The first one wasn't really a thing. My running club puts on a handicap race on New Year's Day. Everyone estimates they're finished time for a loop of prospect Park and I overestimated my speed.I forgot that I was going to take it easy because 6 days after that race I was going to attempt to run a 50 km race. </p><p>Last month, on December 3rd I registered for my running club's 50 km race. The Prospect Park Endurance fest. The fact that it was paired up with a 50-mi race and had a time limit of 15 hours made it just right from me.I knew that I would have no problem finishing 31 mi in 15 hours.But what I didn't anticipate that day was that it was heavily raining from the start. Within minutes of the race my feet will water logged. That wouldn't have really been a problem if it weren't for the fact that I was wearing ankle foot orthotics and custom made prosthetics holding up my fallen arches. I felt my feet moving around in my shoes and after 13 miles i really worried that either my shoes my orthotics or my feet were going to break. So I walked off the course after running about 14 mi. A DNF is a hard thing to accept, but I didn't want to let that little voice in my head that kept saying "at least you finished" cause an injury. To add, i wasn't disappointed that I didn't finish. I was disappointed that I didn't meet the second set of guides that we're going to keep me company while I went around Prospect Park.</p><p>A couple of weeks after I walked off the course in Prospect Park a friend of mine that also happens to have Guillain-Barre syndrome sent me a message about a 50k in Queens. She told me she was going to try it. How can I not sign up for a 50K where two of the competitors would have GBS. So clickityclick I'm signed up for another 50K. I should have known that a race named the <a href="https://ultrarunning.com/calendar/event/frozen-flamingo-50k">Frozen Flamingo 50k </a>wouldn't have better weather than a race in December.</p><p>Well, weather comes in a spectrum. It was not better and it was not worse. There wasn't continual heavy rain. The race started at 7:00 a.m. and for the first few hours there was light rain. Then there was some heavy rain. Then it stopped then there was a little sleet. And then it's snowed a little. The snow didn't stick nor did it cause anything to get slippery. But the rain didn't go away when it hit the ground. They were multiple places on the course where the puddles were unavoidable. And when I say unavoidable I mean to say that you had a choice of three or four inches of water or walk through mud that yanks people's shoes off.Or walk around our entire ball field that was also saturated with water.I actually found a detour to the entire course and spend some time on some sidewalks outside the park.I didn't think walking through the mud was a safe alternative.</p><p>Are those of you that do not know me I should tell you that I am an Achilles athlete. That means I'm an athlete with a disability. I could run by myself but it's really not a great idea. If I'm going to walk out of my house I wear ankle foot orthotics that hold up my toes. Otherwise the likelihood of me tripping over my own foot is pretty high. So if I run a race or go out for a long training run I go out with an Achilles guide. They mostly keep me company. Sometimes they're a little overprotective but I can't complain. If I fall, they have to pick me up. But getting a guide for 31 mi race is kind of a challenge. So, I Set up a Google spreadsheet so people can fill in their names for each lap I was running.The course was 15 laps of slightly more than 2 mi each.The plan which I pretty much kept to was to run each lap in 40 minutes.About a dozen people signed up to guide me for one or more laps.Some of my guides were people that I met before and for two of them I was the first athlete they ever guided. I really appreciate it the help and companionship that I got from all the guides that came out. I hope they also had a good time</p><p>And I'm really proud of my accomplishment. I recently did some math and it was my 39th Marathon finish. Five of those marathons were distances above 26.2 mi. It was my 10th marathon finish since being diagnosed with GBS. The race director pointed out that my splits were very even. All but one of the 2.06 mi loops we're in about 40 minutes. The one that took 47 minutes was when I changed my clothes. Once my guides told me the weather forecast said the rain was over I, took off my not so waterproof rain jacket, hat and my hoodie. I actually wanted to put the hat and hoodie back on but my guides had to point out to me that they were completely waterlogged. I had no idea. I'm also happy to report that I do not have a cold. It's been 3 days since I ran the race and having wet feet for 11 hours didn't make me sick.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMOjJwpTyakbo_C2D4ZTu1RPoZxbie1m3dBGmzCYJdog7d4f0WJl66fS6AwKuGqf-Pikh6MGyRQ0HKc6LjV9NNCgm6KGfVINrXleG2GxjCS8LaUT1i2cfX-nZOyP8OctUt1Bufw4TRtnxfPJRfAiM91uPWOSAcyJYk2T9su8PuhZSEVEaQpd3sbJwiiXE/s315/Screenshot%202024-01-10%2010.12.39%20AM.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="291" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMOjJwpTyakbo_C2D4ZTu1RPoZxbie1m3dBGmzCYJdog7d4f0WJl66fS6AwKuGqf-Pikh6MGyRQ0HKc6LjV9NNCgm6KGfVINrXleG2GxjCS8LaUT1i2cfX-nZOyP8OctUt1Bufw4TRtnxfPJRfAiM91uPWOSAcyJYk2T9su8PuhZSEVEaQpd3sbJwiiXE/s1600/Screenshot%202024-01-10%2010.12.39%20AM.png" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's a picture during the first half of the race</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrKygw0CvOuDULGsIghfPKglFsk__5lsSjX48rWTf_M6PVVWp-b96YGQ6QFj6zKC2dudXVA4-Xu0j3Umi7gRjvakdQV94SN4U4i539QH9xn7kIUUI5FsPu5e93Jm-x8JybtXgZxm9g-ry7ousDyK2thy4waXbKgyr7cc_atHAJoE1aXJdtHmgKhyphenhyphenpihM/s4032/2024-01-07_14-25-23_313.heic" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrKygw0CvOuDULGsIghfPKglFsk__5lsSjX48rWTf_M6PVVWp-b96YGQ6QFj6zKC2dudXVA4-Xu0j3Umi7gRjvakdQV94SN4U4i539QH9xn7kIUUI5FsPu5e93Jm-x8JybtXgZxm9g-ry7ousDyK2thy4waXbKgyr7cc_atHAJoE1aXJdtHmgKhyphenhyphenpihM/s320/2024-01-07_14-25-23_313.heic" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">after I changed my top two layers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehtF98tyQuyRp0ksR0IHgfQtSEM4fRgpDHn4HmER9cij7oailr8v4HWONboPrJ8lfjOC_eWy35b8lzxsphsIWWecXa4y6ArGF9NrBbx8HaUzbpLMzqppI-CYeK1BC_o_oeY7wlUtf1eRJsTFbyTY_HMr0R2zAdWV8uzn_UdQeIpIyE489ryJX4wfuItY/s1337/Screenshot%202024-01-10%209.37.25%20AM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1337" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehtF98tyQuyRp0ksR0IHgfQtSEM4fRgpDHn4HmER9cij7oailr8v4HWONboPrJ8lfjOC_eWy35b8lzxsphsIWWecXa4y6ArGF9NrBbx8HaUzbpLMzqppI-CYeK1BC_o_oeY7wlUtf1eRJsTFbyTY_HMr0R2zAdWV8uzn_UdQeIpIyE489ryJX4wfuItY/w400-h173/Screenshot%202024-01-10%209.37.25%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>to the left is the Facebook post about 20 minutes after finishing, it says...<div class="x1cy8zhl x2bj2ny x78zum5 x1q0g3np" style="align-items: flex-start; color: #1c1e21; display: flex; flex-direction: row; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div class="x1iyjqo2" style="flex-grow: 1; font-family: inherit;"><div class="x78zum5 xdt5ytf xz62fqu x16ldp7u" style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: -5px; margin-top: -5px;"><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x10flsy6 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x4zkp8e x41vudc x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" color="var(--primary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="x1gslohp" style="font-family: inherit; margin-top: 4px;"><h2 class="x1heor9g x1qlqyl8 x1pd3egz x1a2a7pz x1gslohp" style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 4px 0px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" tabindex="-1"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x10flsy6 x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xi81zsa" color="var(--secondary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span class="xt0psk2" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv xzsf02u x1s688f" href="https://www.facebook.com/ChickenUnderwear?__tn__=-UC*F" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">Michael Ring</a></span></span></h2></div></span></div><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x10flsy6 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x1tu3fi x3x7a5m x1nxh6w3 x1sibtaa xo1l8bm xi81zsa x1yc453h" color="var(--secondary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.2308; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x4k7w5x x1h91t0o x1h9r5lt x1jfb8zj xv2umb2 x1beo9mf xaigb6o x12ejxvf x3igimt xarpa2k xedcshv x1lytzrv x1t2pt76 x7ja8zs x1qrby5j" style="align-items: inherit; align-self: inherit; display: inherit; flex-direction: inherit; flex: inherit; font-family: inherit; height: inherit; max-height: inherit; max-width: inherit; min-height: inherit; min-width: inherit; place-content: inherit; width: inherit;"><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz x1heor9g xt0b8zv xo1l8bm" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161247521032220&set=a.485075452219&notif_id=1704665356972340&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif#" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span aria-labelledby=":r16j:" class="x1rg5ohu x6ikm8r x10wlt62 x16dsc37 xt0b8zv" style="display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: top;"><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1g77sc7" style="cursor: inherit; display: flex; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 0; position: relative;"><span class="xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x36lzlx vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 19; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">n</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1iapmwa vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 9; position: absolute; top: 3em;">p</span><span class="x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x7txf1f vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 24; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">o</span><span class="x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1o7lsid vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 15; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">o</span><span class="xt0psk2 x1qlqyl8 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1hrcb2b vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; order: 6; position: absolute; top: 3em;">S</span><span class="xjb2p0i x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x9ek82g vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 1; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">t</span><span class="xt0psk2 x1qlqyl8 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x16kj9vd vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; order: 22; position: absolute; top: 3em;">s</span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x8onsx5 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 48; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">e</span><span class="xjb2p0i x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xdc8zo0 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 53; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">d</span><span class="xmper1u x1qlqyl8 x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1ihsnu5 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; order: 44; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">r</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x4pqqfc" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 54; position: relative;"> </span><span class="xmper1u x15bjb6t xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x434fd" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 20; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">a</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1n901it vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 13; position: absolute; top: 3em;">h</span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xi695je vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 14; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">5</span><span class="xmper1u x1qlqyl8 x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1ocldi vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; order: 12; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">2</span><span class="xmper1u x15bjb6t xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xpchg7c vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 40; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">1</span><span class="x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xd1zjae vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 27; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">7</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x8az3br" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 32; position: relative;"> </span><span class="xjb2p0i x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xhp99yf vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 41; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">l</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1o75cna" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 49; position: relative;">0</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x8o8amb" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 43; position: relative;"> </span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xgeagd7" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 46; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">5</span><span class="xmper1u x15bjb6t xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x13rv6gb" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 28; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">y</span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x7zgzr6 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 56; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">5</span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xal98gn vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 16; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">u</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xsmz2so vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 37; position: absolute; top: 3em;">0</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xlmi2g5" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 35; position: relative;"> </span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xt5e8co" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 17; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">u</span><span class="xmper1u x15bjb6t xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xzfnrur vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 42; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">9</span><span class="xmper1u x1qlqyl8 x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1pt730z" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; order: 47; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">:</span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1g88jzi vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 11; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">m</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xnlcnb7 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 31; position: absolute; top: 3em;">h</span><span class="xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xt3tw32 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 26; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">6</span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xclvua8" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 60; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">M</span><span class="xmper1u x15bjb6t xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x4ffpxb vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 51; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">i</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xde8tdn vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 52; position: absolute; top: 3em;">0</span><span class="xjb2p0i x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1ee9ax4" style="font-family: inherit; order: 39; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">t</span><span class="xmper1u x1qlqyl8 x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1eopwuj" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; order: 23; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">r</span><span class="xjb2p0i x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x4g1k81 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 21; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">l</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1meexak" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 55; position: relative;">P</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1wx7m7v" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 50; position: relative;">8</span><span class="xmper1u x15bjb6t xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1esxh7v vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 7; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">9</span><span class="xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1vqz4hg vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 33; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">f</span><span class="xt0psk2 x1qlqyl8 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xo1ph6p vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; order: 3; position: absolute; top: 3em;">3</span><span class="xmper1u x15bjb6t xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x14yy4lh vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 2; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">i</span><span class="x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1hzvdaj" style="font-family: inherit; order: 34; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">7</span><span class="xmper1u x1qlqyl8 x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x182iqb8" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; order: 4; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">J</span><span class="xmper1u x15bjb6t xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1wa695h" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 36; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">a</span><span class="x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1h3rv7z vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 5; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">g</span><span class="xmper1u x15bjb6t xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x2r4l8e" style="cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 8; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">a</span><span class="xjb2p0i x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1nicfno vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 59; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">l</span><span class="xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1sjo555" style="font-family: inherit; order: 10; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">n</span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xnt8be4 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 29; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">u</span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xv5skbt vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 30; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">5</span><span class="x1r8a4m5 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1162wnf vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 25; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em;">7</span><span class="xt0psk2 x1qlqyl8 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1xxvtuq vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; order: 38; position: absolute; top: 3em;">c</span><span class="xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xccpzn3 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 58; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">f</span><span class="xmper1u xt0psk2 xjb2p0i x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xwmoq1i vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 18; position: absolute; top: 3em;">8</span><span class="x1qlqyl8 x15bjb6t x1r8a4m5 xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 x1pvdv19 vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; order: 45; position: absolute; text-decoration: inherit; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">5</span><span class="xi7du73 x1n2onr6 x17ihmo5 xax70vg vrhKlDNL tdtF" style="font-family: inherit; order: 57; position: absolute; top: 3em; vertical-align: inherit;">f</span></span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="xh99ass" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="xzpqnlu xjm9jq1 x6ikm8r x10wlt62 x10l6tqk x1i1rx1s" style="clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); font-family: inherit; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; width: 1px;"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" style="font-family: inherit;"> · </span></span></span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz x1heor9g xt0b8zv xo1l8bm" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-New-York/108424279189115?__tn__=*F" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">New York</a><span class="xh99ass" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="xzpqnlu xjm9jq1 x6ikm8r x10wlt62 x10l6tqk x1i1rx1s" style="clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); font-family: inherit; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; width: 1px;"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" style="font-family: inherit;"> · </span></span></span><div class="x6s0dn4 x3nfvp2 xl56j7k" style="align-items: center; display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; justify-content: center;"><span class="x4k7w5x x1h91t0o x1h9r5lt x1jfb8zj xv2umb2 x1beo9mf xaigb6o x12ejxvf x3igimt xarpa2k xedcshv x1lytzrv x1t2pt76 x7ja8zs x1qrby5j" style="align-items: inherit; align-self: inherit; display: inherit; flex-direction: inherit; flex: inherit; font-family: inherit; height: inherit; max-height: inherit; max-width: inherit; min-height: inherit; min-width: inherit; place-content: inherit; width: inherit;"><span class="x1n2onr6" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span class="xzpqnlu x179tack x10l6tqk" style="clip-path: polygon(0px 0px, 0px 0px, 0px 0px, 0px 0px); clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); font-family: inherit; position: absolute;">Shared with Public</span><div aria-label="Edit privacy" class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1o1ewxj x3x9cwd x1e5q0jg x13rtm0m x87ps6o x1lku1pv x1a2a7pz x1uhb9sk" role="button" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-radius: inherit; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; 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font-family: inherit; inset: 0px; opacity: 0; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; transition-duration: var(--fds-duration-extra-extra-short-out); transition-property: opacity; transition-timing-function: var(--fds-animation-fade-out);"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="xyinxu5 x4uap5 x1g2khh7 xkhd6sd" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 14px 0px;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x10flsy6 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x4zkp8e x41vudc x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" color="var(--primary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;">I just won a 50K race. edited to ad a little clarification. 50 km is 31 mi. It was also a D2D race Dawn to dusk. I started at 7:00 a.m. and I finished just before 5:00 p.m.. there was significant periods of light rain short periods of heavy rain a snow shower and some sleet.<br />Without my Achilles guides it would have been a terrible experience. Because they were with me it was wonderful.<br />10 years ago there were some doctors that thought I might die. I didn't just live, I reaffirmrd that I am alive<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv xzsf02u x1s688f" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/goachilles?__eep__=6&__tn__=*NK*F" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">#GoAchilles</a></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv xzsf02u x1s688f" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/fugbs?__eep__=6&__tn__=*NK*F" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">#FUGBS</a></span> <div class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv xzsf02u x1s688f" role="button" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--primary-text); cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">See less</div><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem;">— </span><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem;">at</span><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem;"> </span><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv xzsf02u x1s688f" href="https://www.facebook.com/Kessina-Park-301081083239761/?__tn__=kC*F" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><span class="xt0psk2" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Kessina Park</span></a></span></span><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem;">.</span></span><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x10flsy6 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x4zkp8e x41vudc x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" color="var(--primary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem;"><br /></span></span><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x10flsy6 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x4zkp8e x41vudc x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" color="var(--primary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem;"><br /></span></span><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x10flsy6 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x4zkp8e x41vudc x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" color="var(--primary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihq6PJ6t1PPhPhAfymqjT1esvwOGEqekR-znMAFPwZUNEHZ2N1iYE_S2e08dManDiFSpyw0HT2Y5dA8da4qWRQ-A3MyMZQLzu9uHQguoWY4-IXdLROz2xMs1UwlacH-_66J9uZ51flSDGvH3cfXMi1T8Auf1JVVHQfTi58Udq3vEhtw0eaHo8E3jbRvMk/s1017/image000000.jpg%20(5).jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1017" data-original-width="763" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihq6PJ6t1PPhPhAfymqjT1esvwOGEqekR-znMAFPwZUNEHZ2N1iYE_S2e08dManDiFSpyw0HT2Y5dA8da4qWRQ-A3MyMZQLzu9uHQguoWY4-IXdLROz2xMs1UwlacH-_66J9uZ51flSDGvH3cfXMi1T8Auf1JVVHQfTi58Udq3vEhtw0eaHo8E3jbRvMk/w300-h400/image000000.jpg%20(5).jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem;">To the right is a photo provided by the flamingo kid running company. There's a lot going on there. It's a picture of myself on the right and to the left is Marie. She's responsible for getting me into this. We are both survivors of Guillain-Barre syndrome.We are both holding up the special awards we earned for finishing dead fucking last. They are little turtle key chains. TurtleIs are the mascot of people with GBS. </span></span><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x10flsy6 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x4zkp8e x41vudc x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" color="var(--primary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem;">Getting Better Slowly.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXWq1e9asY9dTGFZStH6yilYRLEhYuUjfXS6iJYFbUvEVTprd2hNgFRkWPpdhbT9qsAa4J9sBnAwuIKGjcOVOp2XyJmRnrncTqFSFkKCYi5-WRm6cL13w8PukB5tevQgKQ7kKR76-vgS-e5ikv9XBNGD8vSE4zpYS4_VBPWeN4aP0vuDqqfnXL41GyoU/s600/image000000.jpg%20(6).jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="600" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXWq1e9asY9dTGFZStH6yilYRLEhYuUjfXS6iJYFbUvEVTprd2hNgFRkWPpdhbT9qsAa4J9sBnAwuIKGjcOVOp2XyJmRnrncTqFSFkKCYi5-WRm6cL13w8PukB5tevQgKQ7kKR76-vgS-e5ikv9XBNGD8vSE4zpYS4_VBPWeN4aP0vuDqqfnXL41GyoU/s320/image000000.jpg%20(6).jpeg" width="320" /></a></div></span></span><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x10flsy6 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x4zkp8e x41vudc x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" color="var(--primary-text)" dir="auto" style="display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span color="var(--primary-text)" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem;"><br /></span></span></div><p><br /></p>
<div class="strava-embed-placeholder" data-embed-id="10514816767" data-embed-type="activity" data-style="standard"></div><script src="https://strava-embeds.com/embed.js"></script>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-41702050699818905432023-12-22T10:30:00.002-05:002024-01-01T08:14:19.007-05:00My kids do cool stuff<p>Yesterday I left my house before the sun came up. If you've been paying attention to me that's not really unusual. In the summer I do that a lot to avoid running in the heat,or to get to a race that's not around the corner.But it was really unusual to do it with my son. Nicholas is not a morning person.But yesterday we left the house together at 6:30 in the morning.It wasn't only 6:30 in the morning but it was 27°.</p><p>Nicholas currently works as a paraprofessional at the high school he went to. He graduated from the Harbor School on Governors Island. When he was there he led a research team that studied how different concretes affect the sea life around the perimeter of Manhattan Island. He was eventually paid for this research by the companies that are going to be rebuilding the seawall around Manhattan Island. Then he graduated college with a degree in the environmental sciences.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEVo6efobT-he2G0iZOB8NB6d1VzvEyLZax2b4ivKTEN8wD6O-g-IZzHXyQZN8LutFCzl8Fz8m_KnSLJOlMla_oi6w8PX9fKRCo0cpuBfwy4SST0w6MxG0s7eA263zGel_bEUuti3nLjaoMf3RtrfXHq1hCe9NLpFH7xzdLudRPmIYY-JVEuXnH68Xeg/s1600/image000000.jpg%20(3).jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEVo6efobT-he2G0iZOB8NB6d1VzvEyLZax2b4ivKTEN8wD6O-g-IZzHXyQZN8LutFCzl8Fz8m_KnSLJOlMla_oi6w8PX9fKRCo0cpuBfwy4SST0w6MxG0s7eA263zGel_bEUuti3nLjaoMf3RtrfXHq1hCe9NLpFH7xzdLudRPmIYY-JVEuXnH68Xeg/w334-h594/image000000.jpg%20(3).jpeg" width="334" /></a></div>Every Wednesday morning he walks about a mile to the perimeter of the Gowanus Canal and takes a sample of water out of it. Yesterday I joined him and I took these pictures as he climbed over the fence and then reach down to get some water out of the canal.The tide was really low so he couldn't reach the water from the floating pier and I was really glad he was wearing a life preserver as he was so close to that Super Fund site. I told him I read that the canal is made out of 90% guns and 10% dead bodies. He told me that there's a little water there and he's going to get a sample of it.<br /><p></p><p>I really don't understand what they're doing with the water, but I do know a few things. I know that you can do whatever you want when you wear a reflective vest. And if it will keep you floating i can do whatever you want twice. I know that Nicholas's workmates told him he was crazy for doing this once a week.But I also know he's into science and into going to graduate school. I also know from 23 years of experience that my son is not a morning person. Yeah he told me he was going to be walking out of the house at 6:30 a.m. and we walked out of the house at 6:30 a.m.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPcJkrLliyfEpPLV11bd4idsvpQi0L3PPaldQHqeLqo7gMIT-RFG131smKGAohgeQ2XhoaNUFyrBwA0zY1arK2gkOZJx4bX-zhGE1F4BDylJjHetpeiK4aZ6jJsB8lQ4-qEHCzp8_m2hi1MXL9EHdcuhyE-flPBfz__oagFxDJCjsunMySPehmUZrtrU/s600/image000000.jpg%20(4).jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="285" height="761" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPcJkrLliyfEpPLV11bd4idsvpQi0L3PPaldQHqeLqo7gMIT-RFG131smKGAohgeQ2XhoaNUFyrBwA0zY1arK2gkOZJx4bX-zhGE1F4BDylJjHetpeiK4aZ6jJsB8lQ4-qEHCzp8_m2hi1MXL9EHdcuhyE-flPBfz__oagFxDJCjsunMySPehmUZrtrU/w361-h761/image000000.jpg%20(4).jpeg" width="361" /></a></div>And then there's my daughter who also has a cool job. While it's adjacent to the water it really has nothing to do with the water. They operate the carousel underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.Sometimes I think the coolest thing that happens to me is that when my daughter comes to visit I get to have the key to the carousel in my house. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sabrinassillysalon?igsh=MW43NzhyZXVndDVxYw==">And if you're interested Sabrina can cut and color your hair</a><br /><p></p>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-10733610764076454382023-11-24T17:04:00.000-05:002023-11-24T17:04:03.593-05:00Yesterday was Thanksgiving<p> I could post about food or just turkeys or about the 5-mile race I did yesterday. But I'm going to get a little sentimental...</p><p>I take a lot of ride share, so I meet a lot of people when they're driving me around. yesterday when I was being driven home to Park Slope from Sheepshead Bay the driver showed me his phone and asked and broken English if this was the best route. I told him it was. I told him I usually trust Google because it knows where the traffic is.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rysa0CgM2oPcNg-BHEr2NIrSGAnCikuGRBHDP8gpv94T41ynjqroyGc3rZmiCZYZ_1dVSCHgoRe60jhtxhwmYHZ7Lr-QDNv4g43QQ0wUNq_i3CbjpwxKdvfg-3ETS3-514_mizIOyi629HEG8q3qVR3SJLMKxF_04VZmsY1O7fjl5d1bwuoUSOtukfo/s731/Screenshot%202023-11-24%202.38.05%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="672" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rysa0CgM2oPcNg-BHEr2NIrSGAnCikuGRBHDP8gpv94T41ynjqroyGc3rZmiCZYZ_1dVSCHgoRe60jhtxhwmYHZ7Lr-QDNv4g43QQ0wUNq_i3CbjpwxKdvfg-3ETS3-514_mizIOyi629HEG8q3qVR3SJLMKxF_04VZmsY1O7fjl5d1bwuoUSOtukfo/s320/Screenshot%202023-11-24%202.38.05%20PM.png" width="294" /></a></div><br /><p>When he showed me the map he also told me that is English was not good "That's why I show."I don't mind chatting with the drivers so I asked them where he was from. He said Ukraine.I have been here 7 months.."I asked him if everyone in his home was okay and he said 'Yes. We are from Crimea. "</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafQ7I7ya9iIuCj1ZaqBfKGf2A6P9HAsr2sRqLPe-QsxAMGA-LQ1fKfs8AHQ5rtJltkhNuMITxeC3Z_xuXzKNBXKF0FKpwsYEZA1h6M9-KHxRyR23de18c4zbqyIx-IkEXQE52pvEBhR6_IiCY-Pz1MbPPHp1LN3rIItKPnadkh-5WKmR_AQh06Lgt-yc/s1059/Screenshot%202023-11-24%203.11.46%20PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1059" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafQ7I7ya9iIuCj1ZaqBfKGf2A6P9HAsr2sRqLPe-QsxAMGA-LQ1fKfs8AHQ5rtJltkhNuMITxeC3Z_xuXzKNBXKF0FKpwsYEZA1h6M9-KHxRyR23de18c4zbqyIx-IkEXQE52pvEBhR6_IiCY-Pz1MbPPHp1LN3rIItKPnadkh-5WKmR_AQh06Lgt-yc/s320/Screenshot%202023-11-24%203.11.46%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>His English was terrible and there was a lot of traffic so I didn't really see the need to continue the conversation. But I did look out the window. If you look at the map you'll see a little object in the upper left hand corner. That's the Statue of Liberty.She's quite visible from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. From the BQE of Liberty looks kind of like the picture below that I stole from this <a href="https://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/citywide/liberty/index.htm">website</a>. Think you can always see the torch.<br /><p></p><p>Sitting in the back of that Prius with the refugee behind the wheel I started thinking about the Statue of Liberty and Thanksgiving at the same time. Thinking about all my grandparents escaping Poland. I didn't say nothing else to the driver, but when I got out I welcomed him to New York. I thought about a lot of things. If you have a few minutes try to give them some thought as well</p><p>I only decided to post this because just now this all in the family clip came across the front of my computer screen.</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ALE6ENavvJQ?si=IMF9VNzMWiLllyTT" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-52456261796654592172023-10-26T12:39:00.001-04:002023-10-26T12:39:50.358-04:00Saved by a rainbow<p>I was having a pretty good day yesterday. In the morning I did some advocacy work at the lower end of Broadway. Literally 2 Broadway. I used to say I was going to go yell at the governmentBut I don't have to yell anymore. I think people are actually listening. After that I wanted to go check out a public meeting space that I was thinking of renting for a small meeting. It was along the Hudson River Waterfront at the West End of Chambers Street. The weather was wonderful so I just figured I'd walk on a diagonal for about half a mile. I assumed I would get a little lost and that would be part of the fun. Is that wasn't really sure where I was going.</p><p>Halfway there i saw a lot of daylight so I figured I'd cut through the open space. And then suddenly I realized what that daylight was.It was the old World Trade Center site.I've been avoiding that for a long time. Literally decades.</p><p>But I just put one foot in front of the other. I didn't have a problem being there I had a problem with the other people who were there. The tourists who are using their selfie sticks. I was worried I'd snap at them like I do want all the tourism Facebook pages I hang out on.I did not</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nZLP6vwbg4QoY2iFDnH-Bk7L2iJLlSYtTk_11a5ho0lWYKLl_nk5f05ooCgorTuidSnFYhsGqPaIJsYDbENtSiywZG4x5a6QOqoaNzmwZ2TX4Qg6z7hfOb7beNbrzZT0KyCuXgwt780DDBa1OQ8SkEO5woLikTlSRPrCsWeXGvab8oinjFrPvIplNxQ/s1600/image000000.jpg%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nZLP6vwbg4QoY2iFDnH-Bk7L2iJLlSYtTk_11a5ho0lWYKLl_nk5f05ooCgorTuidSnFYhsGqPaIJsYDbENtSiywZG4x5a6QOqoaNzmwZ2TX4Qg6z7hfOb7beNbrzZT0KyCuXgwt780DDBa1OQ8SkEO5woLikTlSRPrCsWeXGvab8oinjFrPvIplNxQ/s320/image000000.jpg%20(1).jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>as soon as I got near the reflecting pools my eye was completely focused on the rainbow in the water. </p><p><br /></p><p>I don't remember seeing anyone take pictures although everybody was taking pictures..... So I did also.</p>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-32859419183463291872023-10-22T20:22:00.000-04:002023-10-22T20:22:05.011-04:00Traveling with a disability<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgki592hmsacBfEBUilYJTHOhqd74ulMG2FHt0wqihZZ4L3zDpqdaQmdaq9vlTxX93R_CfU-lGNwZq549ZPxUl7cIEIJfhyphenhyphenE-HLSQm3npwNLwklxaZivkqL1U67MLGAzg7uz2wHUXohCfxBBC7cMznFmq4PYnLxITRI9eqamFHnaSYHbiBEza7TiENNLU/s524/Screenshot%202023-10-22%208.01.30%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="232" data-original-width="524" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgki592hmsacBfEBUilYJTHOhqd74ulMG2FHt0wqihZZ4L3zDpqdaQmdaq9vlTxX93R_CfU-lGNwZq549ZPxUl7cIEIJfhyphenhyphenE-HLSQm3npwNLwklxaZivkqL1U67MLGAzg7uz2wHUXohCfxBBC7cMznFmq4PYnLxITRI9eqamFHnaSYHbiBEza7TiENNLU/s320/Screenshot%202023-10-22%208.01.30%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Last week I was quite literally honored to be asked to speak at a self-advocacy conference. It was out in the middle of <a href="https://www.siloinc.org/selfadvocacyconference">Suffolk County</a> and I was asked to speak about what it's like to travel with a disability. I'd like to repeat that I was literally honored. I never was asked to do something like this before and I thought it was really cool that people thought of me. I've attended workshops on traveling with a disability and didn't want to think I could repeat them. So I needed to figure out how I would fill 45 minutes.I decided to tell a story of a project.After I introduce myself. I talked about the process of taking accessible transportation from my home in Park Slope to this conference in Ronkonkoma.<p></p><p>The conference was on Friday the 13th. On the Monday of that week I called Accessoride and asked them what I needed to do to take accessible transportation. I found out it came in two steps. First I had to get MTA AAR to tell both the Nassau (Able Ride) and Suffolk County (SCAT) the information that I was a if I user of their service. After that I would be able to book my rides.</p><p>Below are the two pages of notes I took as I was dealing with this project. To skip to the end I would have needed to have been picked up at 3:10 a.m. in front of my own house. I would have had to have arranged two transfers at shopping malls and Long Island before it was even daylight in order to arrive at 8:30 in the morning at the hotel in Ronkonkoma. I didn't do that.I took the Long Island Railroad and an Uber. Because I can....But people who can't do that stuff would be traveling all night long to arrive someplace in the morning.One of them was actually in the room with me when I was speaking. She traveled from Nassau County and had to leave her house 4 hours before the meeting started.</p><span id="docs-internal-guid-95bab434-7fff-4c47-4bba-6a454fbcdab1"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p></span><blockquote><span id="docs-internal-guid-95bab434-7fff-4c47-4bba-6a454fbcdab1"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">‘To </span><span style="color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">,,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1730 N Ocean Ave, Holtsville, NY 11742</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On Monday I called Accessoride and ask them what to do. They told me that the first step was that they needed to notify both able and scat that I am an accessory user</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On Tuesday I called accessoride and asked the phone numbers for Abel and scat</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">able 516 228 4000 scat 631 738 1150</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The accessory operator gave me the phone numberFor Westchester Accessoride. Because she thought that was Suffolk County. Even though they didn't know what Westchester was in Suffolk County they told me I needed to callPacific County people and get a ride book from the transfer points to my destination. Then the Nassau County people to get a ride between the two transfer points and then accessorize to get a ride from my house to the transfer point</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Scat hold music is cool rock and roll.They told me that my name was not in the system yet and to call access right again</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So on 12:27 p.m. I called accessoride back and asked them to send the information to Nassau in Suffolk County's. And they said they would but it takes an hour for the email to get there.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At 128 Scat said it was not in their system yet. Currently on hold againThis time they told me I should call the Suffolk County office for people with disabilities at 631 853 8337When I called that number it left me a recording telling me that it does not work anymore and I should call this number and someone would call me back in 24 hours 631 853 8333</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Have to 4 minutes on hold they're automated system offered to call me back.This was a rather complicated pressing of phone buttons.It's been 45 minutes and they haven't called me back. I think I'm going to dial the phone again</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3:20 Gave up on being on hold with the Suffolk County Office of Disability. Calling Scat again</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So the people at Scott said that it is possible that no one is working in the Suffolk County Office of Disability Services. And that I should call backAfter 9:00 Wednesday morning.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">They called me backAt 4:00 p.m.After being on hold since 12:30.They weren't able to answer my question They told me someone would call me back within 24 hours and 15 minutes later they called me back and said I am in their system.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And I just realized that before 5:00 p.m. I should double check with Nassau County and make sure they have the information.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So that's it for today. The Tuesday before my Friday trip.TomorrowI have to call Scott and book a rideTo the hotel in Hopesville from the transfer point. I will tell them I want to arrive at 8:00 a.m.And find out what time they will pick me up at the transfer point.Then I call Abel Ride and get a ride fromThe Green Acres Mall to the transfer point.Then I call accessoride and book a ride to the Green Acres Mall.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Wednesday 8:10am</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Calling scat And they told me the informationFrom the Suffolk County Department of Disability Service was not yet transferred to them so I have to call Suffolk County again. Hoping I'm not unhold for 4 hours again 631 853 8337 they open at 9…. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So at 9:00 a.m. I calledThe Suffolk County Office of Disabilities and got the same answering machine I got yesterday.But this time they called me back in 13 minutes. But it was only the call center I had to repeat my story and they said someone would call me back within 24 hours. When I told them I needed to book the ride today they told me they were only the call center and they can only give a message to someone who can help me.Let's see what happens...President creat</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ok, no call back but i just called the got me!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SCAT to 1730 N Ocean Ave, Holtsville </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Pu at sunrise mall 6:15 to 6:45</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">They said it has to be so early because I didn't book this 5 days in advance. I had no idea I could book anything 5 days in advance because accessoride is only 2 days in advance</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">84092</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ABLE ride to Sunrise mall…….. And they told me to call after 3:30 p.m. on Thursday to find out what time they will pick me up at the Green Acres Mall. So I guess immediately after that I have to call Accessorize to book a ride to the Green Acres Mall</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thursday 3;44 calling able green acres at 4;15 4-446 And I canceled it. But I'm going to call Accessoride and ask them what time I need to be picked up to be at Panera Bread in the Green Acres Mall at 4:15 a.m.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Call access a ride.. .. pu at …. 2034 green acres mall And they told me the system is updating and I will get an automated call around 7:00 p.m. as to when I will be picked up. Since I estimate it will be around 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning I guess I should go to sleep now;n’And I asked them if I can use taxi reimbursement authorization to pay for this trip and they said no. That's only available to airports. That's not true it's available to train stations and bus stations </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.425; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 11pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 8pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Pick-Up ETA</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.425; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-right: 11pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3:10 AM</span></p><br /></span><p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-28286538059341371892023-10-20T18:45:00.001-04:002023-10-20T18:45:32.030-04:00Class trips for grown ups<p>A long times ago had a job in facilities management. My official title was evening coordinator of the student union building at the college I went to. The focus of my job was chaperoning all the big parties. Carrying around all the keys and calling first responders. But I didn't only work in the evenings and I had a lot of free time during the day. One of my favorite little jobs that I picked up on to keep myself busy was painting the art gallery between exhibits.After the artist would pack their stuff up, I would go into the art gallery with a big can of flat white paint and a container of spackle and make the room look brand new again. Sometimes I had to paint the whole room but usually not so much. Then I would get to attend the art opening that happened next. Wine and cheese and yada yada. But people would stand around and look at the new artwork. A little piece of me believed that they were standing around and looking at my paint job. I always manage to introduce myself to the artist and tell him how good they were work looked against my paint. The history of my connection to art started with this</p><p>Today some of my friends that I usually go running with decided to get together and get some culture. We took Metro North up to <a href="https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/dia-beacon-beacon-united-states">DIA Beacon</a>, an enormous modern art museum located in an old Nabisco box factory. I enjoy an art museum by wandering without looking at the brochures. I like to take the art as it presents itself to me. Then I read about it.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEile5gvqctq_8nZHHKbnXTVKSRLii8_lBP2G6YGyww5JRoS5ZPVBjfNL0lP_UOCN-XXHT_1Ps2Ep-j-QyR0dkvE1NGHTn2P0k69XXOuFBB2fycsGUE7OAvy86eXtAfkXdFXJyBJc9v9G86g8tBohAHdHpZqvez0fPxeqD0zBCrd4QMCPcbwFlC9zxVnMGA/s3195/20231020_181928-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3195" data-original-width="2400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEile5gvqctq_8nZHHKbnXTVKSRLii8_lBP2G6YGyww5JRoS5ZPVBjfNL0lP_UOCN-XXHT_1Ps2Ep-j-QyR0dkvE1NGHTn2P0k69XXOuFBB2fycsGUE7OAvy86eXtAfkXdFXJyBJc9v9G86g8tBohAHdHpZqvez0fPxeqD0zBCrd4QMCPcbwFlC9zxVnMGA/s320/20231020_181928-COLLAGE.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>To be honest a lot of the art in the museum went over my head. But I walked into one room and I got it. This first piece by <a href="https://www.diaart.org/collection/artist-a-to-z/brouwn-stanley">Stanley Brouwn </a>really resonated with me. <br /><p></p><p>The room was empty. But I knew it wasn't empty. I knew there was a plan there. And the caption reads </p><p></p><blockquote><p>"How empty is space? All the planets, thus including planet Earth, are in a constant "shower" of cosmic rays. In this space, just as in every building on Earth, it is also a case of "raining cosmic rays".walking consciously through the invisible cosmic rays in this space confirms, intensifies the presence of this space.</p><p>Stanley Brouwn 1970 / 2009</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>i instantly like this guy. For me it was about the paint on the walls. For him it was about the invisible stuff that was in the air. I got it</p><p>the piece in the next room was also wonderful. And it was the second piece by Stanley Brouwn.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLhrrspGKh-17k8RUQa1UlX2njtoi75ULODg6T0tv66Wd7Vbh_gUQhGirjl38l9IpghoLW_wkn63dQvaZGuy3PG4irECT0SXPD1pHz248njPkYoIa2yw5mtmcW900Tk7B_KCgBrCLwuDQ9CORHofpLuQ7MhmH_LQqAkJPoh64aSdUVIJMbmhY-V-O_60/s4032/20231020_112659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLhrrspGKh-17k8RUQa1UlX2njtoi75ULODg6T0tv66Wd7Vbh_gUQhGirjl38l9IpghoLW_wkn63dQvaZGuy3PG4irECT0SXPD1pHz248njPkYoIa2yw5mtmcW900Tk7B_KCgBrCLwuDQ9CORHofpLuQ7MhmH_LQqAkJPoh64aSdUVIJMbmhY-V-O_60/s320/20231020_112659.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The title of the piece describes it in its entirety. Each little card on the floor tells you how far you could walk in the direction of a certain place...<br /></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">stanley brouwn</span></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">[walk 5m in the direction of belém</span></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">walk 5m in the direction of calcutta</span></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">walk 6m in the direction of chicago</span></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">walk 5m in the direction of khartoum</span></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">walk 3m in the direction of marrakech</span></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">walk 3m in the direction of oslo</span></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">walk 2m in the direction of shanghai</span></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">walk 2m in the direction of warsaw], </span></p><p><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6ySLdHWAOvWuGhRFRWdFMhg9w2sV9cjdML2pWTa-Qp5p0pNE8yvD5qXUMT4Lw7vjqzJcbxcBJAbNjFjZNV7sMkbbZz8F7qyky1f6JS5ud7NDHc96ffK_0-Du_UIrc4mQC5FoOJMvAeOQcrQODGBXpYt0swFUn-bIoVKCEZIBcKJYpJ197ey4B3ZXsas/s225/download.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6ySLdHWAOvWuGhRFRWdFMhg9w2sV9cjdML2pWTa-Qp5p0pNE8yvD5qXUMT4Lw7vjqzJcbxcBJAbNjFjZNV7sMkbbZz8F7qyky1f6JS5ud7NDHc96ffK_0-Du_UIrc4mQC5FoOJMvAeOQcrQODGBXpYt0swFUn-bIoVKCEZIBcKJYpJ197ey4B3ZXsas/s1600/download.jpeg" width="225" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: akzidenz, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br />it brought me joy to be in that room. Knowing that I can take three or four or five steps and be going in the direction of some place. It reminded me of my favorite inspirational quote by Author Ash. Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. It's my mantra when I run marathons, now. And it was my mantra when I couldn't stand.</span><p></p><p></p>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-27878272017868854962023-10-10T14:28:00.000-04:002023-10-10T14:34:44.285-04:00Arlington and Washington!Last week I did things. Well one big thing that had 4 different things in it.I got to spend a few hours playing tourist in Washington DC. I attended a conference in Arlington Virginia. Part of the conference was going to the capital and lobbying for a cause. I also went for a run. I will kind of talk about these things separately<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvohB5E_PVJ-1opoUAVZs6gQUge67wYvEhJ7YQrtkCPmWa6BMpy_cdEOARZR1fJqZwkf_CdAGt01xy78f0ftvgUmlswwsyh_yNGDwQvBp2fxGq1VGkTKqCQCou3AvZ0h1mkLTLduTgSUuGQHJwN9RdIwsWAMOGIe03cQKygzdSm4kd052nbBllBP-ytbY/s3195/20231009_181450-COLLAGE.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3195" data-original-width="2400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvohB5E_PVJ-1opoUAVZs6gQUge67wYvEhJ7YQrtkCPmWa6BMpy_cdEOARZR1fJqZwkf_CdAGt01xy78f0ftvgUmlswwsyh_yNGDwQvBp2fxGq1VGkTKqCQCou3AvZ0h1mkLTLduTgSUuGQHJwN9RdIwsWAMOGIe03cQKygzdSm4kd052nbBllBP-ytbY/s320/20231009_181450-COLLAGE.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />I took a 5:00 a.m. train out of Moynihan Hall so I can get to Washington DC and have breakfast with one of my old high school friends. It was really great catching up. And it was great to get the advice of a local on how to spend half a day in Washington DC. I got a train pass that was good for the whole day and decided to get to the hotel first and check my bag. I had to take the Metro to a stop called Pentagon. I assumed that was the name of a neighborhood.But not so much. Going up the escalator it was made very clear if you went to the left without permission you would get in trouble.I should have taken picture but there was a sign that very clearly said don't take pictures.At the top of the escalator was a very serious fence and a guy holding a rifle.I went to the left to get a bus to my hotel. After I left my bag there I got back on the bus to the Metro and went to DC. Having gone to all the touristy history and science museums as a kid and with my kids, I decided to hang out with the art. I've learned that it isn't important to see everything in a museum. Especially in art museum. When I saw this piece I decided to sit down with<a href="https://www.nga.gov/press/acquisitions/2021/ringgold.html"> it</a> for a good half an hour. At first I thought it was something new. But it was created in 1967. I only later noticed that her name was similar to mine. We are not related</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><div>I also took the Washington Metro. It didn't go unnoticed that this was a mass transit system that was built<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TUKLWmzJR_XQdBvfvseyPg308JN2n-x7PHRK-MkxAdTBU7BP2HP62xRevXS3-ZJKzfoOuF4qok8Ulbik0zPpwgBNjfu4_X2DrshTYbtpehhPV5UoG44YuXFJVl5WcYqirCo4mTpoOoZnsAsNGIQQaWS6cUS_7pY2uVwo0exLLHGAuli4tcZOgibouQM/s2518/20231004_091639.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="2518" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TUKLWmzJR_XQdBvfvseyPg308JN2n-x7PHRK-MkxAdTBU7BP2HP62xRevXS3-ZJKzfoOuF4qok8Ulbik0zPpwgBNjfu4_X2DrshTYbtpehhPV5UoG44YuXFJVl5WcYqirCo4mTpoOoZnsAsNGIQQaWS6cUS_7pY2uVwo0exLLHGAuli4tcZOgibouQM/s320/20231004_091639.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /> all at once relatively recently. It is completely accessible for people who are mobility impaired and can't climb stairs.That did not go unnoticed. But I noticed another thing and I'm going to be bringing this through the attention of the New York City MTA.... This Disability sign this sign says that <b>Federal law requires that these seats be available to passions with disabilities</b>..... Below is the sign that is in New York City buses and subways. It says" <b>won't you please give this seat to the elderly or disabled</b>." these are two different kind of signs.In Washington DC it lets you know that you should not be sitting there unless you're really need the seat. It needs to be available to those who need it.In New York City it's kind of an invitation to plop down. People in New York aren't looking around when they're sitting in the subway. They are minding their own <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLc22NRpzRyA8esTNuJF1c7E-jNl_OSxhb4jImGb1iovJKda__QY_1v5Obe5NT_5C2RnfDH7olufFY1x-zsreYvGsJ9r38EP-tFKohknG3_74wxHZ-qseTxQ8bTjtz0gHjhLbMwwkpMJkx5y9Rc2PVRbtxlrIqrTd-PDskaYygUaD7VzlpqbHoegoL2Zg/s1223/Screenshot%202023-10-09%206.27.35%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="1223" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLc22NRpzRyA8esTNuJF1c7E-jNl_OSxhb4jImGb1iovJKda__QY_1v5Obe5NT_5C2RnfDH7olufFY1x-zsreYvGsJ9r38EP-tFKohknG3_74wxHZ-qseTxQ8bTjtz0gHjhLbMwwkpMJkx5y9Rc2PVRbtxlrIqrTd-PDskaYygUaD7VzlpqbHoegoL2Zg/s320/Screenshot%202023-10-09%206.27.35%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />business.Not looking out for people with disabilities who might need the seat.So it's going to be up to the disabled person to ask for the seat.This is not cool. I'm one of the people that gets to talk to the MTA about their accessibility issues. I'm putting this on the agenda that these signs should change. Also perhaps an announcement regularly on buses that says please move to the rear of the bus and don't sit in the front seat unless you really need to</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtJlrMNt5oqkfQuMW4mecUI-EO-K79w9nMHHKJvlfNTvj29Hcgp-ZREe7mVNrjBvpGUtTSFF9HZROpd4Bgrdxc2cZChB10QFoAvKVwCVbA__Ad_DJQ6HDDrXhsr4-k18lrWcJmO_IE5F3JCMbM5dVh_EFF7uYCuEYTL_IyepbwckOKwlQb3NdBaYBUGo/s2880/20231009_184721-COLLAGE.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2880" data-original-width="2880" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtJlrMNt5oqkfQuMW4mecUI-EO-K79w9nMHHKJvlfNTvj29Hcgp-ZREe7mVNrjBvpGUtTSFF9HZROpd4Bgrdxc2cZChB10QFoAvKVwCVbA__Ad_DJQ6HDDrXhsr4-k18lrWcJmO_IE5F3JCMbM5dVh_EFF7uYCuEYTL_IyepbwckOKwlQb3NdBaYBUGo/s320/20231009_184721-COLLAGE.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />On the second day of the conference I woke up at 4:00 in the morning. At 5:00 a.m. I got in an Uber to the Arlington Bridge. I ran over that bridge and it took me right to the back of the Lincoln Memorial. I went up the stairs and realized that this is one of those rare moments that I was completely alone in this iconic monument. I took a picture but you can Google a better picture of the Lincoln Memorial. And then I ran across the National Mall. Past the Washington Monument and all the way to the Capital. Then I doubled back and ran to the White House.To the right or some crappy pictures I took. I would point out that I ran as the sucrose and Washington was quite clean and I felt very safe.It was a five and a half mile run and here my Strava <div class="strava-embed-placeholder" data-embed-id="9986840968" data-embed-type="activity"></div><script src="https://strava-embeds.com/embed.js"></script></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCIlYQSfTCwnkeF1UWo8cakGpo4mEK-cwicQr5Sds_zdx59Mt96vsBNf8mz6i8CBor0yhd321v_SIFKI7M6nnBk1Hj72JAb3nfkKbyH5VfLvAioTUQQLDi7PUPB4D0psCjsEL0CT5cp8BwLkg3WPTAx3RXMbJQmOzHPeKc-QeXthE16Hxd0sFyZic5wQ/s3840/20231009_190251-COLLAGE.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCIlYQSfTCwnkeF1UWo8cakGpo4mEK-cwicQr5Sds_zdx59Mt96vsBNf8mz6i8CBor0yhd321v_SIFKI7M6nnBk1Hj72JAb3nfkKbyH5VfLvAioTUQQLDi7PUPB4D0psCjsEL0CT5cp8BwLkg3WPTAx3RXMbJQmOzHPeKc-QeXthE16Hxd0sFyZic5wQ/s320/20231009_190251-COLLAGE.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />I should also mention that I got to visit the Capital Building.But I didn't go in as a tourist. I had an appointment to meet with the staff of my congressman. There were four or five of us who went in to see them and I was selected to talk first. My role was to introduce the staff to what Guillain-Barre syndrome is. How it can happen to anybody.Because I am anybody.And I happen to be the only anybody that was a constituent of Dan Goldman.I immediately went off my script. Because the staffer mentioned that she never heard of Guillain-Barre syndrome.And the first thing I said to her was how happy I was for her that she never heard of this terrible disease. She was lucky, I told her that I sincerely hope that she never hears of this illness again. Then I delivered my speech.I don't want to go into the details of my speech here because it wasn't even that important.But what I do want to say was that when I first walked into the office I was upset that the person who we are going to talk to was a child. That's kind of how I felt. At first I felt we were being disrespected because the staffer looked like a college student. But after we spoke I realized that my first impression was completely wrong.My actual impression was that I was really glad they sent us a young person.She was clearly as honored to be in the room with us as we were to be in the room with her.</div><div><br /></div><div>The top photo in the photo collage shows my team. We are the group that wandered the halls of the capital in order to influence our leaders. We were actually only in the Rayburn office building which is physically connected to the capital. But we will polite and greeted appropriately.We did not storm the building.The colorful picture in the center is AOC.'s door It was cool I had to take a picture</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The conference was fantastic. It's the third time I've been to the GBS/CIDP international biannual conference. The first time I went to San Diego. The second one was in Jacksonville and this one was in Arlington. It's great to meet people who have my rare condition and at this point I'm kind of the guy giving other people advice.I even met<a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a23595546/lynn-rogers-running-chicago-marathon/"> someone</a> who is running marathons while living with Guillain-Barre syndrome.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-31590715159671212972023-09-27T06:45:00.003-04:002023-09-28T06:13:58.200-04:00DFL<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVCPcmKAZ0UERWLI2nAmLVlEtQ3ZMFpBMODbQ7WT5CI9KzplxnQ2W-nXPm0GDlpwWsFj8cX_ZE8an-kXJbmQQ-PJeP3a7SUmaZ3Tzm7cLL4n3-N7RoU9Cl2A9mgpJphQONkz5s0lb5_Zs-paoOEFhyX50znnbR6qbFk8bSdhEqEyz1Iuz6X2YKa-YdlI/s1600/IMG_20230924_190939.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVCPcmKAZ0UERWLI2nAmLVlEtQ3ZMFpBMODbQ7WT5CI9KzplxnQ2W-nXPm0GDlpwWsFj8cX_ZE8an-kXJbmQQ-PJeP3a7SUmaZ3Tzm7cLL4n3-N7RoU9Cl2A9mgpJphQONkz5s0lb5_Zs-paoOEFhyX50znnbR6qbFk8bSdhEqEyz1Iuz6X2YKa-YdlI/s320/IMG_20230924_190939.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>DFL, Dead Fucking Last. <div><br /></div><div>Not DQ, Disqualified. </div><div><br /></div><div>Not DNF, Did Not Finish.<p>Almost a year ago someone in my running club, the Peer Pressure Track Club, posted that it was just a few hours left to end of the lottery for the BMW Berlin Marathon. WTF, clickety click, I entered the lottery. The bad news was that I won. And then I read about this marathon. Unlike the New York City marathon where they reboot the finish line when it gets dark, in Berlin they enforce a time limit. last November I finished the New York City marathon in 8 hours and 30 minutes. In Berlin they shut it down at 6:15.The good news was that it's 6 hours and 15 minutes from when the last person crosses the starting line. The bad news was they put up fences along the way if you're not at that pace. </p><p>The worst news was that I knew a friend who got caught behind one of those fences. At workouts he's been my rabbit. The even worse news was that I found out they don't really have an official time where they put up those fences</p><p>So I did the research I talked to people. I got advice. I did more research and I found out they added more fences.You had to be on pace to finish in 6 hours and 15 minutes from in the last person across the starting line. At both the 33 km, the 38 km, and the finish!. Lots of moving targets.</p><p>I have to say this out loud. I have to admit I was very concerned about getting cut off by these arbitrary fences. It was a big investment to go to Berlin. Not just for me, but for Achilles and for the guides that were coming with me. It worried me even more when I did a <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/9903012074">shake out run</a> the day before the race, a four mile easy run that ended in the Olympic Stadium. It took me so long to get there that they didn't even want to let me in. But I had an epiphany.I knew how to sneak in. One guy telling everyone this was an exit and no one can come in. I knew enough just to walk around him and go in.And then they wouldn't let me down to the track. I just went around the people who were telling me not to go forward and I went down to the track.I looked at the arena. Tons of stairs no handrails. I heard people comment that they didn't build this very excessively. Of course they didn't build it with accessibility in mind The people who built this were also building ovens to put people like me in. So fuck that, I needed to get down to the track. I got down there and stood in the spot where Jesse Owens flipped the bird to ate off Hitler. When I stood there I knew i was going to finish the marathon the next day. </p><p>But it wasn't going to be easy. I needed to use my head and my feet</p><p>I was assuming that it would take 2 hours for everyone to get to the starting line. That turned out to be incorrect. But it was okay.</p><p>I was able to finagle my way into the first wave..the third Corral of the first wave. I thought it would take me 15 minutes to get to the starting line and it only took me eight.The 10 miles of the race went just as I expected. I was able to maintain my pace and avoid all the faster runners passing me. There were a couple of close calls i got bumped but never hit the ground. Then I had to go to work. A week before the race I ran a 10-mile race in 17 minutes per mile. I did the first 10 miles of the marathon at that pace and just had to do 16 more..... Sounds easy</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxJ0EKUMFEHpWy67JOrDaWmqQlKwdKNQnU3PLE-0b7eROIIwxowkKqiiHfMYX6K6YUIv3Mz22Iebq7Gi1qbabfKnBzxsi3QC7xrOOr6utBiyA6PVkU8RKHsES6UH7cb5-D3vIZYYtFMkWVevdrzl4OoBodYgw_rJrqbxxonYs9HDcNZZDJQAmsyBLZ6k/s1200/317147478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="799" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxJ0EKUMFEHpWy67JOrDaWmqQlKwdKNQnU3PLE-0b7eROIIwxowkKqiiHfMYX6K6YUIv3Mz22Iebq7Gi1qbabfKnBzxsi3QC7xrOOr6utBiyA6PVkU8RKHsES6UH7cb5-D3vIZYYtFMkWVevdrzl4OoBodYgw_rJrqbxxonYs9HDcNZZDJQAmsyBLZ6k/s320/317147478.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>We made it through the first checkpoint where the announcer was telling everyone there was another one up ahead and we all had to keep moving.He was staying such stupid things like take your time but hurry up. Everybody knew what he was talking about.We had also done the math on a way to these checkpoints.We knew I had to make it across the first checkpoint with plenty of spare room because if I cut it close I would only have 45 minutes to run another 5K. I made it through the second check point with minutes to spare. That's when the memory started coming up. <i>I don't remember people saying that I would never walk again, but they said it. But I do remember a lot of doctors worrying I would stop breathing</i>. I didn't chat too much after the second checkpoint because I knew they could still shut down the finish line on me. But if you look at the top of this blog you'll see the picture of me approaching Brandenburg Gate. I knew that after that there was only 200 m to go.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQ-_R0ZQsFgyHbCNwPFmXAHhNGQnEBrMflGf6I7p4ojObGgpvkmYwBbnl6Wxo3jooDA3IoX5dcj9Geghclny0bFay4Py-FL_IhOLwVh1npL_TX6xhBJbnq4e3ozitNWiyd1os9zRMBeakf_E43qviGtJj0_0hgky88p44JY0eEAGPn0ckWGhFgN9xivc/s1655/Screenshot%202023-09-27%206.40.09%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="1655" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQ-_R0ZQsFgyHbCNwPFmXAHhNGQnEBrMflGf6I7p4ojObGgpvkmYwBbnl6Wxo3jooDA3IoX5dcj9Geghclny0bFay4Py-FL_IhOLwVh1npL_TX6xhBJbnq4e3ozitNWiyd1os9zRMBeakf_E43qviGtJj0_0hgky88p44JY0eEAGPn0ckWGhFgN9xivc/w640-h80/Screenshot%202023-09-27%206.40.09%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>If you look above you see the official results. That's the last page. It's impossible to sort and include old genders but that's only the males. And all the other genders beat me to the finish line. I was the second slowest runner to have their time recorded. But the person who was slower than me started ahead of me. I was the last person to receive a medal. Eliud Kipchoge finished first and got the first medal. Same as mine. Here is the<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/9912439151/overview?utm_medium=strava&utm_source=activity_embed&strava_deeplink_url=strava%3A%2F%2Factivities%2F9912439151&_branch_match_id=909350633708094977&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA3WOywrCMBBFvyYuW5pUsYKIIF25dR2m6UiHJjbmJf69qa1LYTbnMmfmDiFYfyhLHxwkKMDaQtNjLNWV4AZ74Z%2FdifH6Dlp3oEYZnT4Os8PEmfE2z2qqyWQAFShRIPQZmqbitWiqbZVhSugS4YuJNgYjDfYUDROXRWd8N6d%2Bik5hTtc7b4mmw36zLMke0c7tvi1W8Vfjz%2BcPIPq%2Bm%2BAAAAA%3D"> link</a> to the inaccurate Strava map of my run. But I did finish in 7 hours and 50 minutes. That's 46 minutes faster then my last marathon.<p></p> <br /><br /><p>but I can go on and on in this post but I have to hit publish eventually. I can talk about how wonderful the city of Berlin is become. The walking tour, the architecture, the super complicated history. We stayed at the Scandic Horel on <a href="https://sldinfo.com/2019/02/potsdamer-platz-a-marker-of-historical-change/#:~:text=The%20Potsdamer%20Platz%20in%20Berlin,today%20%E2%80%94%20a%20modern%20city%20square.">Potsdamer Platz</a>. The architecture on that wide boulevard made me think they found the greatest architects in the most recent graduating classes and told them to go for it without restrictions. It turns out I was right. My hotel was where the wall used to be. A land of opportunity in so many ways.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtybcVif1SQ_ug4I06K3VSGMiZT7B1eDy8YgCXAB6YhyS6zdqpAWOn9nkPgBneYHZOOCWwVJbuUi5_IPS95VB3eeiGc_f1Zvx3JyHlX9PMzdPIXtLPX_Xwq_VO6dbfWago3NxJh2wrjYrFL7qB0ECPQh2XpnlbwiDjs6FvmkVLL3vAtmNl9CowhuTY-Q/s1200/316959036.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtybcVif1SQ_ug4I06K3VSGMiZT7B1eDy8YgCXAB6YhyS6zdqpAWOn9nkPgBneYHZOOCWwVJbuUi5_IPS95VB3eeiGc_f1Zvx3JyHlX9PMzdPIXtLPX_Xwq_VO6dbfWago3NxJh2wrjYrFL7qB0ECPQh2XpnlbwiDjs6FvmkVLL3vAtmNl9CowhuTY-Q/s320/316959036.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I could write 10 blogs about what it's like to reconnect with high school buddy that I haven't seen in 35 years. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJTjVonkKb5m667NjV838QP7yMOoJbOTX6HjiUHM82yB6_fa3eUpMKx6JLmp2zG_SFP9_Jfkcgg59V3RYQgQS6FC08ig2BfQkciUN3hif8PNOStxV8ZlsQm2h8vxRNY6xNlpPcQeLVRopCIxWvvnhioD24evwOCOCA7ZRN3Pah10PcbBjFdQyASPbh9c/s1600/facebook_1695806400501_7112727568850722873.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJTjVonkKb5m667NjV838QP7yMOoJbOTX6HjiUHM82yB6_fa3eUpMKx6JLmp2zG_SFP9_Jfkcgg59V3RYQgQS6FC08ig2BfQkciUN3hif8PNOStxV8ZlsQm2h8vxRNY6xNlpPcQeLVRopCIxWvvnhioD24evwOCOCA7ZRN3Pah10PcbBjFdQyASPbh9c/s320/facebook_1695806400501_7112727568850722873.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>And I must, must take my teammates that got me there.<p></p><p>Thanks Ariel for Achilles for arranging us to stay in the <a href="https://www.scandichotels.com/hotels/germany/berlin">most amazing hotel</a>. Who would think it would be great to stay in a Scandinavian hotel in Germany. But it was like living in an IKEA with better food.</p><p>I need to thank Joe for giving me great advice on how to find accommodations in unaccommodating race.</p><p>Jacky for giving up 5 days of her life, and then joining up with Tavi on race day to literally become team Michael. (We very look quickly lost track of how many ways Michael can be pronounced). The photo to the right was probably taken around while 25. But between miles zero and mile 10 they were literally my offensive linebackers. </p><p>Sorry I didn't post this sooner but my nose keep running and interfered with my voice to text. No, I wasn't crying.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjKQBq56kuozOGzT-JBErkPh4Og__PodkScX_9OJa1uHUbthYU_d3dUBMreKfBBCp0P6REAG825kCn9I6hjs4LSwVFcf5bTD4uY-ub6_7KlQmqvinuOh9l1VNUykX1d7yxr3mvpIZrqjmpQt9EK4JHvbPs1otc2SYK473e9DLPJ1bhjBsMofsx7w77DM/s1200/317623289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjKQBq56kuozOGzT-JBErkPh4Og__PodkScX_9OJa1uHUbthYU_d3dUBMreKfBBCp0P6REAG825kCn9I6hjs4LSwVFcf5bTD4uY-ub6_7KlQmqvinuOh9l1VNUykX1d7yxr3mvpIZrqjmpQt9EK4JHvbPs1otc2SYK473e9DLPJ1bhjBsMofsx7w77DM/s320/317623289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p></div>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-76456933059643431502023-08-17T10:17:00.002-04:002023-08-17T10:17:50.469-04:00I could show up<p>Two big things happened in the summer of 1976. The bicentennial and I told all my friends to go to hell. For me it was the summer between middle school and high school and I realized that all my friends were jocks and I hated playing ball. I was bad at it and they didn't want me around either. So I had an epiphany in that I was going to meet all new friends when I started high school. And I did. But not the way I thought I would.</p><p>Gym class really sucked. I think it's a small part of a lot of movies they made about growing up. I really was not into learning a little bit about a lot of sports that I didn't care about. Especially because I was a spaz. But I remember in the end of September the gym class was filled up with folding tables and all the coaches were there. I remember what they said very clearly." If you get on any varsity team you don't have to go to gym anymore. And we'll actually change your schedule around so gym is your last period class and your report card will say 95". I never learned what a varsity team was but it didn't matter. None of those teams would have me. They had tryouts and I couldn't catch or throw or hit a ball. But I remember asking the track coach what I had to do to get on the team. He said two words, "Show up." I could show up.</p><p>So I joined the Sheepshead Bay High School track team. We didn't have a track so we practice by running around the block. And I made a whole bunch of friends. I became friends with the kids that would skip a lap of the block and smoke some weed. The fast kids didn't care , we weren't hurting the team. And they were the one selling us the weed.. But that's all another story. Cross country meets were in Prospect Park. I remember that we took the subway there and stopped at the McDonald's that still on Parkside Avenue. I remember the pond that is now called Dog Beach. We called it Cadillac Lake because there was a Cadillac in it for 4 years.I remember finishing the races and throwing up on the picnic house. Big Macs came out easy. I remember not medalling in every single race I ran in all three seasons for four years. But what I really enjoy remembering is that those fast kids gave me high fives when I finished. They appreciated my effort. Let me say that again.<b>They appreciated my effort.</b></p><p>So fast forward a bunch of years. I stopped running during college but when I finished up my entry level job I moved back to Brooklyn. I want to start running again and I wanted to finish the New York City marathon. So I discovered the Prospect Park Track Club. It was the early '90s. And to the Chagrin of some of the old timers there were no qualifying standards to enter the club. I found another place where my effort was appreciated. I'm not exaggerating. I've been a member of the prospect park track club for over 30 years and have never ever come in the top three in any age group I've ever been in any race. I distinctly remember running a 5K on the eve of my 30th birthday knowing that it was my last chance to be in this less than competitive age group and possibly win. I came in last (4th) in my age group that day.But no one in the club ever thought of any less of me.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMdWXguc-4LuWzHjgaKQzTw2-tkV5P9qoW8c4lQkLDUQRDx1CwOZ_alPJiOxMLLbc6f-VTkX2eg7qHhqOhAzuIJ6RaynO9PH6MHxPyXHPrtIYdeb6R990vpzOZImwGxZ8lFmUl2V0DL99p-ugeOEgi_rEgcGTSySAjmbTNRDOTPkQLQShh9qjiq1Tids/s4032/20230817_092945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMdWXguc-4LuWzHjgaKQzTw2-tkV5P9qoW8c4lQkLDUQRDx1CwOZ_alPJiOxMLLbc6f-VTkX2eg7qHhqOhAzuIJ6RaynO9PH6MHxPyXHPrtIYdeb6R990vpzOZImwGxZ8lFmUl2V0DL99p-ugeOEgi_rEgcGTSySAjmbTNRDOTPkQLQShh9qjiq1Tids/s320/20230817_092945.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bag weighing 9 lb that holds about a <br />hundred finishers medals</td></tr></tbody></table>Back in high school I never earned a medal. You have to finish in the top three to get one of those. But in the past 30 years i have received a literal sack of finisher's medals. It used to be that you had to finish a marathon to get a medal. Now they hand them out for everything.I recently cleaned up and put them all in one spot.</p><p>To the left is a sack of finisher's medals. There's probably about 30 from full marathons and a couple of belt buckles from ultra marathons. I can't bring myself to throw them away but I don't need to display them anymore. I've run some races that I've been on the organizing committee of and I've actually given back my medal because I knew it would be recycled.needless to say these medals are in a big deal to me.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0d6O3unHcRTNwFZSWih25DrByAW0QFopt332s0sAkaDYcnKI1HfuOqDHIC7e44e0Bi2x7lewTBsgcuhAFCDsgSUpUEVig7-mRwfem31LewK5Z3w_K0VEGY_WVNN2XA5y6p1Y_vv5lKTFDLSfrLQBhl5zkRXPDhS_-LtkH3QCv6Bdease1SRLntoyAvg/s1600/Ye-l5DpWga1n2NS61-AtXBFhf6zdeYZi9VEB2KI2HEE-1536x2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0d6O3unHcRTNwFZSWih25DrByAW0QFopt332s0sAkaDYcnKI1HfuOqDHIC7e44e0Bi2x7lewTBsgcuhAFCDsgSUpUEVig7-mRwfem31LewK5Z3w_K0VEGY_WVNN2XA5y6p1Y_vv5lKTFDLSfrLQBhl5zkRXPDhS_-LtkH3QCv6Bdease1SRLntoyAvg/s320/Ye-l5DpWga1n2NS61-AtXBFhf6zdeYZi9VEB2KI2HEE-1536x2048.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a photo of myself wearing <br />the medal I earned<br />for running <br />all of the summer speed series races.</td></tr></tbody></table>But yesterday's medal was different. I didn't earn it for finishing a race. I earned it for finishing all the races.My Running Club, The Prospect Park Track Club has been organizing a series of summer races for years. Every other Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. go out and bang out of 5K. This year, they we, decided to give out a medal to everyone who finishes all of the races.</p><p>he big deal about me earning this medal is that no one thought it was a big deal. 9 years ago I missed all the races because I spent the entirety of the summer in the hospital. There was some smart doctors who were worried that I was going to die. Apparently they were incorrect. I didn't just survive as seen to the photo to the right I lived. I showed up and finished all of the Al Goldstein Summer Speed races in 2023. </p><p><br /></p><p>I think I'll display this medal for a while<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-51584467383899797082023-08-01T07:30:00.000-04:002023-08-01T07:56:55.006-04:00Why is the MTA punishing people for being disabled? [Actually, you can fight City Hall, (I mean the state house)]<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WGke6qmwSkI/W6f9_4zxM7I/AAAAAAAC0gM/npTz2c-t7TsHF1aH7L0rNROqhPpIMSIdACLcBGAs/s1600/Capture.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="773" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WGke6qmwSkI/W6f9_4zxM7I/AAAAAAAC0gM/npTz2c-t7TsHF1aH7L0rNROqhPpIMSIdACLcBGAs/s400/Capture.JPG" width="400" /></a><div>So it's the first of August, 2023. About 3 weeks ago I actually lost my MetroCard again. It was kind of a classic goofy move. I was overdoing it trying to enter the subway. Holding a hot coffee in one hand and trying to swipe with my right hand was tough.And I remember putting my metro card into my pocket next to my wallet, not in my wallet.Thinking to myself that when I take my wallet out later I have to make sure the MetroCard doesn't go flying.Well inevitably, when I went to go home the MetroCard was gone. Of course it went flying somewhere on the subway when I took out my phone to play with it. I must have spaced out and left my metro card on the seat in the subway.</div><div><br /></div><div> I was all the way up in the Bronx so I took an on-demand ride home. In the backseat of the accessory van i called the general phone number for Access Ride and reported that my card was lost. I asked them what I had to do to get a new one and they said I just did that. All I had to do was report it was lost. It didn't take 2 weeks to get a new one ,,,It actually took 24 days. But I didn't have to go to the post office and get a money order. I didn't even have to fill out a form.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> April 2022.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">So in September of 2018 I was going to publish this blog post. I left it hanging around, just waiting to see if I needed a little bit more leverage and getting things fixed. I did not.I went to MTA board meetings and complained about the fact that after losing your accessory Metrocard you had to go to the post office and get a money order to get it replaced. Getting a money order was punishment enough. But if you lost your metro card three times you'd have to wait 120 days to get a new Metrocard. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">After I use my 2 minutes of yelling time to complain about all the things I listed below, one of the head honchos from customer service took me out of the room and asked me to explain more about what my problem was and of the head honchos from customer service took me out of the room and asked me to explain more about what my problem was. He took me seriously and after a few months told me they were going to change the policy. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">And just talking about it we both realized that the punitive part of getting a new card made sense when they first gave out cards to people with disabilities so they can ride the subway and take buses for free.Back in the '80s and '90s these werecardboard cards. That can be used by anyone because all you had to do was wave it at the bus operator or token clerk and they would let you ride. But now we use MetroCards with electronics on them and they're disactivated when you report them lost. But the policy never changed. They want to discourage people from losing them and were afraid of fraud because the old one would work forever But now the old one is instantly deactivated when you report it lost.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Over the past couple of years I have a few friends that had lost their metro cards and they asked me what to do. Not knowing that I was very intimately involved in the procedure of what to do. I told him just to call the phone number for accessory ride and ask them what to. The answer was much better than my old answer. It was simply "We will mail you a new one."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">And that's what happened to me last week. I didn't actually lose my card but it started to wear out. When I called customer service they told me to mail it back and they would send me a new one. I asked them what would happen if I just said I lost it. They said they'd start the process that day to mail me a new one and not wait for the broken one to come in the mail. So I said I needed to correct myself I couldn't find my card even though I knew it was damaged. That was 8 days ago and I got my new card in the mail today. I didn't have to wait 180 days and I didn't have to go to the post office and get a money order.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The blog post below was in draft mode since September of 2018.I never had a start I changed.org petition and I never even had to publish this post to threaten the change.org petition.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also because of my persistence back in 2018 I was approached by the president of Disabled In Action. She invited me to some meetings and now I'm a board member of that organization.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">.........................................................................................................</span></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Placeholder for link to change.org petition</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>I'm definitely pausing the distribution of any online petition at this point. After testifying before the MTA board yesterday the feedback I got was that this is going to be fixed.A high-level mucky muck came over to me right after I spoke to get more details about this issue so "it can be corrected". Also, on my way out of the building and assisted to a mucky muck told me that while I was speaking a lot of people in the room were already texting each other on how to fix this problem. (9/25/2018)</i></div>
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If you live in New York City you must be pretty familiar with Access A Ride Vans. Those big white and blue Ford diesel vans that drive people with disabilities all over the city. These vas basically exist because years ago the disabled people of New York sued the MTA because the world's largest subway system was built a long time ago and has a lot of stairs. It was cheaper to give disabled people door-to-door transportation then to make the system work for all the cities residents. With access ride disabled people are able to be picked up and brought anywhere in New York City for $2.75. That's the same price as a subway fare, but since we can't get on the subway we get to do it in a van.<br />
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Before I became disabled all I knew about it was that it's a thing that everyone who uses it complains about. Once I became dependent on it I honestly felt it wasn't that bad. Don't get me wrong, it has an enormous room for improvement but once I figured out how it works it wasn't the end of the world. In any case I became part of a pilot program where I was able to use the Curb app and make a yellow or green taxi appear within minutes and only pay $2.75.<br />
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All access ride customers are issued in access ride MetroCard it's good for four trips a day and no fare is collected. <a href="http://web.mta.info/accessibility/access_metrocard.htm">Here</a> are all the details on that. It doesn't say why New Yorkers with a disability are issued a MetroCard that gives them free trips so it just leads me to speculate.<br />
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<ul>
<li>People with disabilities have good days and bad days and on a good day most of us would rather actually take the train or the bus. The MTA is helping some disabled people transition back to "normal".</li>
</ul>
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AND /OR</div>
<ul>
<li>Driving people around door-to-door in vans is very expensive. The MTA saves a lot of money when disabled people get on a bus or subway.</li>
</ul>
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Either way I very happy to take mass transit on the days I've been able to climb stairs. Last year I misplaced my card (by "misplacing"I mean I thought I lost it, but eventually it turned up) and after I thought I looked everywhere I called the MTA and ask for replacement. They told me to get a postal money order for $10 and send and mail it to them. I thought this was a little archaic, but many of the other people who use access ride might not feel comfortable paying online, so I went down to the post office.. I got my card within a reasonable amount of time and moved on with life. Unfortunately, in the past year this happen two more times. The third time it happened I actually found my MetroCard before they sent me my replacement. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it still worked and as soon as I got off the subway I called the MTA and told them I found it. They told me I was lucky because if it would have been of turned it off I would've had to wait four months for the new one to be sent to me. I thought this was a bizarre rule but I was happy that I dodged the bullet. However, two days later my card stop working. I called access ride and they said no matter what anyone said as soon as I said it was lost it needed to be turned off and could not be turned back on I had to wait 120 days. Below, is the rule that explains that.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica, arial, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<strong>Q. Where do I report a lost or stolen AAR MetroCard?</strong></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica, arial, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<strong></strong><strong>A. </strong>Immediately report a lost or stolen card by calling AAR at 1-877-337-2017. NYC Transit will reissue lost or stolen cards at its discretion after receipt of a $10 replacement fee. After replacement of three or more lost or stolen cards, NYCT will impose a 120-day waiting period before reissuing another card. This waiting period will also be imposed for the replacement of any subsequent cards. Payments must be made in the form of a USPS® Postal Money Order payable to MTA New York City Transit and mailed to NYC Transit, Paratransit Division, Eligibility Unit, 130 Livingston Street, Brooklyn NY 11201.</blockquote>
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I complained up and down the line that I felt I was being penalized for losing things.If I'm paying for the replacement why do I have to wait? I honestly gave up on having an exception made for me because I was okay waiting 120 days. I was able to use the Curb app and when I'm able to bus drivers always let me on the bus because the card I have is not expired. Also, the staff at subway stations (including the police) open the gate for me when I show them my valid card. So, and by complaining about this policy I made it clear I wasn't asking for an exception I was asking for a change in the rule because not everyone who is disabled is going to feel that they could ask for help from the bus drivers and the subway staff to aid them in transportation needs. I really got nowhere with this complaining. Everyone thought I was trying to ask for an exception and reminding me that these were the rules.<br />
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I also lost my drivers license. Not that I drive anymore, but it was the enhanced federal version of the New York State drivers license. It was the type of card that can get me across the border into Canada or onto an airplane. I called the DMV and all I had to do was give them my credit card number and let them take about $21 for my account and I got a new one mailed to me. No trip to the post office no waiting 120 days if I lost it more than twice.<br />
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Then it occurred to me that friend uses her credit card to refill her MetroCard at a vending machine and so do hundreds of thousands of people on a regular basis. If she were to lose her card she can report it to the MTA and get a prorated refund. Here's the <a href="https://efixmetrocard.mtanyct.info/BalanceProtection.aspx">website</a> it doesn't say anything about paying for replacement card or waiting 120 days if it happens more than twice.The first time you make a claim there is no charge. The second time there is a five dollar charge. The MTA will only efix your card twice a year.<br />
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And then there's the program where your credit card is automatically billed to your MetroCard works forever (or until the piece of plastic expires and then they send you a new one). Below are the details on that.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "geneva" , "swiss" ,; font-size: x-small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-size: x-small;"></span>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "geneva" , "swiss" ,; font-size: x-small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Q. What if my EasyPayXpress MetroCard is lost or stolen? </span></b></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "geneva" , "swiss" ,; font-size: x-small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "geneva" , "swiss" ,; font-size: x-small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A. You must immediately report your EasyPay MetroCard lost or stolen online at <a href="http://www.easypaymetrocard.com/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">www.easypaymetrocard.com</a> or call our Automated Telephone Service 24/7 at</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "geneva" , "swiss" ,; font-size: x-small;">1-877-323-RIDE (7433). We will deactivate your card to protect you from unauthorized charges. Failure to report your MetroCard lost or stolen may result in unauthorized fares which you will be responsible for. You will not be liable for unauthorized EasyPay MetroCard use that occurs AFTER you notify EasyPay MetroCard, electronically, verbally or in writing, of non-operation, loss, theft or possible unauthorized use. We will send you a replacement card in the mail. Please allow 15 business days for processing.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "geneva" , "swiss" ,; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </blockquote>
So here's the thing. Speaking for myself I can definitely say that people with disabilities are more likely to lose things than the general population. My disability affects my hands the most. I often drop things without knowing it. I've been hanging out with a lot of people with disabilities lately visual impairments and other cognitive issues. I'm pretty sure researches been done the disabled people or more likely to misplace things than the general population.<br />
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<b>So why is there a trip to the post office and a 120 waiting period when a person with a disability needs to replace their MetroCard and all a person in the general population has to do is pick up the phone?</b>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com32 Broadway, New York, NY 10004, USA40.7044082 -74.012848112.394174363821158 -109.1690981 69.014642036178856 -38.8565981tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-13393823197709579562023-07-30T17:03:00.000-04:002023-07-30T17:03:16.892-04:00It's always there<p>Sometimes I like to remind myself that for the most part everything I've ever seen is still there. Well, the big things. Last week I was reminded of that. Every Thursday night I meet some of my friends to go for a run.We meet and also what's the weather but honestly if the weather is really terrible we just eat pizza.But last Thursday it was over 90°I'm running around Prospect Park was not a good idea. But I had a better idea.Let's just go for a walk under the trees where it's cool.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CY_7fb8d9NELaEbU-s3rfHYVK2cFsCNCMlhU0uVB93bS5oFO0lEt7s9vy3P6A09si4aeiVRhz6IKNkfJ9zURh2VKqD7n62rQ5Q4Ebs-o-ryEmmjh6QNIvnH0Jzebc0TVHK4UeVt5AmKb_S8iQjn8gfDDpfLTTE6lVtXN1nHJ6SIWAmeJC3uRAdTj9FU/s4032/IMG_2250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CY_7fb8d9NELaEbU-s3rfHYVK2cFsCNCMlhU0uVB93bS5oFO0lEt7s9vy3P6A09si4aeiVRhz6IKNkfJ9zURh2VKqD7n62rQ5Q4Ebs-o-ryEmmjh6QNIvnH0Jzebc0TVHK4UeVt5AmKb_S8iQjn8gfDDpfLTTE6lVtXN1nHJ6SIWAmeJC3uRAdTj9FU/s320/IMG_2250.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We kind of meandered around the park. On the middle of our walk we got to The Boathouse. I have lots of memories of that place. When my kids were little we used to drop in there on a regular basis to enjoy the Autobahn activities that was set up. I remember that they were very little and it was one of the first times I felt comfortable letting them out of my sight so I can enjoy a cup of coffee in a different room. The Autobahn Center as well as the coffee house are now gone.Prospect Park prefers to use that building for weddings and other events. I got to attend a wedding in that building. It was kind of neat.But now my newest memory of that building was just walking by. <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxui1CwmCPHSiQRr4oe9yBYrwzTMHA36tTsNyYKAEbUeV7Xq5gK93QlRNIphCgBI4acl8Lf2yNDgbxmwq8FtGVM646RmAJ4jAAEWnK3zbC5vKj6Br8KuYiLfoa-hNm-Hl6RL4WfjeP-G4dfMtvn7b89WOCzBHSMEqcKrq3gcYAoQ6k0Z-Y_vWcnM1dO-E/s4032/IMG_2239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxui1CwmCPHSiQRr4oe9yBYrwzTMHA36tTsNyYKAEbUeV7Xq5gK93QlRNIphCgBI4acl8Lf2yNDgbxmwq8FtGVM646RmAJ4jAAEWnK3zbC5vKj6Br8KuYiLfoa-hNm-Hl6RL4WfjeP-G4dfMtvn7b89WOCzBHSMEqcKrq3gcYAoQ6k0Z-Y_vWcnM1dO-E/w300-h400/IMG_2239.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>we also stopped to look at this cool bird.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjot4XXYMPAjxjXzgHTfNN-EThqT2Tb5Ei33GNOoq15t8bX6dDj032pXQk71KjMQ9qTUTuPwYKxS1NtdctJtwC2dv4xoUMOE-ZMm6yPT4Rjgwc_emPvg_CMMyJhoe7UBaog7iNlaoVAihBHr0Qrk1gn1z5Ir4PURMJ97r4HBejASXm20m8b7Bl60fTlKiM/s4032/IMG_2260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjot4XXYMPAjxjXzgHTfNN-EThqT2Tb5Ei33GNOoq15t8bX6dDj032pXQk71KjMQ9qTUTuPwYKxS1NtdctJtwC2dv4xoUMOE-ZMm6yPT4Rjgwc_emPvg_CMMyJhoe7UBaog7iNlaoVAihBHr0Qrk1gn1z5Ir4PURMJ97r4HBejASXm20m8b7Bl60fTlKiM/w300-h400/IMG_2260.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span style="text-align: center;">and we stop to look at this cool tree</span><br /><br /><p></p><p>i don't want to sound too philosophical but every now and then if I can fall asleep I remind myself that that boat house and that stream with the waterfall and the frogs and the weird bird ....they're all still there.Even though it might be dark it's going to get light again and you'll be able to see these things.If I go over to that tree which is only about a mile away I can remember that my friends were looking at it</p><p><br /></p><p>i only live a couple of blocks from where we all post for that picture at the entrance to Prospect Park at Garfield Place. I can walk back there whenever I want. Might not be a bunch of us posing for a picture but I can go to that spot and remember what we did </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQF5O46QqDmM9CF8xqj7d1M0FF7WV3zQqxvnggMrzjxQx5SJB9I7GNNwDKmLLNoyiAVIGl7SRmPTBDcPdbk5O0I9wnroukAMsBECeCL96cT8Y2h_Q3-K7ZsoNfAm5E1XSNRiP4vqDoCk10BVkYFJ4tc382Lavv6S3ugHqaXgEesHFIjQGp3K6PelVuRuw/s4032/IMG_2214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQF5O46QqDmM9CF8xqj7d1M0FF7WV3zQqxvnggMrzjxQx5SJB9I7GNNwDKmLLNoyiAVIGl7SRmPTBDcPdbk5O0I9wnroukAMsBECeCL96cT8Y2h_Q3-K7ZsoNfAm5E1XSNRiP4vqDoCk10BVkYFJ4tc382Lavv6S3ugHqaXgEesHFIjQGp3K6PelVuRuw/w400-h300/IMG_2214.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>By the way my friend Larry took all the pictures I'm using here today. <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Click on the link below to view the Photo Album. </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://photos.app.goo.gl/bQXWkUtdmFTsarta8&source=gmail&ust=1690834925296000&usg=AOvVaw0YDmSLE3oVYShP5U9vRRXE" href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/bQXWkUtdmFTsarta8" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">https://photos.app.goo.gl/<wbr></wbr>bQXWkUtdmFTsarta8</a></p><br /><p><br /></p>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com2Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY, USA40.6602037 -73.968955812.349969863821151 -109.1252058 68.970437536178849 -38.8127058tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-87899788307186920382023-06-07T06:29:00.004-04:002023-06-07T06:29:59.569-04:00Before I was born<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2PR61tvUN6b0Xu8l54XjJMqCswWTww-rO7ZHepYW28tVoj8NXX5UuA3z5ZgTXXdaiRwAVgW08NrRlgKBx0LbcDJU3oWiEvfYdergYGbPm2N5zwD4oqG903MSaNWPRr8Cq59lDLOf_Wx-RXse9n80BDLDpZ2LUy4ecVT8NOwU1ub-mRcSp67a2P1B/s1273/344578093_904158017322752_8130299797479902536_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1273" data-original-width="1189" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2PR61tvUN6b0Xu8l54XjJMqCswWTww-rO7ZHepYW28tVoj8NXX5UuA3z5ZgTXXdaiRwAVgW08NrRlgKBx0LbcDJU3oWiEvfYdergYGbPm2N5zwD4oqG903MSaNWPRr8Cq59lDLOf_Wx-RXse9n80BDLDpZ2LUy4ecVT8NOwU1ub-mRcSp67a2P1B/w374-h400/344578093_904158017322752_8130299797479902536_n.jpg" width="374" /></a></div><br />That's my great-grandfather. Charles Ring. He smiling and standing in front of his fruit stand in front of 136 Avenue C on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Now they call it Alphabet City.<p></p><p><br /></p><p>The picture is probably about 100 years old.</p><p>Below is the Google Street View of the same place. If I did everything correctly it is not the most current street view because that has a truck parked across the street.It's the second newest street view which shows that the building diagonally across the street from my great grandfather is still there</p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" height="450" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!4v1686059766392!6m8!1m7!1sY4ojIVNgw0ze4vOgBQymdQ!2m2!1d40.72454323199646!2d-73.97851760507459!3f318.60704038311576!4f-7.324332902986981!5f0.7820865974627469" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>a couple of weeks ago I took a walk over there. I stood in the same spot my great-grandfather stood a century ago.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEFtjLLj7b8u1geN6mw-ic0f4VEKWHlDwTyvfxVdaxf7TCc0tFVIpo5xnKhLODSGyw26QgwYhbAfPjo25mRg63upoR-A9GWOstobTXSlFHNHBYOvJHtIGYG7ijLW_vTEtOuP4wwAbMO9n0hQlDk-Z27j73uehlb8jSJl8Fcan0xpUbxt4OUut73Pg/s4032/20230511_123816.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEFtjLLj7b8u1geN6mw-ic0f4VEKWHlDwTyvfxVdaxf7TCc0tFVIpo5xnKhLODSGyw26QgwYhbAfPjo25mRg63upoR-A9GWOstobTXSlFHNHBYOvJHtIGYG7ijLW_vTEtOuP4wwAbMO9n0hQlDk-Z27j73uehlb8jSJl8Fcan0xpUbxt4OUut73Pg/s320/20230511_123816.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>A friendly police officer took my picture while I held up the picture of my great-grandfather<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJA8DKvz-PMktW9Qoy5263P52TGlv4mP9uYsGmx1vaomgXLpQTwMMEqk2IdnevrmfNpar5TY-OR7nFb0-6xVUI_PgVKJ4SU4Gnivv7Fv7HSyp6Ze-pNbig50EHilo2RNtGn5EzdTDCgSahT0rtqiyOtv2WnGRzw1HtgVSnXduLqSpM_z0NB7YZNrzb/s4032/20230511_123410.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">.</a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeFh_QqT6BoWQeLz5JMEvR1IObxMIAQLJl_bTHuTyfVuGW8B98mcqw_dmpYi58tFu8EqR0yemo9NQAycPlvoTb3OCiR-uu-7pmhfnqI9D5oZvwahI--qi_CEjpeLJQhfWgFvq_ak-9nlx_mQxrHPq6e4Y9DfA5_sCDdVQkYEM_5w6n6cRjrWdn7YI/s2944/20230511_123436.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2208" data-original-width="2944" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeFh_QqT6BoWQeLz5JMEvR1IObxMIAQLJl_bTHuTyfVuGW8B98mcqw_dmpYi58tFu8EqR0yemo9NQAycPlvoTb3OCiR-uu-7pmhfnqI9D5oZvwahI--qi_CEjpeLJQhfWgFvq_ak-9nlx_mQxrHPq6e4Y9DfA5_sCDdVQkYEM_5w6n6cRjrWdn7YI/s320/20230511_123436.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I took this selfie.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFSJoncTAPPH2Prvx0pfavPT8wYjmHqUDrrMkUjRJ4O3jQoDh1nzeBbyqB3cArfZdg5Plfcfkb_y6n9O8JQCWArQaeWPvvGcwC5mIOfuolVanl83GwgxAWRJr4QteO2o5V8tBWaHNA9TBkrvDHeCTennfiEIwgGs9R7oMgPnbAY4ddqXo6KWC7h0w/s4032/20230511_123411.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFSJoncTAPPH2Prvx0pfavPT8wYjmHqUDrrMkUjRJ4O3jQoDh1nzeBbyqB3cArfZdg5Plfcfkb_y6n9O8JQCWArQaeWPvvGcwC5mIOfuolVanl83GwgxAWRJr4QteO2o5V8tBWaHNA9TBkrvDHeCTennfiEIwgGs9R7oMgPnbAY4ddqXo6KWC7h0w/s320/20230511_123411.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>And this is the building he might have been looking at while he was selling that fruit and posing for that picture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Charles was naturalized as a US citizen on June 7th, 1960 exactly 3 years before the day I was born.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's hard to say what my great-grandfathers immigration status was until he became a citizen. But I do know that when he first attempted to immigrate from Poland because of extreme poverty and prejudice he was denied entry into the United States. Eventually he was permitted to settle the United States with my grandfather and then my father was born. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UICPKcMrenPH8NyNM-oCu-U3dC_UuwBuUCwnH226oYYuMqQvzVE7jgU4_oEFt8MSWmviXSxHGUYSf2Mg40AiRao07bwR5E-914YACUKH0XI_rszsfEDMtbbLhPHOHtp_3cfkujYKKsO2X-TpHZxRLYfNqNWO6V1HiUq59QLhooLXmQDPRYfIZMSH/s1801/345201234_980226920005209_1379731209216593312_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="1801" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UICPKcMrenPH8NyNM-oCu-U3dC_UuwBuUCwnH226oYYuMqQvzVE7jgU4_oEFt8MSWmviXSxHGUYSf2Mg40AiRao07bwR5E-914YACUKH0XI_rszsfEDMtbbLhPHOHtp_3cfkujYKKsO2X-TpHZxRLYfNqNWO6V1HiUq59QLhooLXmQDPRYfIZMSH/s320/345201234_980226920005209_1379731209216593312_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my father's family. circa 1940</td></tr></tbody></table><br />My grandfather and father didn't just sell fruit They sold all sorts of stuff. Their descendants became doctors and lawyers and professors. The American Dream.</div><div><br /></div><div>Till the left is a really old family picture. That's my dad in the middle. Behind him the guy in the dark suit is my great-grandfather Charles. And off to the right a little bit more in the lighter suit is my grandfather David.</div><div><br /></div><div>My descendants came to the United States because they were living on dirt floors in Poland and they probably would have been exterminated by the Nazis if they would have stayed. They came to America because it's the land of opportunity. But not just opportunity it was a chance to live. That hasn't changed too much Millions of people are coming here every year because the alternative is a horrible life or none at all. I remember how my family got here every time I get in a taxi and the driver hardly speaks English. I am always nice to them because I know that their children are going to be my children's doctors and lawyers.</div>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-5911831683777480812023-05-14T15:15:00.000-04:002023-05-14T15:15:03.686-04:00Ooh La LaSo last week I headed up to Montreal for the binual conference of the Canadian Guillain-Barre Syndrome foundation. In 2019 I went up to Toronto and wrote about it <a href="https://whatyourdonotknowbecauseyouarenotme.blogspot.com/2019/11/parallel-universi.html">here</a>. I honestly didn't think to explore Toronto because it's just a smaller version of New York City. But Montreal was a different thing..<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JCJ8_WHIseVZF4vuaWEMRjUw63mI1rCGb9dcVj6JU94hOZ1Ow30FF4rRoXt-_7EWQIPs93tq0rsr3IZia3ZWtbiSuM0IJMlXtPuyNgCNwA1LZFCYqVFaEHMw5qm9xeJ17a1ZRwcDqAs8pAsgMnl_jjvNRoq7v-v3eQC-9Ql0r1Sxty0jeBh7Ncyy/s2048/345288525_959629071897958_8880757389355243265_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JCJ8_WHIseVZF4vuaWEMRjUw63mI1rCGb9dcVj6JU94hOZ1Ow30FF4rRoXt-_7EWQIPs93tq0rsr3IZia3ZWtbiSuM0IJMlXtPuyNgCNwA1LZFCYqVFaEHMw5qm9xeJ17a1ZRwcDqAs8pAsgMnl_jjvNRoq7v-v3eQC-9Ql0r1Sxty0jeBh7Ncyy/s320/345288525_959629071897958_8880757389355243265_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Montreal is way different than New York. 4 years ago i went to Toronto and all I did was go to an airport hotel. But for this conference i stretched it out to enjoy the city. After I checked in at the hotel i asked the staff there to tell me what to do for half a day. I told him I heard there was some hill I should go to the top of so I can see the whole city. They explained to me that Montreal is really called Mount Royal. And the receptionist actually helped me with my Uber app to tell me exactly where to go.I was dropped off at a park that reminded me a little bit of Prospect Park. (not really like Prospect Park and it's architecture, but like prospect park in that it was a place where people came to relax) There was a welcome building and a coffee shop. I had lunch, then walk to the top of Mount Royal. Here's the view I was told to view. You can go to Google and find a lot of better pictures. Here's a Garmen view of my walk to the top of Mount Royal.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>When I got to the bottom of the hill and was waiting for the Uber to take me back to the hotel I realized I needed to learn some French quickly. The best teacher in the world is Phoebe Buffay so I knew she told Joey to speak French.</div><div><br /></div><div class="strava-embed-placeholder" data-embed-id="9016734789" data-embed-type="activity"></div><script src="https://strava-embeds.com/embed.js"></script>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DqwzvtjeYBQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcKf2z2T3z_iFTnhXvaI6FfpTp9CE8Ftn3K7ZAz8jz5O9Sup7Qkjv_ltTaQi6E3MTZVCdZNmxucuzWNmlB6TO5SOUycvRaPJ0ZheamNrJLk7cTfT6fJAsinaMITduMazniHQtRfMrhdXqYiXEJFcAG1pEHpA61fucqVg_WRM027-yJqq0jxdsWTOh/s1080/345432101_964959068208815_2247213944538086493_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="1080" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcKf2z2T3z_iFTnhXvaI6FfpTp9CE8Ftn3K7ZAz8jz5O9Sup7Qkjv_ltTaQi6E3MTZVCdZNmxucuzWNmlB6TO5SOUycvRaPJ0ZheamNrJLk7cTfT6fJAsinaMITduMazniHQtRfMrhdXqYiXEJFcAG1pEHpA61fucqVg_WRM027-yJqq0jxdsWTOh/s320/345432101_964959068208815_2247213944538086493_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div>That really didn't help. I knew enough to keep my mouth shut but more on French later.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did make it back to the hotel where the conference kicked off.</div><div><br /></div><div>And the conference was fantastic. I got to meet people I hadn't seen in a few years and met a lot of new people who've been on the same journey I have. That's really the point. For me I'm not really interested in any new medical research or what the doctors say about diagnosing GBS. It's been 9 years for me and honestly I think a good doctor is more interested in what I have to say about my journey.</div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzK1aCrDAgMkO_4d9ZbzJpK7LS-8Aer5keyw9Z3h7YT3j6WKGeMVLXTJIwBGA0SUPBsE493jrIPl9_9qxYzJD-T3Jq_oSBBj9zmrQ-EbfBIVEhspz7qCcYGjCLpwMYNkKXp8p396OQnOf7VivNB_4TrWdMp5Ysgo0cnXz6hlvcwiQkc5lbtwYiZAtj/s960/345478801_908365156909736_2541068015132461054_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzK1aCrDAgMkO_4d9ZbzJpK7LS-8Aer5keyw9Z3h7YT3j6WKGeMVLXTJIwBGA0SUPBsE493jrIPl9_9qxYzJD-T3Jq_oSBBj9zmrQ-EbfBIVEhspz7qCcYGjCLpwMYNkKXp8p396OQnOf7VivNB_4TrWdMp5Ysgo0cnXz6hlvcwiQkc5lbtwYiZAtj/s320/345478801_908365156909736_2541068015132461054_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">English in a box</td></tr></tbody></table>And part of the fun about this conference was that it was in French Canadia. I learned that for the most part Quebec is a bilingual province. But English is a distant second on that list. Part of the conference was in French and at that moment I was sitting with people from Western Canada and asked them about their traditions. What do people do when people start speaking French? They told me it's okay to play with your phone or get up and leave. Sometimes there are headphones that translate. For that speaker I got up and left and hung out in the hallway with other survivors of my lovely disease. When the next doctor started talking in French one of the head honchos of the conference gave me a pair of headphones.I learned why the UN is so dysfunctional... Live translations don't really work. Especially with a lot of technical words.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday evening the conference wound down and two wonderful things happened. First I found out that in two years the conference is likely to be on the west coast of Canada. That's going to be so cool. Second, I went out with to dinner with two people I had just met. They were both Canadian but really didn't know much about Montreal. And we found out together that the place to go to dinner is a neighborhood called Old Town, or Old Port. We just directed our Uber to go there and explored. A whole bunch of clothes streets alongside of the docks. Tons of tourists tons of restaurants and none of them were restaurants that would be seen in every city in the United States. No sign of an Applebee's or a Hard Rock Cafe. No Dinseyfacation. Lots of street entertainment and happy people. I would recommend any New Yorker who wants to go on a nearby vacation destination to go to Montreal.</div><div><br /></div><div>But that wasn't it. For my ultimate activity in Montreal I actually found a 5K. ( it turned out to be the penultimate activity) it was a high school fundraiser race.<a href="https://www.coursesthematiques.com/course-ndl-en"> Course NDL</a> there was a 1K and a 5K and a 10K and a 5K walk and it all started it ended at a local high school. I registered for the 5K race. They called it 5K course. I took an Uber from the hotel and got there significantly early. Upon getting there I realized that this was not a bilingual place. There was no English. But since I speak 5k I was able to figure things out. So much so that while waiting for the start multiple times strangers walked up to me and started asking me questions in French. I guess at a race I am the guy that looks like he knows what's going on.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX70nY3O_Sotvn_f6NsgBDKByraSiVYOuu9hvqsFGFsbGuJsF0s2BzBZmTrphHHULkVgdSeBgsWCwB6sRiXVM_xZQgxxXCf6XkGggyiGHvoWRHIwdmB5u4247NH10yuB_bH7g-OQ9o89rF362p_Qta6Mxx2CKu1pCv7pMKUTdJlS41wKQhxiDTcicp/s2048/345214843_617435513357953_3157441184382682402_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX70nY3O_Sotvn_f6NsgBDKByraSiVYOuu9hvqsFGFsbGuJsF0s2BzBZmTrphHHULkVgdSeBgsWCwB6sRiXVM_xZQgxxXCf6XkGggyiGHvoWRHIwdmB5u4247NH10yuB_bH7g-OQ9o89rF362p_Qta6Mxx2CKu1pCv7pMKUTdJlS41wKQhxiDTcicp/s320/345214843_617435513357953_3157441184382682402_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The<a href="https://www.coursesthematiques.com/course-ndl-en"> race</a> itself went fine i probably finished last but along the course every couple of blocks there were high school kids cheering. It was kind of cool that in French Canadia they cheer Ooh La La, Bravo! But before and after the race I had a little problem.The first I anticipated.I was picking up my bib on race day and I would need assistance attaching it to my shirt. It turns out there were kids volunteering out in front of the school. High school kids holding up signs with question marks on them. I took off my shirt and put it on a table and ask the kid in slow English if he can help me attach the bib to the shirt because my fingers didn't work too well.He didn't say anything to me but he gladly helped me.After the race they had sandwiches. They will all wrapped up pretty tight and I couldn't tell what was in what.They had signs with French words.I noticed a couple of students speaking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8ltR7iQLKNEyk2OOn1w7bNLoSwBqggqYRZKqC7X0MEaMxE2m_9nEOA5tyBVKXQYya0oTJj7f1wAG8yvTC4pF00HcY_plkpVACKe3P9idpZNT1Tpq_SBXorYi-RJRGS3mWTLUXXevpSKNXVFHA5adqEQ2mtePuZc6vVGb3VNTr3ZK-FDhrvTApblf/s2048/345427454_554321139949685_7101412712121649426_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8ltR7iQLKNEyk2OOn1w7bNLoSwBqggqYRZKqC7X0MEaMxE2m_9nEOA5tyBVKXQYya0oTJj7f1wAG8yvTC4pF00HcY_plkpVACKe3P9idpZNT1Tpq_SBXorYi-RJRGS3mWTLUXXevpSKNXVFHA5adqEQ2mtePuZc6vVGb3VNTr3ZK-FDhrvTApblf/s320/345427454_554321139949685_7101412712121649426_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> English in the corner. I went over to one of them and said to him that I didn't speak any French but wanted to know what was in the sandwiches.He pointed to the sandwiches and read off what the sign said.chicken, pigs, vegetables. He was so kind I couldn't tell him that the word we used to describe pig meat is ham.
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</div><div><br /></div><div>But did you notice earlier I said that this race wasn't my final activity. That's because on my Uber ride over to the race I noticed that we crossed the gigantic bridge and it had a pedestrian path. A pedestrian path! I was actually holding my breath as the Uber driver found the starting line for the school hoping we weren't far away from that bridge. We were really close.So naturally I ran back to Montreal after the race. It was just about 3 mi but I felt like I was in the place where I really belonged. Upper Giant Bridge over some sort of industrial island with a sewage plant on it and then down into the back of Montreal. It was definitely the peace day resistance of my trip.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lu7AwB6OVc0_ZIHIDU7G9LQ2n6KDqnYHOWo9zTQHwhFo_WtNWvVV4ow6_TmlnAbkWRouR0yKtdcWTDuz5havM1KE2DkWrMV2HxUnjReEDenDTf2g5lJskXaT5bDUtsqABkzC03ZiYBqMzWVPhKS79NMnlL3bLgQRxG1P8UuReQ4pM9B0Y8N9m_Yl/s2016/S9VvOTF2fSbVA2DsCYTnk62XopI80UYmNKP_KFPMmO0-2048x1536.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lu7AwB6OVc0_ZIHIDU7G9LQ2n6KDqnYHOWo9zTQHwhFo_WtNWvVV4ow6_TmlnAbkWRouR0yKtdcWTDuz5havM1KE2DkWrMV2HxUnjReEDenDTf2g5lJskXaT5bDUtsqABkzC03ZiYBqMzWVPhKS79NMnlL3bLgQRxG1P8UuReQ4pM9B0Y8N9m_Yl/s320/S9VvOTF2fSbVA2DsCYTnk62XopI80UYmNKP_KFPMmO0-2048x1536.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a description of the pedestrian path and some <br />warnings that I did understand</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Q0LJMPWZGMkAN1s5hKIN2017vl59X0dpYcgCuUqEhMSZRHwxdOybvSS4meEEp5izvigsr56M__kTilDLtxS--AX07CuMl_Dm7FSXcccIhgTp6yyc9cds6zhho59wYdlLzt3AO7mIkvZpwGInGt24cAcZ07W9Eu0oiRdPCYyQ97ZGTLzF-78HwtZB/s2016/oC-WUya4kg2O9AV2sfE8mLVT00AUPAN7a0Uo3GAOO5c-2048x1536.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Q0LJMPWZGMkAN1s5hKIN2017vl59X0dpYcgCuUqEhMSZRHwxdOybvSS4meEEp5izvigsr56M__kTilDLtxS--AX07CuMl_Dm7FSXcccIhgTp6yyc9cds6zhho59wYdlLzt3AO7mIkvZpwGInGt24cAcZ07W9Eu0oiRdPCYyQ97ZGTLzF-78HwtZB/s320/oC-WUya4kg2O9AV2sfE8mLVT00AUPAN7a0Uo3GAOO5c-2048x1536.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is the view of Montreal from the bridge. It's a terrible picture and you can't really tell but that hill behind the brown building is where I was standing two days earlier. It is Mount Royal
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<div class="strava-embed-placeholder" data-embed-id="9028692621" data-embed-type="activity"></div><script src="https://strava-embeds.com/embed.js"></script>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-80554705654253186912023-04-28T06:59:00.001-04:002023-04-28T07:13:28.180-04:00I ran away from physical therapy three times<p>That's one way to say it. But I really went to physical therapy and then left by going for a run. And I did that three times. I still go to physical therapy.</p><p>I atend physical therapy at the sports performance lab at NYU Langone, Rusk. It's a fairly medium sized building by New York City standards on the corner of 38th Street and 1st Avenue. Physical therapy is on the 5th floor and the windows haven't awesome view of the East River, the UN to the left and the rest of NYU Hospital to the right.It's kind of weird being so close to the UN. A couple of years ago I got a call one day before an appointment asking me if it wouldn't be too bad if I canceled my appointment. Because, the UN was in session. Kind of a big deal when multiple heads of states are four blocks away. A few days later I had an appointment and they let me keep it because it was early in the day. And then I watched them shut down first Avenue City buses came to a stop. It looked like people had a choice of siting on the bus indefinitely or get out and walk. After PT I walked up town a little but couldn't get too close to the UN. But I did see some of the bulletproof SUVs parked on 1st Avenue. Since I value my freedom I did not take any pictures.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhod23gZmauzeiYk8nWvkO8zBpK85wKW2nRKThd8DukNUL4OwHjxENdpLqkjWDtyAMbet7RQH8RefI9ve-tEjbV7gUsk5UCwWts1YHQYhjJvK4jKdnddGvhP6oONdWtjvm2sTTuY4NgXJb_bSsJRLUlG1nwOUhn0ygzaB_ugLrtU4e1WdiMWfU6E-CB/s4032/20230227_105658.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhod23gZmauzeiYk8nWvkO8zBpK85wKW2nRKThd8DukNUL4OwHjxENdpLqkjWDtyAMbet7RQH8RefI9ve-tEjbV7gUsk5UCwWts1YHQYhjJvK4jKdnddGvhP6oONdWtjvm2sTTuY4NgXJb_bSsJRLUlG1nwOUhn0ygzaB_ugLrtU4e1WdiMWfU6E-CB/s320/20230227_105658.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>So here is a crappy picture of 333 East 38th Street. I have a few doctors in that building. I've also seen many physical therapists there. And I've had a few of my surgeries on the ground floor..<br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMV_nu4PgtuOnb9lOZOR02IqqS5S332NbMDm52Z4lIayuIGuXTun_epY_BZ2rQHYuQvWHCAHoeP1pYF1KpLxYTQMOsR2EWm6HN_6fv6502at0KZ7VQmVspIUPjQbc0e0orrK4gNJoFMhEcZEfZiFOmoOMab8YhBVzO7OHuikj02i3jrs79Sr-j0jLN/s2944/20230227_110156.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2944" data-original-width="2208" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMV_nu4PgtuOnb9lOZOR02IqqS5S332NbMDm52Z4lIayuIGuXTun_epY_BZ2rQHYuQvWHCAHoeP1pYF1KpLxYTQMOsR2EWm6HN_6fv6502at0KZ7VQmVspIUPjQbc0e0orrK4gNJoFMhEcZEfZiFOmoOMab8YhBVzO7OHuikj02i3jrs79Sr-j0jLN/s320/20230227_110156.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />And here's a picture of myself standing in front of the UN. I'm sure you can Google so much nicer pictures<p></p><p>Anyway this post is not about that.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZsw0KVL7bTLIzHEzn2lQCE5C_QaPHgv4lUr3-g4_uAUo1JLFaKD4C4snVz6Fb-1D0P7iV-4NJHSRhTDxv8PXmxiiPOmrys0iFe0G5nYTplbrN93_r_ygHxabPLNuUizq4zhhQIRK59yk5Jr-I1YId6ERsx9VPI1JoGkZIPrR0I5pZqAySUFRjqG6K/s4032/20230227_105520.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZsw0KVL7bTLIzHEzn2lQCE5C_QaPHgv4lUr3-g4_uAUo1JLFaKD4C4snVz6Fb-1D0P7iV-4NJHSRhTDxv8PXmxiiPOmrys0iFe0G5nYTplbrN93_r_ygHxabPLNuUizq4zhhQIRK59yk5Jr-I1YId6ERsx9VPI1JoGkZIPrR0I5pZqAySUFRjqG6K/s320/20230227_105520.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>But on my first run away from physical therapy i ran out the door and stop to take this really cool picture. You see, I really appreciate it. Because I exist in two worlds. When I walked out of that door I was a physical therapy patient. But I was also approaching a bike lane. I think it's really cool that cyclists are warned that people with disabilities and patients are about to cross the bike lane. We all need to be aware of each other.<br /><p></p><p>Screaming get out of my way does not work. It doesn't work if you're on a bicycle. It doesn't work if you're in a wheelchair.</p><p>On run number one I decided to run over the 59th Street Bridge And then do as much of a loop as Roosevelt Island as I felt like.</p><p>On this run I noticed a large amount of scooters chained to the fence on the bridge. I didn't take any pictures but I later figured out that the workers doing maintenance on the bridge Had a pile of them on the Queens side and we're using them to get to their job site. Cool.</p><p><br /></p>
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On Roosevelt Island i discovered that the northern end is Equally as cool as the Southern end<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFDux30yG256bQVQiM6mVdJRJIl4p8RpASY97KjTqasbR3bB4ckawEsQ8tVwyWkH015CIrqnpqYWaHzpIOli14hia7YXiWhjaNWuVxiWJzsPZBL68KBlbYE0EwYGEKiz1U9u379JwrBsAPOJtYKDTNzXTJs4gMkTRHcmrvaPzuff-r3BnIGYK-Grd/s4032/20230227_124956.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFDux30yG256bQVQiM6mVdJRJIl4p8RpASY97KjTqasbR3bB4ckawEsQ8tVwyWkH015CIrqnpqYWaHzpIOli14hia7YXiWhjaNWuVxiWJzsPZBL68KBlbYE0EwYGEKiz1U9u379JwrBsAPOJtYKDTNzXTJs4gMkTRHcmrvaPzuff-r3BnIGYK-Grd/s320/20230227_124956.jpg" width="240" /></a>the Southern end has four freedoms park and the abandoned hospitals. You can Google plenty of pictures of that. But the northern end has some cool sculptures and this especially cool sculpture of Sabrina<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3J16yJvtJFE2lASDPXRcqUkdxUAgE9Du8Sbndppxg6GzH5Q7zNyWHmvJHzBccXA-CQW1JKr1ctEroJbYKeXoDlk_G_qRFpT-NH5zF0FQKUORul2eHjSsLtxa-WCCT30a22UGLV7vaudNKw12zfWMf7ZUgN_JKgQWqBCWfqheMvxunmWx5YfNbSDcX/s4032/20230227_124208.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3J16yJvtJFE2lASDPXRcqUkdxUAgE9Du8Sbndppxg6GzH5Q7zNyWHmvJHzBccXA-CQW1JKr1ctEroJbYKeXoDlk_G_qRFpT-NH5zF0FQKUORul2eHjSsLtxa-WCCT30a22UGLV7vaudNKw12zfWMf7ZUgN_JKgQWqBCWfqheMvxunmWx5YfNbSDcX/s320/20230227_124208.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFDux30yG256bQVQiM6mVdJRJIl4p8RpASY97KjTqasbR3bB4ckawEsQ8tVwyWkH015CIrqnpqYWaHzpIOli14hia7YXiWhjaNWuVxiWJzsPZBL68KBlbYE0EwYGEKiz1U9u379JwrBsAPOJtYKDTNzXTJs4gMkTRHcmrvaPzuff-r3BnIGYK-Grd/s4032/20230227_124956.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfBNj0a_s6J8EzcXpM43RMzxgSXIWDB5-ymJTpTZejdczV3CjGb5idnXG4Zsk_edhs1KG3qzJNxdkU3My4jsAJPBmPP-7--Aaf0j9RoP9aNWCAxQ5vIRFiPUibcPsvK12VORJrzT_3ftDlwU0XHzHI8i1sIDIvMGoqHa8mzJ49MraLOMvGPb_73zM/s4032/20230227_134738.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfBNj0a_s6J8EzcXpM43RMzxgSXIWDB5-ymJTpTZejdczV3CjGb5idnXG4Zsk_edhs1KG3qzJNxdkU3My4jsAJPBmPP-7--Aaf0j9RoP9aNWCAxQ5vIRFiPUibcPsvK12VORJrzT_3ftDlwU0XHzHI8i1sIDIvMGoqHa8mzJ49MraLOMvGPb_73zM/w640-h480/20230227_134738.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's the weirdest thing about Roosevelt Island. There's that new research incubator side just south of the Queensboro Bridge. It looks so unlike New York they were making a movie where they were making believe it was Sweden<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But here's my favorite part of Roosevelt Island. When you go to the Southern end you could look back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">at Manhattan. To me it's no big deal to look at the UN. I like looking back at the hospital where I just walked out of and just south of that is the main campus of NYU Langone. Where they kept me alive</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis68aPGKr1U2Lmmq7fnk6dSQF9_1ddpJkevo2JYbT-xQOczjpBbOg3R8duUr39pjJcJV-qFEK3G-FxhMtktzqU4IFCwmDlr9EYPBsemPOVVor0CYFbmhbGghVvQZE4O0m4WrUo7ssU55dHzl-zlbAHBoTGiTxHjEtm6Jt3fwQelwYHV22sgOa4qRHh/s2437/wheretheysavedme%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1103" data-original-width="2437" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis68aPGKr1U2Lmmq7fnk6dSQF9_1ddpJkevo2JYbT-xQOczjpBbOg3R8duUr39pjJcJV-qFEK3G-FxhMtktzqU4IFCwmDlr9EYPBsemPOVVor0CYFbmhbGghVvQZE4O0m4WrUo7ssU55dHzl-zlbAHBoTGiTxHjEtm6Jt3fwQelwYHV22sgOa4qRHh/w640-h290/wheretheysavedme%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yeah, it doesn't get old to look back at the hospital where you stayed for months. Especially after running 6 mi. I cried when I took this photo. A little bit now, too. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaE0WsxxF9PujOzSSz_w_u3wdL8JQ_kWP5NvZm8_kpEczp5UmKiIhQr95U1LnpG0pUq101SjOSQDShpgZcy0Lh1ntNi1JEU2PP40fBuzgkXi-mdMLzx-4Fb5UNRm-6aHka5VpYEEQcrSyLGEdKMYdP6t-WfPZqqbwIO5h9Uz8Ykh3jgUtpTuV6UbgB/s612/un.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="493" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaE0WsxxF9PujOzSSz_w_u3wdL8JQ_kWP5NvZm8_kpEczp5UmKiIhQr95U1LnpG0pUq101SjOSQDShpgZcy0Lh1ntNi1JEU2PP40fBuzgkXi-mdMLzx-4Fb5UNRm-6aHka5VpYEEQcrSyLGEdKMYdP6t-WfPZqqbwIO5h9Uz8Ykh3jgUtpTuV6UbgB/s320/un.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's hard to tell which one. But I think one of the smaller rectangular buildings to the right of the future UN is also 333 is 38th Street.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-XGxVpEhYCiUF-9m7UdHa_7zWS6QXvcQvQCeZU9RxICuD4PjQbCeAuY9Y5Syf8qwJwVAyTi_mluW5JoZoNCkbuQXJ3b4TIAuu7jVlDq9N4UyaC-8EGPtaKNxZFDT3JaMfJk7Qy5YD73yrYYCnbFd0PNiydm0iHV9vAbxDqvehGvAH1CMaf1aaSJ16" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-XGxVpEhYCiUF-9m7UdHa_7zWS6QXvcQvQCeZU9RxICuD4PjQbCeAuY9Y5Syf8qwJwVAyTi_mluW5JoZoNCkbuQXJ3b4TIAuu7jVlDq9N4UyaC-8EGPtaKNxZFDT3JaMfJk7Qy5YD73yrYYCnbFd0PNiydm0iHV9vAbxDqvehGvAH1CMaf1aaSJ16" width="180" /></a></div>Anyway, a couple of weeks later I had physical therapy again. The weather was great and I came dressed to run so I ran back over the 59th Street Bridge but this time I made a right turn and headed towards Brooklyn. My plan was to make it to Greenpoint before going home. But my shoelace opened and I didn't feel like asking a stranger to help me out So I had lunch in Long Island City and went home from there. Just to the south of the Queensboro Bridge is this iconic Pepsi sign. If you're ever there you should just know that there's a great bathroom right behind it.
<div class="strava-embed-placeholder" data-embed-id="8683464170" data-embed-type="activity"></div><script src="https://strava-embeds.com/embed.js"></script></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg--3WKzi7b1egjgHx0r9-Hbgm_LFrEaY-UXuJYv3oNV4zY8ZpFsoxj35N8fC76xhIasf7EHBbTTtHwfavq2HpUat1asLXS8-AttglOWaguG_Y2mjiIpptqnKwCtmVJ79j5joec1hthP8UkRxyiQ-OjfHONGAgaFOz-kyJ5pNqhFNN0hZ9rGXqep9QB" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="530" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg--3WKzi7b1egjgHx0r9-Hbgm_LFrEaY-UXuJYv3oNV4zY8ZpFsoxj35N8fC76xhIasf7EHBbTTtHwfavq2HpUat1asLXS8-AttglOWaguG_Y2mjiIpptqnKwCtmVJ79j5joec1hthP8UkRxyiQ-OjfHONGAgaFOz-kyJ5pNqhFNN0hZ9rGXqep9QB" width="212" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: left;">Then, last week I ran out of physical therapy and then North until I got to the pedestrian bridge that goes over to Randall's Island. This trip was rather a mess because they are still fixing damage from Sandy and rebuilding a lot of the parks along the East River.There was an entrance to the new park that I thought would be open but instead found a bunch of people hanging out at the foot of the bridge which was still closed. I asked a man of a certain age who was sitting there reading the New York Times when he thought the bridge would be open.He said they keep saying any day now. They've been saying any day now for a couple of years. For future reference you should know that the Promenade is not open between 73rd Street and 114th Street. It might be weeks months or years.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="strava-embed-placeholder" data-embed-id="8880282888" data-embed-type="activity"></div><script src="https://strava-embeds.com/embed.js"></script>
In any case this will be my last post about physical therapy for a while because I'm taking a break. Insurance covers it in chunks and we decided that I should save a chunk this year for the winter. This fall I'm running two marathons. I told Mike therapist I should save up some appointments for after I hurt myself. She used better language and said yes, we might need to treat your overuse injuries..... Looking forward to overusing my selfchickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-32907942079598481902023-04-16T15:18:00.003-04:002023-04-16T15:42:23.375-04:00The biggest loser<p>Many Sunday mornings I attend the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/openrunmarine/">New York Road Runners open run in Marine Park</a>. I enjoy only open runs for many reasons. I enjoy the non-competitive atmosphere. I enjoy meeting up with new friends on a regular basis. I like the free t-shirts.And I like going out for coffee or beer, afterward. I especially like the run in Marine Park because I grew up in that end of Brooklyn.I spent a lot of time there when I was a youth.But the park was different.We mostly didn't run in the park because it was not really a safe place.In high school when I ran by marine park I would run around it. I actually did multiple loops running around the park.The weird coincidence is that the actual bench that we meet at before the open run is the same bench where people used to sell weed. </p><p>people complain about gentrification but it's really great that the parks have gotten so much better in the past 40 years. Places for families together. Neighbors to share some fresh air. i have been to all the open run parks. Some are maintained better than others but many of them are in places where 30 or 40 years ago it wouldn't have been safe to go at all.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVI_BChGplqi5AXwN26zSjnmvL27woEH2C01yzrFDMwy5ngdZj2cHU3ACPtB3cXCpHGxvalFSnvas0gjet6tivkrtYacFdxkbqqSkVrmhvycG775d1Qlv0l2GUDYob2MQRZ4hkcqzKhM7aAbsOwyMFshS839uc5-0tZ8jyhbNZRasZAkcGe5KCZxDN" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVI_BChGplqi5AXwN26zSjnmvL27woEH2C01yzrFDMwy5ngdZj2cHU3ACPtB3cXCpHGxvalFSnvas0gjet6tivkrtYacFdxkbqqSkVrmhvycG775d1Qlv0l2GUDYob2MQRZ4hkcqzKhM7aAbsOwyMFshS839uc5-0tZ8jyhbNZRasZAkcGe5KCZxDN" width="240" /></a></div>This morning when I got to the park i walked by the new bocce courts and noticed a little bit of a mess.<p></p><p>Lottery tickets. I assume they were all losers but I didn't look at them very hard when I picked them up and put them in the pail that was about 20 ft away</p><p>I just don't understand how someone could walk into a park and drop that all on the floor When they was no way for them to leave the place where they were without actually passing a garbage pail</p><p>i'll say it. The world will be better off without some people<br /><br /></p>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com1Marine Park, Brooklyn, NY, USA40.6113817 -73.93318649999999112.301147863821157 -109.08943649999999 68.921615536178848 -38.776936499999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-17964502589008274452023-03-22T21:03:00.003-04:002023-08-01T08:58:02.039-04:00Kinda book review: Brooklyn's Sportsmen's Row:: Politics, Society and the Sporting Life on Northern Eighth Avenue<p> </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8oaPn_sSVTVh7qqAhdDgDzZkpE3mgGMW6Jg39YCE8r9uxzAeIPs-P5EbZbqwoN-j799VK2AwQ37U6WOWUZZfLDjwK-e7oVAxYGeKoHLqdE0KrST44-udMyHkM2oYISYP3aXljgOXx5NIT9hmLejfWOxosmLZxKeQvTgEzAK7CJ5Rjyr0lBM8rsJPT" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="670" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8oaPn_sSVTVh7qqAhdDgDzZkpE3mgGMW6Jg39YCE8r9uxzAeIPs-P5EbZbqwoN-j799VK2AwQ37U6WOWUZZfLDjwK-e7oVAxYGeKoHLqdE0KrST44-udMyHkM2oYISYP3aXljgOXx5NIT9hmLejfWOxosmLZxKeQvTgEzAK7CJ5Rjyr0lBM8rsJPT=w215-h320" width="215" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Brooklyns-Sportsmens-Row-Politics-Sporting/dp/1609492730">Sportsmen's Row</a></td></tr></tbody></table>A friend of mine recommended I read this book because it's basically about the street I live on 150 years ago. In a nutshell Brooklyn had 3 horse racing tracks in the late 1800s. I knew that and they were in Sheepshead Bay, where I grew up and Coney Island. I also know that it's easy to get to Sheepshead Bay from Park Slope because of what we now call the B train. In 1875 it was called the Brighton Line. What I learned in this book was that the owners of these race tracks and some of the best jockeys lived in a few of the houses down the block from where I live now. I also already knew that the mayor of New York City lived in that row of houses. He often walked to City Hall, over the Brooklyn Bridge. I knew that.<p></p><p>The book was about a lot of the drama between the people that lived on the block. Stuff you would expect from 1875 to 1890 Brooklyn New York.</p><p>But there are some interesting things that I learned. For example at the end of his term President Garfield considered buying a house on 8th Avenue. He did not. On his retirement from the Secret Service Sam Pinkerton moved to Brooklyn and lived in the house diagonally across the street from my own building.He was the head of security for all of the race tracks in Sheepshead Bay. His personal stable was on a lot of land that is now occupied by the Park Slope Food Co-op. On a day that he was not home the stable was raided by the police department because his children were organizing a cock fight.</p><p>I learned that "the Industrialist J.Rogers Maxwell lived at 78 8th Avenue" <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Rogers_Maxwell">Wikipedia </a>says he was more of a sailor than an industrialist.Apparently he gave a large gift to Long Island College Hospital. If someone reading this has access to the New York Times online perhaps they can send me the words of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1902/05/22/archives/large-gift-to-charity-j-rogers-maxwell-to-assist-the-long-island.html">this article</a> and I will add it to the blog. According to this <a href="https://uss-sachem.org/history">website </a>Maxwell died at 78 8th Avenue " </p><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #382400; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.06px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGr0fTrg6U42d6LY37YbU58jk0JDLA-nLi8_Q76QQxrnWNHxnVBGFwUaFlAts2kgZBLR2y5ktC0sxc-0FDXhNU9N8y5a2ZcHqp6oDftZNw7fw6_ckgklxdEjeGbzByx8DZmoe1c_dA5wsfQo8g3aHq_mECInwkFQxpgu0dWQx6fZFBBtAj2pBWWozK/s698/Screenshot%202023-03-22%208.53.26%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGr0fTrg6U42d6LY37YbU58jk0JDLA-nLi8_Q76QQxrnWNHxnVBGFwUaFlAts2kgZBLR2y5ktC0sxc-0FDXhNU9N8y5a2ZcHqp6oDftZNw7fw6_ckgklxdEjeGbzByx8DZmoe1c_dA5wsfQo8g3aHq_mECInwkFQxpgu0dWQx6fZFBBtAj2pBWWozK/s320/Screenshot%202023-03-22%208.53.26%20PM.png" width="209" /></a></div><br />Eventually in the late 1900's the interest in yacht racing decreased — races and transatlantic sprints lost in popularity. Nevertheless, John Rogers Maxwell died from cerebral apoplexy on December 10th 1910 at his home at 78 Eighth Avenue in Brooklyn.</span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #382400; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.06px; text-align: justify;"></span><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqJBx5QAcRsfvUhq1Td9KkBr6f4PfHxbTSFaPqHw3n3FkiIynHse9gbu_AZZSx_P2THHuAX5t1T1C5m7PbxzbzeIEKTaYXa2wAL_naCXqgOi7eSDdLvQ9zLI0wLMtUlcDeM2ECC8ObrQKCsMnHVfm9eUZx3gYAEo9oyseB6Eurhbq3vqW9ga0ambb3AA/s2016/image0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqJBx5QAcRsfvUhq1Td9KkBr6f4PfHxbTSFaPqHw3n3FkiIynHse9gbu_AZZSx_P2THHuAX5t1T1C5m7PbxzbzeIEKTaYXa2wAL_naCXqgOi7eSDdLvQ9zLI0wLMtUlcDeM2ECC8ObrQKCsMnHVfm9eUZx3gYAEo9oyseB6Eurhbq3vqW9ga0ambb3AA/w400-h300/image0.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-31283996638179568822023-01-28T18:40:00.002-05:002023-01-28T18:40:57.818-05:00I think it's raining<p>Yesterday I got a Facebook message from a bunch of friends I usually run with that they were going to The Met. So what the last minute I went to get some culture.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvKFNMkbkgEP1lZVyrgyb1JbigQYFLnyh-ssksXIHA5xhM92WtccATr2rUNTuCLJZ85xUKl6HGAe90_Sw3kfG7fXA_aINXNDtH4xNTQPJp4yf7rWamhGrxQtcU0hJBRffwi6jUQ4mlyzCx23liVY_rUcD6yq-7MZaNbhZt5lzfGxOdt4wvXdpOVcg/s4000/DP-14201-049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3622" data-original-width="4000" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvKFNMkbkgEP1lZVyrgyb1JbigQYFLnyh-ssksXIHA5xhM92WtccATr2rUNTuCLJZ85xUKl6HGAe90_Sw3kfG7fXA_aINXNDtH4xNTQPJp4yf7rWamhGrxQtcU0hJBRffwi6jUQ4mlyzCx23liVY_rUcD6yq-7MZaNbhZt5lzfGxOdt4wvXdpOVcg/w400-h363/DP-14201-049.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>We ran around looking for certain pieces of art that some of us wanted to see.But in a hallway I stopped to look at this.I honestly have no idea what it's supposed to be. But it is actually a portrait of <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435621?ft=joan+of+ark&amp;offset=0&amp;rpp=40&amp;pos=3">Joan of Arc</a> painted bt <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search#!?q=Jules%20Bastien-Lepage&perPage=20&sortBy=Relevance&offset=0&pageSize=0" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: MetSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Noto Sans SC", "Noto Sans TC", "Noto Sans JP", "Noto Sans KR", sans-serif; font-size: 15.9181px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; touch-action: manipulation; vertical-align: baseline;">Jules Bastien-Lepage</a>. Please click on the links, so that you will be able to read an accurate description of this piece.Apparently it is important. But I disagree with the descriptions. I think it's a painting of a young woman who's told to clean up her backyard but doesn't want to because she just realized it's raining.<p></p><br /><p><br /></p>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-122246589838733742023-01-05T09:57:00.007-05:002023-01-05T09:57:48.858-05:00I like playing tour guide
<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50S7tleMI9mz50a8E0VwWBuD0olHZnJa3lnxLpCy1DA0S5aFMk3ig5yK9TqgKAjy7_QyAyBMkcCKz0L7PW8Usm3gjp6fvs4IwXeBvu5p-Idf81SX-qYHAqzI1JF3H9G6Wxzh92Q5af_myhFGMPQ5BTWLMVHUxxSaAhKIkgdCegppEAjyPTfbmWblC/s600/messages_0%20(10).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="338" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50S7tleMI9mz50a8E0VwWBuD0olHZnJa3lnxLpCy1DA0S5aFMk3ig5yK9TqgKAjy7_QyAyBMkcCKz0L7PW8Usm3gjp6fvs4IwXeBvu5p-Idf81SX-qYHAqzI1JF3H9G6Wxzh92Q5af_myhFGMPQ5BTWLMVHUxxSaAhKIkgdCegppEAjyPTfbmWblC/s320/messages_0%20(10).jpeg" width="180" /></a></div>My phone buzzed on New Year's morning while running a race.It turned out that my Florida family was visiting.So I went home and changed my smell and met them in Central Park. Trying to find people on their way to Central Park is kind of tough, and my cousin kept sending me messages That she thought were helpful but not so much."We are heading to Central Park by 5th". Yeah, Central Park has a few miles of Fifth Avenue near it. But I figured out they were near The Zoo they sent me this picture to the right. The description on the picture was "we are at the puppet guy just past the children's zoo". I didn't look very hard at the picture but I knew there's usually a busker just north of the zoo, in the park. I should have actually looked a little harder at the picture because I could have responded that his name is Ronnie.He staffed the birthday party my kids had when they were in kindergarten at Puppet Works.New York City is a very small town.<p></p><p>Then we gathered up there five kids and headed down to Chinatown.My cousin commented to me that he thought five kids was easy compared to having twins. No, in fact it's the other way around.I had two kids at once, but we had one agenda. We fed them bathed them put them to sleep all the same time. And they kind of entertained each other. His kids all have different agendas. Five agendas. Not so easy.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA1i6BTq3CbwpfWyg6yFS98QlmXqJzsh0YjhKEcyCJ0KEgS0NPGxczhLHAWtTEzhvYyKQA61yyqsZx1FOe5EhknOD_Zv6Isb4UUGagb7jaJSLvhIE9t-4ggTMdCN_JgRGEPBivrH3iBkGIV9lucpl2Ka3Gwjbnzs9GwttjlGwVpW6BtIOTDM3J8jAz" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA1i6BTq3CbwpfWyg6yFS98QlmXqJzsh0YjhKEcyCJ0KEgS0NPGxczhLHAWtTEzhvYyKQA61yyqsZx1FOe5EhknOD_Zv6Isb4UUGagb7jaJSLvhIE9t-4ggTMdCN_JgRGEPBivrH3iBkGIV9lucpl2Ka3Gwjbnzs9GwttjlGwVpW6BtIOTDM3J8jAz=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div>Anyways, the Florida family wanted to do a museum day.The Museum of Natural History and then next door, The New York Historical Society had a special exhibit on the Jewish Deli. (That exhibit was about as interesting to me as the Harry Potter exhibit would have been. But it gets people to pay the admission fee.) After I slept in the museum of natural history I really felt no need to go back. But, believe it or not, I've never been to the New York Historical Societies museum.The plan was that the family of seven would meet me at the deli exhibit at 3:00 p.m.knowing they would be late, I got there around 2:30 so I can enjoy the museum.The painting is called nurse Tracy and a better and authorized reproduction can be found <a href="https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/history-responds-new-acquisitions-celebrate-heroic-nurses">here</a> and <a href="https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/95541/nurse-tracey">here</a>. Having spent an inappropriately long time in the hospital this pees really struck a cord with me.She looks like all the nurses who kept me alive. And of course the real model for this works at NYU Langone. <p></p><p>I've said this before but let me try to put it in other words.I really don't know anything about art, but I have learned that it's not a bad idea to go to museum and look at the stuff.People with a critical eye have determined it's good stuff.Just sit down and try to figure out what's good about it. Sometimes you can find it on your own.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI413DMVqOqGnH9O1oPL0XSQUUS2ie-Iv2_o4jXiqHmZ7lqamnUCzRqWPGFtKCDzGhzo6o-2cgen07UqR2bfERZJpKcSbqzT0zf-whzMKN1fybmJj43eI8N8tR2kPwY7EKbSpBpOxhsjI2inObHl3ZimjwOJdLDdpZgT9PhP2mNdeXqD8jhZWMSBLZ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI413DMVqOqGnH9O1oPL0XSQUUS2ie-Iv2_o4jXiqHmZ7lqamnUCzRqWPGFtKCDzGhzo6o-2cgen07UqR2bfERZJpKcSbqzT0zf-whzMKN1fybmJj43eI8N8tR2kPwY7EKbSpBpOxhsjI2inObHl3ZimjwOJdLDdpZgT9PhP2mNdeXqD8jhZWMSBLZ" width="180" /><br /></a></div><br />To the right is an image of the Ramones standing in front of a sign that says Gabba Gabba Hey. It's kind of weird to see this in a museum now because based on this photograph I chose how I dressed for about 10 years of my life.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Below is something that doesn't really look like a big deal. At first look it would look like a college diploma but it is actually the actual Pulitzer Prize given to Robert Caro for writing the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1TcwzTFMzjFg9BIoyUhVKMgvTy1SSCrKz04tAgCAhQlu&q=the+power+broker&rlz=1CAVHDQ_enUS902&oq=the+power&aqs=chrome.2.0i131i355i433i512j46i131i433i512l2j46i433i512j46i512j46i433i512j46i512j69i65.7140j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">Power Broker</a>. When I got to the end of that book I remember thinking to myself that this is why books went awards.It was really neat to see it.If my career path years ago would have stayed in academics, this would have been my highest accomplishment. <br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoL_0U9lsHx5-PYlJKjZ9aop8Cn-VHUycxiC7AWNiK9EkZEgWRHKd5R5HHo7ZUzP2_WCOc24k4MSfBpSM9lUA2q7sgfpF6fwybIHCAk7vDOTtxYae7oes4GPKAl_xwXxqOgSvEAKMPBZfxbJNwkJ8HVXCxhevmhrSi8ZaOCF7daJZp7aJb0TKJnh9/s2048/messages_0%20(11).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoL_0U9lsHx5-PYlJKjZ9aop8Cn-VHUycxiC7AWNiK9EkZEgWRHKd5R5HHo7ZUzP2_WCOc24k4MSfBpSM9lUA2q7sgfpF6fwybIHCAk7vDOTtxYae7oes4GPKAl_xwXxqOgSvEAKMPBZfxbJNwkJ8HVXCxhevmhrSi8ZaOCF7daJZp7aJb0TKJnh9/s320/messages_0%20(11).jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-59550119815650055712022-12-21T15:27:00.002-05:002022-12-21T15:27:39.819-05:00I had to Take a picture of this no smoking sign.<span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVH8awwnkSIorzg9uSYLGVacVMVsLtKzA8mQX4ed9WsCwuAJn_tfYskeuxWsmKeZGgMDFLISu77lIyWes5yireEkc3c7sAFbQBLQTOouixiw6yTleGv6RAxJIT_s6XPMv4jftQEZ4Ps8Qha1xKQOkS-Y9bT_c5QWip_BPHZZ4LJQkpnsvdh5aJopdy/s947/Screenshot%202022-12-21%207.17.00%20AM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="947" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVH8awwnkSIorzg9uSYLGVacVMVsLtKzA8mQX4ed9WsCwuAJn_tfYskeuxWsmKeZGgMDFLISu77lIyWes5yireEkc3c7sAFbQBLQTOouixiw6yTleGv6RAxJIT_s6XPMv4jftQEZ4Ps8Qha1xKQOkS-Y9bT_c5QWip_BPHZZ4LJQkpnsvdh5aJopdy/s320/Screenshot%202022-12-21%207.17.00%20AM.png" width="320" /></a>NO SMOKING</span><div>1) Alarm Will Sound </div><div>2) Fire Dept. Will Respond </div><div>3) $500.00 Fine Will Be Issued </div><div>4) Hall Security Deposit Will Not Be Returned</div><div><br /></div><div>I left the capitalizations the way I found them.But to give this some context I went to a party at an <a href="https://alpost170.us/">American Legion Hall in Hackensack</a><br /> </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXnjvU43IDvMxcm85Ty6298lvgRHu-M73GwKtHkAb9EhL-EFF_PJyDmp8e-JjbkfDbbA5mIWKf-FTLmESLOtbtUSUXVkUCvslTW19B1lg7TqfwO5lnQbCbv2WqdpjsZtnwW47nCTnfEZy_iANKOAjWcBp5whENGlu6-KothDYNVhJVUEDpr8FCZvG/s736/Screenshot%202022-12-21%207.17.20%20AM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="585" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXnjvU43IDvMxcm85Ty6298lvgRHu-M73GwKtHkAb9EhL-EFF_PJyDmp8e-JjbkfDbbA5mIWKf-FTLmESLOtbtUSUXVkUCvslTW19B1lg7TqfwO5lnQbCbv2WqdpjsZtnwW47nCTnfEZy_iANKOAjWcBp5whENGlu6-KothDYNVhJVUEDpr8FCZvG/s320/Screenshot%202022-12-21%207.17.20%20AM.png" width="254" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This party was part of what I would consider a great accomplishment for a New Yorker. The morning started with a short race in Staten Island.Then we headed over to a party in Hackensack. On the Way back home to Brooklyn from Hackensack Traffic was so bad in Manhattan that the Google machine told us to take the George Washington Bridge to The Bronx Expressway and then take the Triborough Bridge back to Queens and then to Brooklyn. So I was in all five boroughs of New York City on a day that I was not running a marathon.I don't think that many non-professional drivers can say they did that. If you're not an actual New Yorker I'm sorry you read that last paragraph<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div><br /></div>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com033 W Passaic St, Rochelle Park, NJ 07662, USA40.9100004 -74.074661710.236788857791574 -109.2309117 71.583211942208436 -38.918411699999993tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-82193242145080133182022-12-03T20:39:00.002-05:002022-12-03T20:40:31.152-05:00Late Fall in Brooklyn<p><a href="https://whatyourdonotknowbecauseyouarenotme.blogspot.com/2022/10/tachypsychia.html">No, I did not trip again</a>. But I was walking down the street and so are this very pretty autumn scene.</p><p>BTW, diagonally across the street from my house there's guy who puts the biggest pumpkin in the world on his stoop. </p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wtb6iFOZk4Y" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Like most things I guess I kind of take that pumpkin for granted at this point.Kind of wondering how they're going to get rid of it, or waiting for a squirrel to move in. </div><div><br /></div><div>At about 3:00 in the afternoon I was walking down the street. It rained all morning, And the last bits of leaves were falling off the trees.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a picture of the pumpkin from a different angle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKK_Q120NHJywlSZavy67to-9iFexr9-tkO0xTBTYUbRxemLyDnB42Sxl1C4-W4Bv4iXtyJTHI2PTMCDIKlKsrpCNPIBPjl5OHzwmwrE3Y4tThoDGyt6f1yue93JJU76Vmc7DiCAMn19u_9WNt7LbRr2aC7IHAG_5llsRC0h7koDX0CaZZRsG3MvBf/s1023/messages_0.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="767" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKK_Q120NHJywlSZavy67to-9iFexr9-tkO0xTBTYUbRxemLyDnB42Sxl1C4-W4Bv4iXtyJTHI2PTMCDIKlKsrpCNPIBPjl5OHzwmwrE3Y4tThoDGyt6f1yue93JJU76Vmc7DiCAMn19u_9WNt7LbRr2aC7IHAG_5llsRC0h7koDX0CaZZRsG3MvBf/w300-h400/messages_0.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div>with the zoom lens</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdbfzLcjyuK_AdAk9cnInO380oDsQsy-rBzC4q1A2_o_QTllrwfvKMYio81hb2wJzhzdEngOcTn2R0eKUQrINF_DrYfF9sbKmZoTZUIZG5EzHErI03246e2lFrTln6x1igL3MnR0aht4PjkZyyotLdGflaD3iUq8aAOlAfaVqx6kF-UvKbuisQT28/s1023/messages_0%20(1).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="767" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdbfzLcjyuK_AdAk9cnInO380oDsQsy-rBzC4q1A2_o_QTllrwfvKMYio81hb2wJzhzdEngOcTn2R0eKUQrINF_DrYfF9sbKmZoTZUIZG5EzHErI03246e2lFrTln6x1igL3MnR0aht4PjkZyyotLdGflaD3iUq8aAOlAfaVqx6kF-UvKbuisQT28/w300-h400/messages_0%20(1).jpeg" width="300" /></a></div>And looking the other way<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLE-eMu-QU7-WpVhOXNeT_ASK61N64Ucrnntaga7Q3R7ZxfCae_QZLxAQgydMPoaK1eTwQEnM5H64YMm8B5pWunqZK6ymiA-MzSWWNK0yBaHZF-KNaUmzYAbR1p74-4iqp09wTfXLU2dakTlJyvaIdMGct3fWxdBTBKZJRbCRgfAs3aE-Zkcw8q1r/s1023/messages_0%20(2).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="767" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLE-eMu-QU7-WpVhOXNeT_ASK61N64Ucrnntaga7Q3R7ZxfCae_QZLxAQgydMPoaK1eTwQEnM5H64YMm8B5pWunqZK6ymiA-MzSWWNK0yBaHZF-KNaUmzYAbR1p74-4iqp09wTfXLU2dakTlJyvaIdMGct3fWxdBTBKZJRbCRgfAs3aE-Zkcw8q1r/w300-h400/messages_0%20(2).jpeg" width="300" /></a></div>I just thought those leaves were worth taking a picture of. And the pumpkin happened to be there<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com271 8th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217, USA40.6735269 -73.9726769999999912.363293063821153 -109.12892699999999 68.983760736178851 -38.81642699999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4415589203905330363.post-27020206008816480732022-11-24T17:53:00.001-05:002022-11-24T18:12:28.040-05:00The guy who typed this sign must have been high<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnujm0SzyqETae7NWnEtFfpqaYnda9UqwZKot1LS6ESpOkyqcy6YtgcDsfZZ1a13b3mIxDT0mq9WweC-wgke-khaSF0kH4PLEBzaNdviooadp7VACygs_nW7GvK1m0xCxNcFCj-P290ZNOW8LIanueI-ITtl_dq6XzaHLYH32tNcUq2CDa6flqumX6/s600/messages_0%20(1).jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnujm0SzyqETae7NWnEtFfpqaYnda9UqwZKot1LS6ESpOkyqcy6YtgcDsfZZ1a13b3mIxDT0mq9WweC-wgke-khaSF0kH4PLEBzaNdviooadp7VACygs_nW7GvK1m0xCxNcFCj-P290ZNOW8LIanueI-ITtl_dq6XzaHLYH32tNcUq2CDa6flqumX6/s320/messages_0%20(1).jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />No Entry to</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> anyone</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> smelling of </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Marijuana it a </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">family place </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">NY may be legal but</div><div style="text-align: center;"> This is private propety</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Thank you for respecting other people's space</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Last night I saw the new Marvel movie at the Kent Theater on Coney Island Avenue and Avenue H, in Brooklyn. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" height="450" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1669328497936!5m2!1sen!2sus!6m8!1m7!1sIbyJStSzE0ZH8kbgqD4XmA!2m2!1d40.62908250431858!2d-73.96602789903476!3f253.28861306318254!4f-4.604933628450226!5f0.7820865974627469" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdo4eoA5E8pp1Rl6T0iaXiCZgOtaiBYOE_2a0cc6rz_S9fOoW1HMD4c8cUOQEKdJLYCbsk7MhuHLqatYlMvMep09P7fHlwpl8_r_KWTS_mMvwKWnQk616kXRQY3Ub-7yoMkI5_W6qErHvpiI-zNO2REfK9RCRXjSKTToMKCY5AlAV_L8Wt7r7KeiuW/s870/Screenshot%202022-11-24%205.30.25%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="870" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdo4eoA5E8pp1Rl6T0iaXiCZgOtaiBYOE_2a0cc6rz_S9fOoW1HMD4c8cUOQEKdJLYCbsk7MhuHLqatYlMvMep09P7fHlwpl8_r_KWTS_mMvwKWnQk616kXRQY3Ub-7yoMkI5_W6qErHvpiI-zNO2REfK9RCRXjSKTToMKCY5AlAV_L8Wt7r7KeiuW/w400-h296/Screenshot%202022-11-24%205.30.25%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>I got to the theater about an hour early and needed a snack. I went next door and got a turkey bacon and egg on a roll.The restaurant is both halal and kosher. I think that means I was in the Brooklyn of Brooklyn.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVe_91J0oHWMla55vdVD_P7OHMjXmtJpTndrOHYTUcl_8-oPH4XpRBeMPeyeGPS2iV_G1zWjPKx92uxfP9fyeGFiSUDRGBZGDjcImoIeKNxLG4SOBjimaGKrdaTs3XGDrcB2-wkpCZxS0qyQf4a-gwyQFeXMOXg6IuAULGuNmzA954bDTaGGX7reR4/s158/Screenshot%202022-11-24%205.51.37%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="158" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVe_91J0oHWMla55vdVD_P7OHMjXmtJpTndrOHYTUcl_8-oPH4XpRBeMPeyeGPS2iV_G1zWjPKx92uxfP9fyeGFiSUDRGBZGDjcImoIeKNxLG4SOBjimaGKrdaTs3XGDrcB2-wkpCZxS0qyQf4a-gwyQFeXMOXg6IuAULGuNmzA954bDTaGGX7reR4/s1600/Screenshot%202022-11-24%205.51.37%20PM.png" width="158" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>chickenunderwearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13043134998899686830noreply@blogger.com01154 Coney Island Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11230, USA40.629269 -73.96630499999999114.272921915857541 -109.12255499999999 66.985616084142464 -38.810054999999991