For several years, when I worked at NBC and FOX News Channel, I would do this same commute. However, like many other things in life, memories often become softened over time. I remember this trip favorably, and sometimes even find myself yearning for it.
For the greater part of the last hour, however, I have had the displeasure of sitting next to a couple who have: made out (several times,) talked baby to each other and uttered sentences, such as “This train not so fast.”
Perhaps these folks are an exception, or perhaps I am getting cranky in my old(er) age, but suddenly sitting in the occasional traffic on the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways doesn’t seem so bad.
But this trip is still worth it despite the saliva and my plummeting IQ — as I will soon be in the company of an old, dear friend and then celebrate the evening away at a festival of lights.
Good times.
UPDATE: Perhaps the couple saw me writing this as I got a “Sorry we bothered you so much,” as the female-half departed. Either way, rock on!
A popular retailer has come under siege for essentially developing a logical and intelligent sales strategy.
Forever 21, the must-visit store for many teens and early 20-something girls, is being criticized for launching a line of maternity clothes called love21maternity in states with the highest pregnancy rates among young people. To that I say, bravo!
The clothing line, according to Syracuse.com, one of the many media outlets reporting the story, is said to be as “sophisticated, on-trend styles for moms-to-be at affordable prices.” What’s wrong with that? Should pregnant young people dress is rags and dirty linens? Give me a break. Why don’t we just sew a scarlet letter to pregnant girls’ tops?
The line was launched at the end of last month in Arizona, Alaska, California, Utah and Texas, according to Syracuse.com.
The Gloss, a fashion website, reported that Arizona, California and Texas are among the states with the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the United States. OK, so? Should Forever 21 market maternity clothes in states where there is not a lot of pregnancy? What kind of sense would that make?
People, we live in a capitalistic society. Stores need to make money — particularly as the economy struggles escape one of the worst recessions in this nation’s history.
An ABC affiliate, according to The Stir, quoted teen girls as saying they believe the clothes will inspire some of their friends to have sex and deliver a child. Hmmm… perhaps if girls are saying trendy maternity clothes would provoke a surge in teen pregnancy, there is something more wrong with the girls than the store? Perhaps better parenting is needed. Or perhaps the girls really just wanted to say something sensationalistic to get quoted on TV.
Regardless, just because a store markets a clothing line does not mean people will run out to purchase the products. No store would ever go bankrupt if that were the case.
I commend Forever 21, a store I have never shopped in or have any affiliation with, for making a smart business decision — and denounce the critics for being stupid and insinuating are stupid. Just because something is pretty does not mean one will get pregnant to wear it. Retailers ought to go where the money is within reason — and what Forever 21 did certainly falls within that purview.
So I finally did it, after driving for a decade I finally locked my keys — which were a shopping bag — in my trunk.
Twenty minutes ago, I closed my trunk, and with it any chance of leaving the Westfield Shoppingtown Trumbull mall in a timely fashion.
After placing a call to mall security, through a special phone just after 3 p.m., I began the wait.
Despite the presence of two Trumbull police cars just feet away, I remained locked out of the car and in the cold for nearly an hour.
A mall security officer informed me he “would be right back.” Twelve minutes later, he drove by and informed me through his car window be had another call. I should have learned from “Scream,” that when someone says they’ll be right back, they never are.
At 3:30 p.m., 30 minutes after realizing I had a problem, the security guard pulled behind my car and asked if I belonged to a motorclub. I told him I had AAA and he suggested I call them.
Apparently, all units were searching for some dude, he said.
I informed him of my association with the Connecticut Post, and asked if there was a story to be told. The middle-age gentlemen said no, but informed me that he was considering a change to journalism. I encouraged he considered freelancing.
I then called my neighbor and asked him to bring me my spare key. He said he would.
About fifteen minutes later, he arrived — and within 10 minutes, I was home ending my quasi-harrowing ordeal.
The “heartbeat” of New Haven’s Union Station will soon stop — and with it yet another fiber of the state’s colorful history will be stripped away unnecessarily and ignorantly.
The state Department of Transportation will remove the Solari board (seen in action above) from the train station within the next year and replace it with LED screens, according to the New Haven Independent.
This is just ridiculous. It’s always easier to replace something than to preserve it. And once again, the state is opting to take the easy way out.
The reason for removing the historic and rare board? Kevin Nursick, a DOT spokesman, told the Independent that it is difficult to find parts and expertise to fix that style board anymore. Hmmm. Well, Mr. Nursick, what are the other cities with the boards doing? You know, like Philadelphia? They are finding a way to preserve their past.
And further, Mr. Nursick, I suggest that you LOOK HARDER — or maybe talk with Philadelphia officials. I hear they’re friendly in the city of brotherly love. Make an investment of time. Do it for your kids. Do it for your kids’ kids.
In the long-run I would think the state will get a bigger bang for its buck if it invests in performing regular maintenance on the sign than on purchasing LED screens. After all, LED screens don’t last long — certainly not as long as the Solari board did. Think about all the technology the Solari board has outlasted.
If you are Connecticut citizen, I implore you to take a stand. If you care about our state, and what made it so great — or even if you think your children or grandchildren might give a damn — I suggest voicing your opposition to this plan. Don’t forget, Mr. Nursick works for you — not the other way around.
While I am certainly a proponent of adapting to new technology, I strongly believe the state also has a responsibility to preserve our history. Considering that the board is the last one on the entire New Haven Line says something right there.
And beyond the historical reasons, it is easier to see such a board than a LED monitor. Have you ever tried reading such a monitor from the side or from an angle? It’s not easy. And the noise that the sign creates with each update is sure to capture your attention, something a stagnant, and eye-straining LED sign won’t accomplish.
Much too often the state’s most prized and beloved relics meet the wrecking ball unnecessarily and prematurely and thus stripping future generations of the opportunity to see what made our past tick — or, in this case, clicker-clack.
New Haven Urban Design League President Anstress Farwell described the Solari sign’s sound as the heartbeat of the grand waiting room in an e-mail to the Independent, and I agree.
We mustn’t let it flat line. Because once we do, it will be too late to come to our senses.
A Facebook group and a petition have already been established in hopes of saving this historic item — and I hope you will consider checking them out.
If someone wanted to hijack a commercial airliner, the Federal Aviation Administration would be on top of it, right?
Apparently not.
In the closest real test of the system since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the FAA dropped the ball. Like woah. Seriously.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the FAA took more than 40 minutes to alert the military after losing communications with that Northwest Airlines flight last week. The Journal reported that officials are supposed to notified within 10 minutes of an incident.
Appropriately, the delay has ruffled more than a few feathers at the Pentagon, White House and FAA. However, more needs to be done.
According to the newspaper:
In the event of a hijacking, the military would order fighters into the air to intercept an aircraft and possibly shoot it down.
That, of course, could not happen if the military didn’t know about the hijacking.
It’s clear so many levels of the system broke down. But that can’t be overlooked. Remember, the system broke down on 9/11. We can’t afford for another 3,000 people to be murdered to realize that the system needs to be fixed — NOW.
According to the Journal, the delay was blamed on the local controllers’ focus on trying to re-establish contact with the airliner. Instead, they should have been contacting their supervisors. Ooops.
It’s good an investigation has been launched, but before it is over, the traffic controllers need to be terminated. There is no excuse for this mistake that could have cost thousands of American lives. This is not an issue America can take lightly.
