January 2023 - Page 5 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

waiting

This happened Tuesday, December 13, 2022, a day-in-the-life story. It was more like four hours.

I was taking the bus to the Washington Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library to attend a book review. It was about five minutes late; no biggie.

The bus stopped to pick up a guy in a motorized vehicle, a very fancy wheelchair. As usual, the driver put up some seats to accommodate the rider, then let down the ramp. But the fellow couldn’t get to the ramp because of the snow.

The driver let up the ramp, closed the door, and started ranting. “You’ve got to be kidding me! The STAR [specialty] buses should pick up these folks!” Then they pulled the bus up about two meters, let down the ramp, and the passenger boarded.

I believe the driver was stressed because they fell further behind schedule, not out of animosity towards those with disabilities.

Getting to the talk as it was starting, one of the hosts made the joke, “Now we can begin because Roger Green is here.” He’s made the joke once earlier.

I bought not just the author’s new book about the 1936 Presidental election but also a book written by an audience member about a much more recent Presidency.

Bus back

I took the bus back. The guy with the snazzy wheels was already on the bus and got off at the same stop without difficulty.

I stopped at the CVS to pick up prescriptions for my daughter. CVS and other pharmacies are closed between 1:30 and 2 pm. So I was fifth in line, with more folks behind me, when the counter opened. But the clerk, who was also a pharmacist, was quite efficient, answering a couple of my questions, and it did not take long. I also picked up a UPS package at the front.

The sidewalk of the Madison Theater was a sheet of ice five days after the snowfall. The sidewalks on the rest of the block were totally clear. They need to be better neighbors.

Then I went to the Price Chopper/Market 32. Ostensibly, I went there for blueberries, grapes, and butter. But, as is often the case, I bought more items so that my bag from home was inadequate.

I was second in line at the register. In front of me was a couple, approximately my age, buying only a few items. I was not paying attention to them until the man berated the woman. ‘Where are the cards? I just gave them to you since we were in line!”

I half-heard a series of exchanges between the man and the cashier. They involved needing to void purchases. One was that he couldn’t buy razor blades with food stamps.

There is a calculation about when to pick up the items you’ve already put on the conveyor belt, put them back in the shopping cart, and look for another checkout aisle. I decided to stay. Surely this will be concluded soon. Still, I told two other people to go to another aisle behind other people, and both finished long before I started.

Fisticuffs?

FINALLY, the young cashier, who didn’t appear old enough to shave, said to me, “I’m sorry. I’ll be right with you.” My reply: “You’re fine. I’m not blaming you.”

The man in front of me in the aisle scowled, “Are you blaming me? You can’t blame ME! I should go and kick your ass!” Fortunately, there was a shopping cart between us. For some reason, I calmly replied, “As you wish, sir.” He huffed out of the store.

The young cashier said, of the previous customer’s transactions, “That was very stressful!” I told him that he handled the situation very well. Then I finally carried my groceries home.

Movie review: Devotion (2022)

high flyers

The newish film Devotion, which my wife and I saw at the Spectrum 8 Theatre in Albany in early December, is based on a true story that was the subject of a bestselling book.

Elite US Navy fighter pilots were being trained in the early 1950s. One was a black man, Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors), training close enough in Rhode Island to occasionally visit his wife Daisy (Christina Jackson) and their cute daughter. Things during training seemed surprisingly uncomplicated. But Brown feels inner turmoil, understandable when one is The First/The Only.

One of the other pilots is starting to forge a friendship with Brown, Lieutenant Tom Hudner (Glenn Powell). The plot gets more interesting when some men are on shore leave in France. Much of it involved a Famous Movie Star and other US military folks who are less comfortable with a black wingman.

Ultimately, the airmen are deployed to the Korean conflict. The airmen, especially Brown, are very good at what they do. Ultimately, stuff happens, and if you’ve read the book or most reviews, you have an idea what.

Most reviews are correct, with 81% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. One critic wrote, “It’s committed to the hallmarks of the genre, for better and for worse.” This is spot on.

It’s a good film, and I’m glad I saw it. It’s not extraordinary except for the very detailed use of the aircraft, some of which were borrowed from aeronautic museums. The look and the flying felt real.

Too much Devotion

Incidentally, I disliked the generic title devotion, which had been used as the titles of films in 1931, 1945, 1995, 2005, and 2013. The book title was Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos. Maybe Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice would have been less boring.

The 2022 Devotion was not a theatrical blockbuster, with less than $20 million in ticket sales, which is unfortunate.

Are you registered to vote?

privacy

I’ve appreciated all of the websites that help people ascertain whether they are registered to vote at their current address. For instance, Vote.org requests that you provide your name, address, date of birth, and email address to show your record.

They note that “By entering your phone number and pressing ‘Check your registration,’ you consent to receive occasional text messages from Vote.org at 22821 via an automatic telephone dialing system.” However, the cellphone number is NOT required.

There are a bunch of other ones nationally. In addition, most, if not all, states provide such a service. When I use the New York State Board of Elections site, it informs me where I vote. It also provides me with my local Election District, County Legislative District, State Senate District, State Assembly District, US Congressional District, City or Town, and city ward.

So far, so good

However, I was disturbed by the page VoterRecords.com. It’s because ANYONE can get a voter’s info. The information for one of my sisters and her daughter lists their street address, their party affiliation, and their race and gender.

Moreover, I can find all of the Democrats in Raleigh, NC. There are “553,611 current and historical voter registration records in Idaho who are in the Republican Party.” And “20,494 current and historical voter registration records in Utah who are in the Libertarian Party.”

I found this really obtrusive. The site has information for the District of Columbia, and 18 states: AK, AR, CO, CT, FL, ID, LA, MI, MS, NV, NJ, NC, OH, OK, RI, UT, and WA. Thank goodness New York is not on the list.

I know political campaigns can get current lists of registered voters in their geographies to get people to sign their nominating petitions. But this is information that anyone can get. I wonder how they got the data. From the respective states?

How far back in your family tree can you go?

three to seven generations

I had thought of participating in the Bloganuary thing, but don’t have time. There’s a prompt every day. The one for today is: How far back in your family tree can you go? This intrigued me.

Of course, that depends on the line. I can go back three generations from my maternal grandmother, Gertrude Yates, but only one generation from my maternal grandfather, Clarence Williams.

I remember my father’s mother’s father, Samuel Walker, who held me as a baby and died when I was seven, but I can’t go back any further. His wife, Mary Eugenia Patterson – often mistakenly listed as Eugene, died long before I was born. I can track THREE of her earlier generations, mostly the work of others.

But the mysterious Raymond Cone, my biological paternal grandfather whose name I’ve only known since 2019, has some tantalizing lineage. I can go back four generations from him. Maybe. The narrative is a bit murky.

Sunday Stealing: If…

xenophobia

The current iteration of Sunday Stealing is If…

1. If you could change the ending to one movie you have seen, which one would it be, and how would you reshoot it?

At the end of Titanic, Rose is brought back to the site three-quarters of a century after the disaster. She drops the Heart of the Ocean necklace into the ocean. I think this was supposed to be romantic. It feels like the last three-quarters of a century in her life, with children and grandchildren, was meaningless.

But it’s better than an alternative ending which was filmed but not used. “Lizzy (Rose’s granddaughter) spots her grandmother climb up on the railings. She rushes forward with Brock [the expedition leader]… Rose tells them not to get any closer. She holds up the Heart of the Ocean and threatens to drop it.

“’You had that the whole time?’ Brock asks incredulously. Rose explains she did think about selling the diamond but couldn’t do it, given it made her think of Cal. Rose’s true purpose on this trip was to ‘put it [the Heart of the Ocean] back where it belongs.’

“Brock pleads with Rose to let him hold the diamond just once, but Rose tells Brock that he ‘looks for treasure in the wrong places,’ telling him that life is priceless and they should make each day count.

“Rose tosses the diamond overboard while Brock’s team shows up and watches on incredulously. The same scene of the gem hitting the water is used before we cut back to Brock and Rose. The former laughs at his team before asking Lizzy to dance.”

Vegetables

2. If you were to select a food that best describes your character, what food would it be?

Spinach. Green, crunchy, underappreciated.

3. If you could cure any disease, which would it be?

Cancer seems to manifest as several different diseases. My father died of prostate cancer, but I know several people who have died of other cancers. My dear choir friend Marion Motisher died, and I was a pallbearer on my 39th birthday.

4. If you had to describe the single worst thing a friend could do to you, what would it be?

I have a current example of someone I considered a dear friend. They accidentally butt-dialed me some months ago but promised to call me soon—radio silence.

5. If you could be a contestant on any game show, which would you like to be on?

The $100,000 Pyramid, no doubt. I tried out for it in the 1970s when I was living in NYC, when it was the $10,000 Pyramid, but I never got past the first round. I enjoy watching it when it returns each summer.

Funereal

6. If you could choose the music at your own funeral, what would it be, and who would play it?

I’ve actually thought about this a lot. I would like a pianist I know to play Chopin’s “Raindrop Prelude” Op.28 No.15. Of course, my church choir would sing. I have a few possibilities. I Will Not Leave You Comfortless by Titcomb, which the choir just sang at the funeral of a choir spouse. Or How lovely is thy dwelling place from the Brahms German Requiem (in English), which I sang with others at my former church for Jim Kalas; there are probably other choices. I want hymns that have harmony vocals; no unison stuff. And I want an Amen; we don’t sing amens – maybe a Sevenfold one.

7. If you had to spend all of your vacations in the same place for the rest of your life, where would you go?

Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I was there in 1991 and 1992 but not since.

8. If you could ask God a single question, what would it be?

This is a serious answer because all the Big Questions about the afterlife would be self-evident. When I was about twelve, I walked down the street in Binghamton, NY. Suddenly, a lens on the glasses I was wearing cracked. What happened? I heard nothing. It couldn’t have been a BB gun, I don’t think. Was it a tiny meteorite? In any case, my eye was fine, but I was greatly startled.

Almost picked ice cream

9. If you could eat one food in any quantity for the rest of your life with no ill effects whatsoever, what food would you choose?

Pie because it is the perfect food. You can have savory like a chicken pot pie. You can have a variety of fruit pies, and I would eat them in rotation. Then there’s pizza.

10. If you could have a year anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?

New Zealand. It’s about as far away from me as you can get. It’s a reasonably safe place. They speak English there. And I could meet Arthur.

11. If you could forever eliminate one specific type of prejudice from the earth, which would it be?

May I pick xenophobia? No? Okay, I’m going with sexism because the current manifestation of it, in big ways (Iran) and small, diminish men as well as women.

12. If you could own one painting from any collection in the world but were not allowed to sell it, which work of art would you select?

The Scream by Edvard Munch. I relate to it sometimes.

13. If you could ask a single question of a dead relative, what would it be, and whom would you ask?

That would be Pop, my father’s dad. Someone told me something about him I had never heard before, and I wanted to verify it.

DVD on DVD

14. If you had to choose the best television show ever made, which one would you pick?

I will pick The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966). It’s one of three programs that ran longer than a season for which I have the complete DVD set. Not incidentally, I just discovered that you could see the episodes at https://www.youtube.com/@FilmRiseTelevision/playlists FilmRise Television.

15. If you could write letters to only one person for the rest of your life, who would receive them?

I’m a terrible letter writer. And I used to be quite good before the advent of email. I’ll say my friend Mark because he writes lovely and loquacious prose.