Carventure for the Knees: First of Three

Let me tell you about my carventure today.
It was great fun, as it always is, when I set out on my own, in my trusty rusty automobile.

First, I had to remove the blankets draped over the window that won't close. We had hella storms over the weekend and winds and tornado warnings and all the good stuff as kitten-cub March roared it's way out as a full grown bull-mad lion. So I had protected the car and contents as best I could. All that had to be undone before I could go anywhere. Blankets on the windows tend to limit the driver's ability to see out, and that's not really good in gray-day situations. (Although it wasn't actually raining by then.)

Next I needed gas. Well, my knees have been bad all week, and, it was, in fact, for my knees that I was going out, so I went to the gas station here in town -- hometown tradition; Wichard's -- where they will pump the gas without having to be informed of a disabled person's presence. We're just like normal people to them!
There appeared to be no other customers waiting, there were no autos in the service bay, and not even the stand-around chit-chatters (generally known in the service industry as the Liars Club. Every business has them.)
I didn't think the 'service person' was ever coming out.I was wondering if I was going to have to go somewhere else and DIY it. But, having worked as customer service, I know that the slow times are when you have to go do the extras in the back room (or equivalent,) and so I waited.

Finally.  
Got my gas.
And a light came on on the dash, one that I never even knew existed. One word, SECURITY in red (not orange) lights. Car was running; no knocks, pings, or heartbeat thumps. Brakes were holding well. Temperature gauge was reading normal, so I proceeded with my drive down to Five Mile Road.
Everything worked as it should all the way there. I did the safety stuff -- long stop times, staying back, not getting too close, keeping in the outside lane.
At one point my cruise control turned itself on. That was interesting, as I was approaching a stoplight in an interstate ramp area.
Got there with no further excitement, parked, went in, got a goopy and painful shot in both knees, and headed back out.
The security light did not come back on when the car restarted.
Going home, yay!
As I turned off the road onto the highway to home, that darned old low oil light came on and stayed on.
Same engine check; no pings, clatters, or thumps, no getting hot, no unexplained or unusual noises. So I continue on, thinking I'll stop somewhere for a nosh, and while there I'll see if the reboot -- I mean restart -- thing will work it's magic once again. So at an approximate halfway spot I did just that. Went to a drive-thru, had to turn the key off to be heard on the speaker (my car, like myself has some type of bronchitis and chronically breathes very loudly)
And guess what!
It did indeed work again, and I made it home with my lunch and to my ice packs and my bed.!
Whew!
What a journey to start my week.

Starling Road on a rainy night

I wish I could have taken pictures on my drive home. The shiny road through the dark trees, the huge sky with rolling clouds and intermittent sparks and splashes of lightning; orange and blue and white. I pulled off a couple times to try to get a video but of course the lightning stopped when I did, or just wasn't as impressive. My motion going toward it somehow added to the visual drama. It was beautiful and otherly.
At one point on the road, I slowed way down. It appeared that I was approaching something like a large pillar, just a wide dark shape, going up and up. I wondered at first if it was the water tower, although I was pretty sure I hadn't come that far yet, and also I thought the tower was farther off the road, and NOT on a sharp curve. Also, didn't it have multiple legs, not just one column?
I passed a house with porch lights, and there was a street/yard light farther on. The top of the column seemed to spread.
So maybe it was a tree?
There are some massive trees along that road, but again none that I thought were that huge and that close to the road.
The streetlight shone down from above the top.
The top of the hill.
The pedestal was the wet road rising up a hill, through normal sized third or fourth growth trees. The spread at the top was rising above these trees to open fields, and the plowed and tumbled sky with its flickering and inconsistent lights.

Is "Snow Emergency" Legally Valid?

We're in the grip of our first snow emergency of the 2013-2014 winter. Winter Storm Cleon. With Dion already following closely.

Now, this isn't about what makes a snow emergency in any specific place. Minnesota and North Dakota would probably laugh at what Cincinnati calls an emergency.Maybe even at what they would call a significant snowfall.

But, the fact is, Cincinnati communities are calling snow emergencies of various levels.

Big whooping deal. It means, for the most part, that communities can write tickets and write off damage to cars parked on the streets.

They say not to go out unless absolutely necessary.
But who decides what is necessary?

I can tell you who does NOT decide.
Service industry workers. They have to go to work or lose their jobs.
The owners of various businesses don't care much if the police say don't go out.
The police don't care much, either. If you are driving slowly and carefully, they aren't likely to chase you down and possibly cause an accident, as well as keeping you both out when you could be getting in somewhere.
But the gas stations HAVE to stay open.
McDonald's MUST stay open.
Facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes, by their very nature, need to stay open. But must they insist on workers coming in in a "snow emergency"?
(I don't know what they could do instead. They should work up snow emergency protocols. Reduced staff, maybe sleep-breaks for people who will remain instead of go out I believe some hospitals do do that.)

Not only do these businesses insist on insisting, they punish those who don't risk life and limb to serve coffee to idiots. (Road personnel excepted from this category.) They write them up(disciplinary action); they brand them as unreliable; they reduce their hours; they even fire them.
They do not pay the fines for tickets received.
They do not pay for damages caused by an accident when their employees should never have been on the road in the first place.
They do not compensate for extra gas burned in longer, slower drives.
They don't pay hospital bills for slip and slide crashes.
They do NOT pay for funerals.

It's not just the service industry. There are factories with this same mindset. Never mind that their product is nonessential -- they have quotas that must be met, come hell or high water. (Hell or high snowdrifts?) The work must be done.

No mere employee can protest any of these disciplinary actions by pleading a snow emergency. The designation has no standing in labor law.

So, a "Snow Emergency" is a money maker for the municipality.
A "Snow Emergency" is an out for insurance companies, who will not pay (easily) for an accident caused when the driver wasn't supposed to be driving.
A "Snow Emergency" is no reason to not go out; thus says American Industry.

So, I ask you, why bother.
Why bother?

Officially silly Road Signs.

Governing organizations are always looking for ways to cut costs. One way for the Departments of Transportation (DOT), whether state, county, township, or town, might be to take a look at some of the silly and unnecessary road signs they
1) have manufactured
2)have installed  (temporarily or permanently) and
3)pay maintenance for.

The first such sign that comes to mind is one that proclaims "Limited sight distance."
Huh?
Bet that sign is a real treat for ESL drivers. Or the illiterate. We draw pictures of stopsigns and deer and curvy tire marks in the rain, and post "limited sight distance" for the non English readers.
That sign is a poser for intelligent English speakers.

But, never fear -- if you're still driving, you've probably figured it out.
It means that you can't see very far.
Since my eyes are connected to my brain -- a rudimentary necessity for driving, one would think -- I can SEE that I can't see very far. You don't have to tell me that.

Then there are the ever-popular "No Edge Lines".

Duh!
You think I need a sign to tell me that the white line isn't there anymore? I had to pass a vision test to get my license, ya know. Most drivers do. And a white line on a black road is usually obvious, so when it isn't there -- most people notice it. No signage needed.

I saw a new one last night. "Pass With Care." Okay, that's fine, but what I want to know is -- where are the roads where it's acceptable to pass without care?

I'm not sure if I want to know so I can avoid those areas or so I can drive them. I suppose it will depend on how suicidal I'm feeling when I leave my driveway. Or maybe after I've been driving roads where I can't see very far, and the white lines at the side are wearing cloaks of invisibility.

I might want to Pass Without Care after that ordeal.

Dream it; Do it; Or Quitcher Whining.

My husband is watching yet another reality show about gold mining or fishing or deep sea ice diving (or ice driving) or whatever excuse this bunch of "men" are using as an excuse to not have to live a real life, like the rest of us have to do.

I don't know why he watches these shows. I don't know why anyone watches many of these shows. I think there's supposed to be a "Man against Nature" challenge, and we're all dreaming of ourselves as winning against the impersonal, implacable elements.

But what you hear during these programs is a lot of whining. "Oh we need 35 per yard and we're only getting six. It's all the machine's fault." "Oh no, if we don't find something, I'm going to go to jail for child support. The boss better find us a better place to work; it's his fault this isn't working." And the self sacrificing Valiant "I do this for my kids. So they'll have something. That's why I'm 2000 miles away and unavailable by telephone."

1) Take care of the machine, and don't over work it. It's a machine, dumbass.
2) If you're worried about paying support, get a real job with a regular paycheck in a regular amount.
3) Maybe, just maybe what your kids really need is a father. Ever thought they might like to see you every now and then? They might like to call you in an emergency and have you there in a half hour or two? They might even appreciate a hug or a handshake, depending on age or gender!

One of the gentlemen earlier today was talking on and on about his "Big Dream" of making "THE Big Strike." Then he'll never have to worry again.

We all have Big Dreams. Almost all of us dream of winning the lottery, especially when that old Power Ball gets way up there. We don't abandon our families to chase that dream. We don't spend money they could use for food or heat while we travel to another state to be closer to the winning-ticket-vending places, do we? And blame the machine for not printing us the winning numbers? Or the clerk for not selling us the right numbers? Because we are trying so hard to realize our dream, the failure couldn't be our fault, could it?

(Of course, that could be why we don't get made into TV shows.)

Another Big Dream of mine is to be a published, income-earning writer. If I never become that, though, it's no one's fault but mine. Yeah, there are publishers turning their backs on a good thing, and editors who don't know what they're missing -- but I'm the one who didn't write right enough to attract them. I'm the one who used the wrong approach or followed the wrong path to their doors.

I'm the one who is dreaming big and doing little.

But at least I'm not on national cable television crying and whining and telling the world that I am a big LOSER because someONE or someTHING  is stopping me. (I admit to whining about it amongst my colleagues and kinfolk, but that is a little different.)

There's nothing wrong with dreaming of a gold mine, but you take care of your family first. You handle your responsibilities first.

You get a day job, for those you love, and you pursue your dream on your own personal private time.

Or you make yourself famous for being a loser at life.

The choice is yours.

To the Motorcyclist

To the motorcyclist on Tri-County today: You were a joy to drive behind. You maintained a steady speed,  with no swerves and no sudden stops. You stayed in your lane. Not only did you stay in your lane, you stayed straightly in your lane, no riding from side to center and back again.

I have seen motorcyclists do all these 'fun' things. I understand the urge, but when I am the following driver, it worries me. When I am the approaching driver, it scares me.

There's been a lot of news stories about motorcycle accidents, and how to avoid them. There are Facebook and e-mail pleas to watch out for the motorcycles. It's good for drivers to be aware, but the cyclists themselves often take risks that don't have road safety in mind. Weaving from edge to centerline, making sudden turns or stops, speeding up and slowing down. Part of the freedom of riding, but unsettling to other drivers.

So you were a joy to follow today, from Mt. Orab to Sardinia, to Macon, where we parted ways.

And, after having followed you, when the road opened before you, and you met the challenge, your shirt billowed like a sail -- ah, then, I wished that I were you.

ID yes, DL why?

I'm in favor of everyone being required to have an ID, and to have to use it when looking for assistance, or employment, or to vote (once per election,) or other as-needed occasions. I have absolutely no problem with that. In this day of illegal immigrants and Identity Theft and background checks, it's a really good idea. Even then it's not foolproof, but at least it's a start.

What I do have a problem with is the requirement for a driver's license. There are people being denied employment because they don't have this.

Now, there are many reasons for not having a DL, not all of them suspect. Being able to pay for a car and insurance. The cost of gas. The number of traffic accidents and fatalities. The 'suspect' reasons, ones that an employer might have a reason to know about include suspensions and special conditions.

Me, I don't think the employers need to know this stuff, unless your specific job involves driving. (If you don't have a license, you probably aren't applying for such a position.) They don't even need to know your reasons for not having a DL, especially if you do have a valid state ID. It's an epic invasion of privacy  -- invasion of thought processes. Invasion, perhaps, of private fears. Invasion into your bank accounts, finances, and God knows there's too much of that already going on.

My daughter can't get a job with day care centers because she has no DL. She doesn't want to drive a van full of toddlers to the firehouse. She doesn't want to run down to the grocery store when the manager spills the day's milk. She wants to take care of children. She trained for it, she had personal experience with it.
But she can't get the job she trained for because she doesn't drive. Instead, she walks or bikes past the day care centers on her way to work at McDonald's.

A former co-worker, also a McDonald's employee, went to college. She took the classes, so popular on commercials, to learn medical transcription, coding, and billing. She worked really hard, got good grades, passed her classes, acquired references from her instructors, and fared forth into the job market.

She almost got hired several times, but not one of the companies, not even a temp service, would hire her.
Why?
Because she didn't have a Driver's License.

Is it the employer's business how an employee gets to work?
I don't think so.

Now, if it becomes a problem, then yes, it is. But until there is an absentee problem -- and both my examples are exemplary employees at their low-level, low pay jobs -- then no, it is not.

It just isn't.