TRAIN TOWNS TEST YOUR PATIENCE

Do you live in a train town? You don’t have to wonder if you do. You’ll know it when your car trips are timed with the possibility of being stopped to wait for a train. Consequently, you may end up early for appointments, but at least you won’t be late. For decades, we had only one overpass running North on the West side of town. Finally, they built another running East– miles away– on the South side. The politicians who run the city apparently think the blocked train crossing problem has been solved. But it hasn’t. Because the inner city is surrounded by train crossings. An overpass doesn’t help if you’re trying to get to city hall, the University campus, the hospital, the library, or many of the businesses and homes that are located in the town’s inner core. Train towns test your patience.

CSX, a country wide rail service , has had a terminal here for over 100 years. Sadly, they decided to run their tracks right through the center of our town, and they aren’t about to move them. Fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles are often hampered while waiting for a train. Frequently, if you’re running errands , you will be stopped not once, but twice, and sometimes maybe even three times while getting from point A to B to C.

Outwardly, our city seems like a desirable place to live, work, and raise a family. We have five colleges . One is a top rated engineering school. We’re blessed with numerous parks that are well maintained Housing is inexpensive compared to the rest of the country. Why, then, do people leave? Our population peaked out at 72,000 in 1960 . Now, it’s dwindled down to about 60,000, and it’s still falling. Looks like folks are eager to get out of this train town.

Many of the “natives”(people who’ve never lived anywhere else) are puzzled. With all that our city has to offer, why don’t people want to stay? Let’s say you’ve moved here from a train-free city. All of a sudden, your life has changed. Unless you live very close to downtown, you’re shocked to find that you will have to wait for a train to pass several times a week. Sometimes, you have a lucky streak. Not a single wait for a train all day. . But that’s an anomaly.

I can remember living in Florida, and driving 1500 miles without waiting for a single train until arriving in my hometown. If you’re a long termer, you’ve developed coping mechanisms to deal with the waits. A book or magazine. . Perhaps a few minutes of meditation. And there’s always the cell phone, unless your battery is getting low.

Every once in awhile someone announces that CSX will be fined it they make you wait more than five minutes at any given crossing. But the rules are seldom enforced. Sometimes, a train will come to a dead stop in the center of town at 5 p.m. Traffic backs up for miles. When the track finally clears, everyone rushes home to collapse.. CSX breathes a sigh of relief. They’ve gotten away with another traffic stall, because everyone is too tired to report it.

But here’s the bright side. Train towns test your patience and develop your frustration tolerance . Consequently, we must be one of the country’s most patient cities.

May 21, 2021May 22, 2021

UTILITY MONOPOLIES SQUELCH COMPLAINTS

Most of us never give a thought to our electricity. It’s either on, or off. Power outages leave us at the mercy of providers like Duke Energy. If we’re dissatisfied with some aspect of our service or the fees we pay, there is absolutely nothing we can do. We may complain, shout, threaten. But to them, we’re a tinkling cymbal or sounding brass. They know they have us in a chokehold. We have to have electricity, and they’re the only game in town. Utility monopolies squelch complaints.

ELECTRIC MONOPOLIES SQUELCH COMPLAINTS. They'd rather wait for a tree or pole to cause a power outage than try to prevent it. — Electric utilities squelch complaints about potentially dangerous situations. Rather than asking someone to trim a tree, they’d rather wait for an actual power outage.

We live on the edge of town, surrounded by ancient trees that are often uprooted or drop massive limbs after a storm. In an odd arrangement decided decades ago, the electric company placed poles in every other yard, rather than on each customer’s own property. In this particular case, a neighbor’s tree dropped a huge limb as it lurched forward, hovering over the pole and power lines leading to our house.

We’ve experienced power outages before, and they are not fun if you don’t own a generator, have a gas stove, or other source of energy. The house is dark and cold. You can’t make coffee or heat up a can of soup. If it goes on too long, you try and find a motel where you can spend the night.

Consequently, I called the electric company to alert them to a possible power outage if the neighbor’s leaning tree and pole continue their downward trajectory. In addition, several lines are entangled in the wayward tree limbs, causing the lines to sag under their weight. I asked if someone could come out and evaluate the situation. They rudely replied, “we don’t trim trees and we can’t ask a homeowner to trim his tree.” This translated to a refusal to spend a few minutes checking on a potentially dangerous situation. Yes, I argued and complained, but they didn’t budge. It appeared they would rather wait for the tree or pole to fall , rather than doing anything to prevent a power outage.

In desperation, I resorted to an analogy. I said, “What if I called the police and reported that some deranged person had an unauthorized gun. Should they check it out or fall back on some legal reason not to? Would you agree with their decision to ignore the situation until the gun was actually used to commit a crime?.” The Duke Energy representative had no response. I think the question had her flummoxed.

Electric Utilities squelch complaints in some states. But other states are trying to change taat. — Electric utilities squelch complaints in Indiana. But some states are eliminating electric company monopolies.

When I called the city engineer and contacted the mayor’s officer, I hit a brick wall. After I repeated the above analogy, I heard the same mantra:: ‘the electric company is a private entity, over which the city has no control.” Therefore, what I’m hearing is that no one controls the electric utility company service in our city. They can do what they please, and get away with it.

As a result, we must live in suspense, watching and waiting to see if the tree and utility pole’s forward movement continues, which would destroy our fence and cut off our power. It may not happen. But if it does, it will be a costly accident that could have been prevented. Utility monopolies squelch citizens complaints and should be abolished.

April 9, 2021April 9, 2021

FIE ON FAST TALKERS

When I was a child growing up in the post depression years, people were leery of “fast talkers.” They often showed up at your front door, selling anything from brushes to vacuum cleaners. They had an air of desperation about them. Nevertheless, our sympathy was overshadowed by caution. Fast talkers weren’t to be trusted. But now, the media seems to be inundated with them. Fie on fast talkers.

If you have a problem with a product you bought online, you’re likely to contact the customer service department. For heaven’s sakes, don’t forget to put on your hearing aids. Most representatives have foreign accents, and speak so rapidly that you constantly have to ask them to repeat themselves. . They become impatient, and may hang up on you. On the rare occasions when I find myself speaking to a customer service representative whom I can understand , their company is the one that I prefer to do business with in the future.

I suspect that making your living on the telephone doesn’t pay very well. And it’s not very satisfying to listen to customer complaints and nasty people all day long. So the person you’re talking to has probably taken the job as a last resort. If you must contact a representative online, using the chat option is often better than a telephone call. At least they have to spell out their answers, and understand what you’re saying.

But there are fast talkers everywhere. In our city, we have a TV station that employs attractive young news reporters who babble off a teleprompter at breakneck speed. They may think that makes them seem more intelligent, but actually, they come off as nervous and jumpy. Needless to say, we don’t watch that station unless the other has a ball game. In this troubled world, you want to hear the news from someone who is relatively calm, cool, and collected.

Here’s some advice for fast talkers that I found on the internet:

Open your mouth a little bit wider
Finish the words. Don’t leave off endings.
Don’t leave out the syllables. Instead ot “diffrent” , pronounce it dif- er-ent. Instead of “evry” say ev-er-y
Lengthen the words. For example “Smile” can be lengthened by holding the I a bit longer.
Pause after every sentence or new thought. Give the listener a chance to assimilate what they’ve heard.

Fie on fast talkers. They’re annoying and frustrating. If you want someone to understand what you say, slow down.

March 26, 2021March 26, 2021

DG MARKET RESCUED THE FOOD DESERT

Our city has one of the highest poverty rates in the state of Indiana. A disproportionate number of low income people live in the inner city, in old, deteriorating houses and apartments. At one time, there was an A&P within walking distance, but that disappeared long ago. It was never replaced. Nowhere to shop but the Dollar Store. Which meant that you often saw people buying unhealthy foods. Bacon, sugary snacks, processed meat . Because nothing fresh was available. But this week , DG Market rescued the food desert.

dg MARKET has rescued the inner city food desert with fresh produce. — DG Market rescued the food desert in our inner city last week.

Imagine my surprise yesterday, when I stopped for my usual supply of bargains like mouthwash and vitamins. It’s on the way home from the YMCA and the library, so I often pull in there, even though it used to be one of the dingiest Dollar Stores in town: piles of jumbled up merchandise. aisles of packaged food full of salt, carbohydrates, and fat. (Potato chips, lunch meat, cupcakes, etc.)

A lot of their clientele suffer from diabetes and obesity, due to poor diets. Many folks don’t drive. Can’t afford a car, and all that it entails—insurance, license plates, etc. Breaks your heart to see them trudging along in inclement weather with heavy bags. But yesterday, a bright light appeared. A great big yellow sign that read, DG Market. I really didn’t need anything, but when I saw a grand opening sign, I had to stop.

First thing I noticed was the neatly stocked shelves. No tables and racks piled with merchandise. Plenty of room. A fresh smell. And then, as I approached the new self-serve checkout, my heart soared. Just inside the door, bananas! Baskets of apples, oranges, fresh vegetables and fruits. And then, believe it or not, a whole refrigerated section with fresh, unprocessed meats.

As a dietitian, I felt like jumping for joy. At last, disadvantaged kids can have an orange for breakfast, a fresh salad for dinner. And a pork chop or chicken leg that isn’t full of sodium and preservatives. Patients with high blood pressure can buy low sodium meat and fresh fruits to provide the potassium they need to keep their fluids under control. Kudus to Dollar General for rescuing our city’s food desert.

October 12, 2020October 12, 2020

CITY CODE ENFORCEMENT LACKS TEETH

Most responsible homeowners take pride in mowing their lawns and maintaining their property, but some don’t. That’s why cities have regulations about lawn mowing. Currently, any grass over 12 inches high is in violation of city code. At that point, they may receive a complaint in their mailbox. If the notice is ignored, the city mows the offenders lawn and charges them $60. Which happens to be less than what it would cost to have it mowed by a lawn service. 2^nd, 3d and 4^th offenses are charged at the same flat fee of $60. Our city code enforcement lacks teeth.

hOMEOWNERS should be fined if they refuse to mow their lawn. — if a person isn’t fined for 2nd & 3d offenses, City Code Enforcement Lacks Teeth.

What happens to a nice neighborhood when one homeowner lets his yard get overgrown with knee high grass and mountains of weeds? Property values decrease, and everyone feels frustrated.

In our subdivision, there is a homeowner who thumbs his nose at society by refusing to mow his lawn more than once or twice a year. Is he poor or disabled? No, he’s an executive at a good company, who has the luxury of working from home. He’s healthy enough to play golf. Also, he owns an upscale lawn mower in good working condition.

This situation has gone on for several years. When I asked the woman at code enforcement why there hasn’t been some kind of fine for 2^nd 3d and 4^th offenses, she responded that the city has over 700 un mowed lawns, and ‘you can’t make someone mow their lawn.” Wow, if you’re going to apply that logic, you could say, “you can’t make a person stop running red lights.” No, you can’t, but you can bet your sweet bippy it’s going to cost you more each additional time you run a red light.

Last spring, the Okemah. Oklahoma city council decided to crack down on offenders by hitting them in the pocket book. . By a unanimous vote, they set a fee schedule for certain violations of the city code. Under the resolution, failure to keep your lawn mowed could result in a $100 fine for the first offense, $150 for the second and $200 for the third offense. A warning will be issued before any fines are assessed.

The city of Ferndale, Michigan issued the following statement regarding code enforcement: ” The lawn grass cannot be longer than 7″. As a courtesy, we will send a notice once per season to the homeowner letting them know they have 7 days to cut their grass. If the grass does not get cut, the City’s contractor mows it for them. This service will cost the property owner $275.00. Given the alternatives, the property owner normally realizes that it is much less expensive to maintain their lawn themselves or hire someone than having the City do it.”

You have to wonder why our city council is so lax about code enforcement. What are they afraid of? A person who won’t mow his lawn probably isn’t going to vote in the next election. But his neighbors will.

July 31, 2020July 31, 2020

HAVE ROAD RAGE DEATHS INCREASED?

A man was shot to death in my Indiana city yesterday. It happened in a Kroger parking lot at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Reportedly, it was a case of road rage. Strange as it may seem, another road rage fatality took place at approximately the same time in Laurel County, Ky. Our town is relatively peaceful. Most serious crimes are drug related. This is the first crime of its kind that I can remember happening here. Have road rage deaths increased during the pandemic?

The stress of covid-19 may trigger more homicides due to Road Rage — Have Road Rage deaths increased? Two similar shootings occurred Tuesday afternoon in neighboring states.

Statistics on covid-19 cases and deaths are updated every day. It would be interesting to publish a separate set of stats on crimes caused by the stress of the entire pandemic. According to National Public Radio, robberies have declined overall during the pandemic, but shootings and killings are up.

The BBC reports domestic abuse has increased by 20% worldwide. Child abuse cases have increased at about the same rate. According to the National Sexual Assault Hotline, there has been a 22% increase in monthly calls from people younger than 18. In the majority of these cases, the perpetrator was a family member, and the abuse was escalating in frequency and severity.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll, showed more than half of Americans — 56% –reported that worry or stress related to the outbreak has led to at least one negative mental health effect. Those include trouble with eating or sleeping, drinking alcohol more, frequent headaches or stomachaches, shorter tempers, and other health problems. Among frontline health care workers and their families, 64% reported worsened mental health, as did 65% of those who had lost income.

Consequently, at some point in time, we’ll have to decide which is worse? The disease itself, or increased violent crime, poverty, nervous breakdowns, drug overdoses, and all of the other miseries of a prolonged quarantine.

We’re in the midst of a national mental health crisis. Will the the stress of the covid-19 pandemic lead to more cases of road rage? I have to believe that it will.

July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

LIFE NEAR AMERICA’S DEATH ROW

Next week, three federal death row inmates will be executed in my city. There haven’t been any executions since 2003, so this is apt to bring a lot of reporters and protesters here. Because of covid-19, we’d just as soon they wouldn’t invade our town. It’s come as kind of a shock. Most of us weren’t aware that these notorious criminals had been living nearby for so many years. Do you wonder about life near America’s death row? What is it like to live so close to America’s only federal execution facility?

First and foremost, the United States Federal Prison Complex has been seen as a great source of stable employment in a town that’s weathered many economic ups and downs. It opened here in 1940, when we were just coming out of the great depression. They had an open house, and our family went through the facility. The father of one of my grade school playmates came here as a guard. They were Irish, with a family of eight children, and came from New York City. One of the sons later became a Hollywood screenwriter. The prison employs about 700 people from every educational background. If you’ve lived here a long time, you probably knew at least one or two people who worked at the prison.

Working for the feds has a lot of perks, including great benefits and pensions. They also have a beautiful venue that employees may use for special occasions. Over the years, I’ve probably been to parties at the prison at least ten times. Weddings. Graduations. Baby Showers. Birthday parties. And yet, as far as I know, I never saw an inmate.

I once knew a dietitian who worked there as a part time consultant. Her pay was outstanding. I think she made about triple the going rate for dietitians in the area. But after awhile, she had to quit. She never discussed her work days or any of her patients(prisoners). Obviously, privacy laws were in place. All she said was this: ” I got so I couldn’t stand those gates closing behind me, one after another, as I went into work. It was giving me nightmares. “

The three men who will die next week in the United States Penitentiary by lethal injection are all white:

Wesley Ira Purkey, who raped and murdered a 16 year old girl in Kansas and killed an 80 year old woman.

Dustin Lee Honken of Iowa, who killed five people, including 2 children.

Danny Lee of Arkansas, convicted of killing a family of three.

Scheduled to be executed in August:

Keith Dywane Nelson, who kidnapped a 10 year old girl in front her Kansas home, raped and strangled her in a forest.

Life around America's Death Row. living near the boston bomber and Charleston church killer — Life Around America’s Death Row: Left: Dzhokhar Tsarenaev; Right, Dylann Roof

Other death row prisoners at this men’s prison include: Dzhokbar Tasaraev, convicted for his part in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Dylann Roof, who shot and killed nine parishioners at a church in Charleston, SC. In 2015. They’ve been there for several years, now. You wonder what they talk about.

60% of Americans are in favor of the death penalty. Others, like the Sisters of Providence oppose it, and will stage a protest. I guess I’d be against something like a beheading, hanging, or crucifixion. But lethal injection sounds tolerable. And if someone in my family were one of their victims, I think it would seem right and just.