Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.
...But where the f--- are they now
Now that I need them, I don't see none of them
All I see is Slim
F--- all you fair-weather friends...
I'm about to lose my mind---You've been gone for so long
I'm running out of time---I need a doctor
Call me a doctor---I need a doctor, doctor
To bring me back to life---Bring me back to life
Bring me back to life~~~EMINEM, Dr. Dre, & Skylar Grey
This one five-letter-word continues to be such a hot-button, a third-rail noun in our culture; our society. As The middle-class continues to shrink, it does so, in part, because of gainfully-employed households continuing to diminish. Gainful employment in the blue-collar sector is attributed largely to what collective bargaining units have been able to hammer out on behalf of those they represent. It is the strength of these bargaining units which have given the working man a glimpse of the middle class quality of life. As this leverage is lost, so is the working man's ability to have a chance at tasting these values; disposable income, better education for the children, recreation time and destinations, and the ability to retire with some level of comfort and peace-of-mind.
Organized Labor is trying to stay alive in as hostile an environment as it has found itself, in years. Both sides are playing for keeps. While some of his tactics were romanticized because they were dramatic, and border-line unlawful, they did facilitate him becoming a legend. And even as these actions by this legend may have been somewhat inflated, they were nonetheless, EFFECTIVE.
Whom will be the next~~~Jimmy Hoffa???
NB: Wisconsin---Governor Scott Walker is trying to break the civil service union. Watershed moment. Ironic; turn-of-the-20th-Century, it would be a Wisconsinian, Robert M. LaFollette whom, through his advocacy, would become a legend, an iconic figurehead of the reform movement; the progressive movement. He largely tried to expose abuses against the working class men, women, and children effected by the wealthy and the corporations of America's Gilded-Age. While such abuses still exist worlds away in places like Malaysia, Macao, India, and China, a Watch-dog must continue to stand sentry to assure that the working class does not get Bataan-death-marched down this same path, again.
"COUNTY WORKERS FLEE AS EXPLOSION SHAKES BUILDING"
So was the early-on assessment of how the NEWS media reported---The Incident!!
And because of this level of hysteria, The Wall Street Journal had a similar news-release, by the 12:00NOON hour.
Allow me to explain what actually happened. Of course, let me intercede here that in the uncertainty of the moment, with so many lives on the line, the protocol would call for immediate evacuation. But even as that protocol was observed, it is important to get good information to assess what did happen and what dangers do exist. It was about 09:45AM of Thursday, 17 February 2011, and we were all settled in at our work-stations, when a loud echoing boom, is heard. We all heard it; it got everybody's attention. But nobody jumped out of their seats. One of the associates did make his way over to the one doorway where the bang did seem to emanate from. There was no after-shock; no residual smells. Personally, I thought it sounded like a shelving-unit that was being carried down a set of stairs, ended up being let-go and dropped some distance. With peace-of-mind having been pretty much restored, we all went back to work.
About two minutes later, the Fire Alarm goes off!!!
We implement protocol. For me, with the passenger elevator now in auto-lock, the handicappers, and their fire-buddies, head to the freight elevator. Because it is turn-of-the-twentieth century, with none of the bells-and-whistles, we know this will get us to the ground floor. We get down & out without any problem. As Sandy, myself, and our aides are exiting, the fire-fighters are already jumping from their trucks. While I should have kept moving to get across the street with my aide, I stop my scooter at the corner curb cut-away area to take cell-phone pictures of the fire-trucks!! Yeah!! I know~~~what a moron!!
We all get safely across the street, to the rendezvous point, and wait. The various types of emergency vehicles continue to pour in. By now, so does a couple of the News organizations. In today's terrorist-riddled environment, speculation is rampant as to the possible causes.
After everything is all said and done, here is what happened. SOMEBODY set off an M-80 type firework-piece in one of our hallways, between the fifth and fourth floors. Other than the shock-factor of the noise, the only damage was an estimated $50.00 for burn marks on a portion of the wall-plaster. My theory on whom the 'SOMEBODY' was?!?!? From what I'm to understand, our building has its maintenance crew. The crew has a complement of ECDSS welfare-to-work persons that assist with some of the general housekeeping chores. I'm thinking a disgruntled welfare-to-work client set off the M-80.
A loud M-80 firecracker was ignited Thursday morning in a stairwell at an Erie County office building in downtown Buffalo, prompting the evacuation of about 100 Board of Elections and Sheriff's Office employees for an hour, authorities said.
Sheriff's fire investigators collected fragments from the "pyrotechnic device" and were attempting to determine who put it in the southwest stairwell between the fourth and fifth floors of the old, five-story brick building at 134 W. Eagle St., between Delaware and South Elmwood avenues.
"Preliminary indications are that someone had placed and ignited a pyrotechnic device, what some people would call an M-80. It is not a consumer type of firework, but for all practical reasons, we want to make it clear it was not a pipe bomb," Erie County Sheriff's Lt. Sean Simet said.
He urged anyone who might have observed anything suspicious shortly before the 9:45 a.m. explosion in the publicly accessible building to contact investigators at 858-2903.
Damage to drywall in the stairwell was estimated at "less than $50," Simet said.
Employees evacuated the building when a fire alarm sounded seconds after the explosion.
Buffalo firefighters inspected every room of the building, including an attic crawl space and the basement. Air quality tests also were conducted, according to Fire Division Chief John Mogavero.
Employees were allowed to return to work at 10:45 a.m.
"I was sitting in my chair, and I thought I would be knocked out of it when I heard the explosion. It sounded like an M-80," said Michael Licata, the Sheriff's Office's coordinator of substance abuse.
Licata, whose office is on the fifth floor, said he ran into the hallway, began checking on the welfare of other workers and was met by a deputy emerging from the southwest stairwell.
"There was a haze of smoke coming from the stairwell," Licata said.
As workers began heading down that stairwell, Deputy Anthony Giglio said, he detected the odor of sulfur.
"When we were in the stairwell, there was white smoke with a sulfur type smell. It was concentrated on the fourth and fifth floors," Giglio said.
Outside, workers began speculating as to what had caused the explosion, which frightened and upset many of them.
Some guessed it might have been an M-80; others thought a wrecking ball hit the structure; and still others thought a wall of filing cabinets might have toppled or that the blade of a snowplow had slammed onto the street pavement outside.
The building is one of the most decrepit county-owned office buildings. County Executive Chris Collins has proposed tearing it down to allow for an expansion of the Erie County Holding Center. lmichel@buffnews.com
Friday, 18 February 2011, by appointment, I meet my new PCP, Dr Elizabeth A. O'Neill. She was very thorough; very attentive. I feel very comfortable in the choice top replace our retiring PCP. Being a good day weather-wise, I just had to get the van washed. It was begging~~~Wash Me!!!
From there, I went to my AIRBORNE/D H L Express, now barber-friend, Bill Linton, to get my ears-lowered. I have some week-end commitments, and I want to look my BEST!!!
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
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