As I'm walking down the street with Dakota, I see a newer four-door sedan pass by, going the other way.  Nothing stands out about it.  Plenty of smaller, blue cars these days.  And, always plenty of traffic on the street during our morning walks.


Next vehicle to travel in that same direction is this big-ass, full-sized, extended-cab pickup.  You know the one; lots of chrome, big bush-pusher up front, shiny steel rims, raised letter tires.  It looks like it just came out of the detail shop.  Well, it stops right in front of this one house, and the passenger jumps out.  She, most likely the wife of the driver, heads over towards the curb, and grabs the recycling bin. 


At first, I thought they were going to steal it.  Stranger things happen on garbage day.  I've seen folks going around on bicycles grabbing bottle and cans.  Sometimes you see an old beat-up pick-up truck hauling metal junk.  Or, someone just grabbing some "whatever" just because it might be something they think they could use.  Not this couple, though.


I see her put the bin on the rear bumper of the truck, and she starts tossing empty bottled water bottles into the back, two at a time.  There had to be quite a few, because it was taking a lot of her attention to complete the task.


At the same time, however, I notice that sedan is now backing up in reverse.  OK.  Maybe he missed an address he was looking for.  NOPE.  I suddenly notice the double-hit, strobe red lights in the back.  That's an OGV (Official Government Vehicle).  The gentlemen, dressed in a polo shirt and khakis, steps out of the car.


"Stephanie."


"Stephanie!"


"STEPHANIE!"


She's too busy to even acknowledge his calls.  I don't know what he would've done anyway.  He, and his conscientious recycling wife, have been snagged.  Trying to "run" would just be stupid.


"What are you doing?", asks, what I now have to presume is, the police detective.


Some illegible grumbling is heard from inside the cab of the pick-up.


"Well, we're just going to have to issue you a ticket for that.  The first offense starts off with a fine of $125.00!"


Louder grumbling from the cab.


I don't wish to be noisy, but I take a quick glance back and see the "ticket pad" in the officer's hand.


Don't garbage pick in Tonawanda. 


And, here,  you thought Kenmore was bad.

There was nothing specific that I was doing.  There were no point of reference or triggers that made this memory arise.  Yet, there it was; a call I had taken while working in The Falls.  The patient's name escapes me, yet I can still she her face.  Worse, I can still remember wondering why the staff of the nursing home had bothered to call for help.
Heritage Manor of Niagara.  Right there on Buffalo Avenue, in the shadows of the Grand Island Bridges.  Pull down 65th Street and back into the parking lot, lining up with the ramp that runs along the building.  We always had to push the door-bell to get let in.  The home never had so much staff that they could afford to have someone waiting.
It was just after a meal.  I have to believe it was either lunch or dinner, because the sun was streaming through the cafeteria windows.  The residents were still milling around.  Some were still waiting in their wheelchairs to be taken back to their rooms.  Others were lounging about, watching TV, staring at the walls, or occasionally picking at their clothing. 
We were directly to this elderly lady sitting on a couch.  Her head was down and her chin was nearly resting on her chest.  As I got closer, the nature of her illness was more apparent.  She was dead.  And yet, here amongst the trained medical staff, nothing unusual was noted by them.  She had finished her meal and just wanted to sit for a while.  They say she never complained of anything.
And, yet, here we are. 
"Does she have a DNR?"
"A what?"
"A 'Do Not Resuscitate" order.  Does she have one on file?"
"Why?  Is she dead?"
(Oh, my God.  Why would I be asking you?)
"Well, she not breathing, and she doesn't seem to have a pulse."
"AAAAAAARGH!  OH MY GOD, SHE'S DEAD!"
As we continue to evaluate and treat the lady, we've moved her onto the floor and begun CPR.  The staff, however, does not seem to feel the need to respond to my question.  Their task, it seems, is to continue to move the remaining residents out of the room and away from the patient.  My guess is, no one is supposed to see a dead person.  Needless to say, we don't get an immediate answer.
Advanced interventions continue as we "go through the motions" so to speak.  This poor lady has been without pulse and respirations for longer than a few minutes, and I'm beginning to wonder if she even had anything to eat at all.  I get the feeling she just sat down on the couch while everyone else was coming into the room, and "fell asleep".
AND, of course, once her paperwork and transfer file is finally brought to us, there's no DNR.  No Advance Directives.  No Health Care Proxy.  ZIP.  Nadda.
We transport her, as per the protocol at the time, to the closest ED.  The doctor and staff wonder why we brought her in.  And, in due time, a DNR does get faxed to them from Heritage Manor.  Seems it was "miss-filed". 
Of course it was.

Show me the money.

While I'm not a big fan of extending Unemployment Benefits, as they've found that as long as the benefits are being paid out, a large percentage don't bother even looking for work, I am less a fan of giving out Foreign Aid Grants - Jordan today received $359.5 MILLION "to support the kingdom's economic and political development". These countries are laughing at us, all the way to the bank.

Glacial Isostatic Adjustment

So, when I was contemplating this last year, and tried to come up with an answer, I reached out to several geo-type folks here on the magical In-ter-net.  No one I contacted knew of or had ever heard of what I questioned.
Now, I come to find, there's a whole line of study concerning it.
Q:  How is the loss of the glaciers effecting the tectonic plates beneath them?  With all that weight of the ice being "lost" to atmospheric warming, shouldn't the rock under it have less pressure, hence move "up" or "over"?
A: Yes.  And it's called Glacial Isostatic Adjustment.


The best way I've thought to explain this would be a floating dock.  You can usually find this in and along lake shores of seasonal retreats.  During the summer months, they get put out onto the water for access.  And, once the cold weather comes, they get removed and stored for the next year.  They are typically made with some type of decking; wood, aluminum, steel.  This is then attached to a series of flotation devices (plastic drums) filled with air or foam, in a sufficient amount to maintain the deck, and the weight of the people using it, above the water.

Now, imagine that the water is the earth's mantle and the deck is one of the tectonic plates.  People (the ice) starts to gather on it.  With the increase in people, the deck floats lower and lower on the water.  But, it does not sink.  If the number of people increases on one side or the other, the deck will shift accordingly.  It will remain afloat, but it will continue to compensate for the changes.

Imagine a series of docks floating out on the lake, all held together by a rope going around the outside of them.  Each one can carry the same amount of weight per square foot, but they aren't all the same size.  So, if 10 people are standing on a large one and then all move to a smaller one, that one will likely ride a little lower than the first.  So, depending on the size of the deck and the amount of weight it's carrying, you can see that it will float differently on the water.

Now, replace the decks with tectonic plates and the people with water; some of it frozen, some of it liquid.  Always the same number, but sometimes changing position.  THAT is Glacial Isostatic Adjustment.  To put it simply, the plates beneath the glaciers are losing all the weight from the ice, and are rising, and the plates beneath all the water are gaining the weight from all that newly "created" water and are sinking.

This, I believe, is why the earth is seeing more activity with volcanoes, earthquakes, and changes in oceanographic weather patterns.

Saving Daylight

Reach
long and hard to find
a limb hanging slow
in the wind.

Touch
soft and gentle
budding leaves
to reveal the truth.

Gaze
deep, but swift
at the falcon
sweeping past.

Stop
now and ever
seeing beyond
the forest surround.

Understand
you are once
with and without
all around you.

The Burning of Black Rock (Pallets)!

It's sad to think that the best way to commemorate the War of 1812 here along the Niagara River is for a group of politicians to set fire to pile of old pallets. What's worse is that it took place on both sides of the border. And to think that this was just a rehearsal of what's to come.

During the War of 1812, on the Niagara Peninsula, and around all of Western New York and Southern Ontario, there were battles fought, won and lost, by both sides of the conflict. I guess I could best describe it as a 13-round heavyweight boxing match, where either side might win a round here and there, but neither had the knock-out capability, and the fight ended in a draw. Back and forth across the River, and up and down the frontier, armies were led in decisive battles and insignificant skirmishes, with no great gains for either the British or American cause.

Fingers could be pointed in either direction as to who might have set the first fire in "victory" or "withdrawal". This kind of tactic was often used during their prior argument of the 1770's. At that time, the loss of military provisions and supplies, through plunder and destruction, was not unusual. And, during a conflict where "citizens" were fighting "soldiers", their homes might have been considered military depots or supply stations or even forts. Yet, during the War of 1812, defined military and civilian structures had to have been more easily recognizable; stone walls and turrets versus painted clapboard houses with roofs.

So, when there came a time that American forces left the area of Fort George (Niagara-on-the-Lake), and ended up setting fire to more than just the Fort, the gauntlet was thrown. The British responded by chasing the American forces across Western New York and burning everything from Fort Niagara down to 18-Mile Creek, including Lewiston, Black Rock, and Buffalo. This left many farmers and residents without shelter in the middle of winter, which in turn led to many freezing to death.

So, my question is, does the "celebration" of the War of 1812 need to include such petty and irresponsible activities like burning bonfires along the Niagara River? Is that what we want our children to learn? "Hey! Let's celebrate innocent people freezing to death. Let's remember the burning of houses and farms."

Or, is this just a cheap and unimaginative way to "do something"? Rather than what the great State of New York has planned and budgeted for...... Nothing. No wonder Sam Hoyt was there amongst them.