Rat-race

Gathering of Iggles. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

The other day (Wednesday, October 17, 2012, six-month anniversary of my wife’s death) turned into one of those incredible rat-races where I drive all over the area performing errands.
I covered at least 80 miles, probably more. —I don’t keep track.
-First: was to nearby Canandaigua to leave my dog with doggie-daycare; a trip of 14 miles.
I daycare my dog while working out at the Canandaigua YMCA, but this wasn’t to work out.
It was to attend a Transit retirees meeting mentioned later.
-Second: Was all the way into Rochester (NY) to attend a meeting of the dreaded “Alumni,” retirees of Regional Transit Service, a trip of about 20 miles. —It even included the New York state Thruway; 20 cents toll.
-Third: Since the trip took way less time than expected, I decided to hit a Goodyear tire store, where I’d planned to visit after the Alumni-meeting.
Could they spin-balance the wheels/tires while I waited? The tires are Goodyear, eligible for lifetime spin-balance and rotation.
I’d had them spun-balanced by my car-dealer, but they hammered slightly at 50 mph plus.
I was hoping Goodyear could do a better job.
They scheduled me at 11 a.m., which turned my attendance at the Alumni-meeting into a surgical-strike. That began at 10 a.m.
-Fourth: Since I was still early, I decided to deposit a letter in the auto drop-box outside the Post-Office in my old neighborhood in Rochester.
We used to live on the east side of Rochester, and the Transit-retirees meeting was out in the suburbs east of Rochester.
A detour of perhaps three-five miles.
-Fifth: Was the Alumni meeting itself.
The so-called “Alumni” are the union retirees of Regional Transit Service in Rochester.
For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service (RTS — “Transit”), a public employer, the transit-bus operator in Rochester and environs.
While a bus-driver there I belonged to the Rochester Division of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Local 282. ATU is nationwide.
The Alumni was a reaction to the fact Transit upper-management retirees ran roughshod over union retirees — a continuation of the bad vibes at Transit, management versus union.
Transit had a club for long-time employees, and I was in it. It was called the “15/25-year Club;” I guess at first the “25-year Club.” But they lowered the employment requirement, and renamed it “15/25-year Club.” The employment requirement was lowered even more; I joined at 10 years.
My employ there ended in 1993 with my stroke (disability retirement); and the “Alumni” didn’t exist then.
The Alumni is a special club — you have to join.
It’s an Amalgamated Transit Union functionary. It isn’t just a social club.
It has bylaws, officers, and an Executive Board.
In many ways it’s just like our union-local, except it entertains issues of interest to retirees; like Medicare, healthcare, and diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
“Dreaded” because all my siblings are flagrantly anti-union, like the proper way for hourlies to parry the massive management juggernaut is one employee at a time; in which case that single employee gets trampled because he’s not presenting a united front with power equal to management.
The proletariate’s attempt to exact a living wage from bloated management fat-cats is what’s wrong with this country.
The meeting was at a restaurant, the idea being to eat a breakfast before the meeting.
I ordered only two pancakes, probably the smallest order.
Everyone else was ordering something with eggs, bacon/sausage or ham, toast, and hash-browns.
I can’t eat that much.
Breakfast consumed by 10:35 or so, the meeting began.
But quickly it was 10:45 and I had to leave.
The meeting had hardly begun, but there was no scheduled speaker — there usually is.
My doggie-daycare guy thought we’d swap war-stories, but that’s not what happens.
“The Alumni” is an organization of Transit-retirees affiliated with the nationwide Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU). Its intent is to consider official business of Transit-retirees, like healthcare and dental care. —Not just swap war-stories.
-Sixth: Back to Goodyear, about four miles, a trip of perhaps six-seven minutes.
Wait 35-40 minutes in the lobby while they do the spin-balance.
-Seventh: Off to Lori’s Natural Foods, about 10 miles away, to purchase a case of organic grape-juice.
I’d rather get that, since I can buy by the case, although it’s probably overpriced. Lori’s is.
-Eighth: Drive down to MarketPlace supermarket in Honeoye Falls (“HONE-eee-oye;” as in “boy”). about 15 miles south, to purchase groceries I can only buy at MarketPlace.
-Ninth: Back east to Canandaigua to pick up my dog, perhaps 18-19 miles.
But Canandaigua also has a Mazda-dealer, and I need to look at the new CX-5 sport-utility to see if it’s dog-friendly.
I currently have two cars, a 2003 Honda CR-V sport-utility, and a 2005 all-wheel-drive Toyota Sienna van.
Having two cars since my wife died seems silly, and only my van is dog-friendly.
My dog is fairly large, two-and-a-half to three feet tall.
I need a roof high enough so the dog can stand, and preferably on a flat floor.
I also need to fill the gap behind the front seats, the “dog-swallowing gap.”
My CR-V fills that gap, but the rear seats fold forward and block the door-opening.
The rear seats in my van also fold forward, but the van is big enough they don’t block the entrance.
I don’t need something as large as a van.
Plus a sport-utility is the ultimate train-chaser.
I’m a railfan and have been since age-2 (I’m 68).
A sport-utility’s all-wheel-drive can negotiate difficult roads (like dirt). It’s not a jeep, but I’m not that adventurous.
Two years ago I negotiated a dirt-track my guide’s car wouldn’t have done. Although it might have, but it probably would have bottomed on the crown. It was a farm-tractor trail.
I was gonna delay looking at the CX-5, but -a) since I was in Canandaigua, and -b) my dog was in doggie-daycare, I thought I’d look.
The salesman was helpful; he wasn’t put off by my need for a dog-friendly car — as many are.
But why is it every car-salesman personally owns and operates the car I’m looking at?
Is the CX-5 interesting? Sort of; more interesting than the new CR-V.
Its floor folds flat — the new CR-V doesn’t — and the rear seatbacks flopped forward cover the dog-swallowing gap.
The CX-5 is not that attractive, but my 2003 CR-V wasn’t either. —Yet I like it. It’s a pleasant ride, and an incredible train-chaser. The only problem is it isn’t dog-friendly.
-Tenth: Mazda finished, it was back to doggie-daycare to finally pick up my dog.
She was at doggie-daycare almost five hours.
While I zig-zagged all over the planet.
That’s about an hour longer than when I work out at the YMCA.
-Eleventh: Home via the gas-station. The CR-V needed gas. —About a half-mile detour.
Total time doing errands, about six hours. Maybe a hundred miles.
—Was it worth it for Goodyear to spin-balance my wheels/tires?
YES. Back to long over-the-road trips. (I avoided a long road-trip to Altoona, PA because of that slight hammering.)

• My beloved wife of over 44 years died of cancer April 17, 2012. Like me she was 68. I miss her dearly.
• My current dog is “Scarlett” (two “Ts,” as in Scarlett O’Hara), a rescue Irish-Setter. She’s seven, and is our sixth Irish-Setter, a high-energy dog. (A “rescue Irish Setter” is an Irish Setter rescued from a bad home; e.g. abusive or a puppy-mill. [Scarlett was from a failed backyard breeder.] By getting a rescue-dog, we avoid puppydom, but the dog is often messed up. —Scarlett isn't bad. She’s our third rescue.)
• I work out in the Canandaigua YMCA Exercise-Gym, appropriately named the “Wellness-Center,” usually three days per week, about two-three hours per visit. (“Canandaigua” [“cannan-DAY-gwuh”] is a small city to the east nearby where I live in Western NY. The city is also within a rural town called “Canandaigua.” The name is Indian, and means “Chosen Spot.” It’s about 14 miles east. —I live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western NY, southeast of Rochester.)
• I had a stroke October 26, 1993, from which I pretty much recovered.
• Honeoye Falls is a small village about five miles west of where I live. It’s south of Rochester on Honeoye Creek. A dam was put in long ago to power a mill. The creek originally went over a waterfall in the village.