My last post on this was in April just prior to Spring Open House at the National Toy Train Museum. After allowing the project to sit dormant for what must have been the required amount of time, construction is now being done in earnest.
Pa. Route 896 coming into Strasburg Borough from the north and its intersection with Historic Drive/Strasburg Bypass is once again open to two way traffic. Historic Drive, itself, is closed and access to the Post Office, pharmacy and the other businesses is from the other end of the bypass out on Pa. Route 741.
The section from Pa. Route 741 (near the Choo-Choo Barn) is open to the Historic Strasburg Inn and from there one needs to wind one's way through the 55+ community currently under construction.
These are single family homes, complete with garage and an "alley in the back. There is a "sample home" open for viewing. Those already occupied sport small signs out front that say "Private Residence." I can only surmise that the throngs who are interesed in moving here are under the impression that all of these places are open for inspection.
What I do know for a fact is that the few residents are not happy about all the traffic through their neighborhood. As you drive by you can tell by body language and facial expression that these folks are not happy with the traffic on their streets.
I, for one, can say that those of us who must endure this twisting, stop-sign infested ride on streets without a finish coat are sick of it also. It is bumpy, dusty, poorly lit at night and inconvenient. However, many of us have been awaiting this bypass for well over ten years and we realize that this is truly a case of temporary inconvenience: permanent malfunction, er, I mean improvement.
I do not think that the announced completion date of late October 2009 is realistic so please allow extra time as traffic patterns will be changing almost daily by October.
10 August 2009
08 August 2009
Driving and Distractions
All three you who follow this blog might have surmised that when I am on the highways I have a tendency to consider the posted speed limit a suggestion rather than an established fact. Since I acquired my drivers license at the age of 16 I have received a few speeding tickets.
For those of you who have never received one of these let me tell you what you will see when it is handed to you for a signature. It says you have so much time to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Now you might say to yourself (do not ask the police office who is writing the ticket. Sometime I will post an entry of what not to say to the police in several states), "Wait a minute, pleading guilty or not is for criminals."
Well Sunshine, if you look at the statue of Justice you will see that her eyes are covered. This is to convey that all are equal before the law. We know that is a crock but we will go down that road at another time.
If you plead guilty and pay the fine you have then joined a very large and not too exclusive club here in the U. S. You are now a convicted lawbreaker. Fear not because if you have been speeding, drinking and driving, talking on your cell phone while driving (in some places) and a number of other things (some of which are between you and another consenting adult behind closed doors - another possible topic for later) you are a member of an even larger club - lawbreakers who have not yet been convicted. As a matter of fact, if you carefully read the laws of the state in which you reside and the municipality in which you live you will discover, to your shock I am sure, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to go through a day without violating a law of some sort.
Now I am guessing that the founders of this country did not have that in mind, but that is where we are and it is going to get worse. As the press in this country has given up on investigating real issues such as corruption in government at all levels and other such issues that actually matter they have plenty of time to dig into what Brittany Spears wears for lunch and how many accidents are caused by people talking or text messaging on their cell phones.
First off, let me go on record as saying that people who engage in this activity are in the wrong, pure and simple. There are enough tests to show that people who talk or text while driving display as much impairment as those who have been drinking. Of course, the immediate reaction is, "We will make it against the law."
This tells me that the people in government are probably the most ignorant of all those who roam this country. They display a blissful ignorance of history as they actually believe that by making this behavior illegal it will cease. It would appear these folks actually think that a law will change behavior.
If that were true Prohibition in the 1920's would have eliminated the production and consumption of alcohol. It did not and it actually provided a group of criminals with the income to leave their small time crimes behind and go national. More on that some other time.
My guess is that will see these laws and that will give those charged with enforcement even more to keep them from addressing the real issues in their daily tasks. I would ask, "Has anyone conducted tests on law enforcement officers to see if they are distracted while driving in their patrol cars and looking for people not wearing seat belts, checking to see if children (up to age 14 in Pa. I think) are in car seats or any of the other things considered to be the bane of society?
For those of you who have never received one of these let me tell you what you will see when it is handed to you for a signature. It says you have so much time to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Now you might say to yourself (do not ask the police office who is writing the ticket. Sometime I will post an entry of what not to say to the police in several states), "Wait a minute, pleading guilty or not is for criminals."
Well Sunshine, if you look at the statue of Justice you will see that her eyes are covered. This is to convey that all are equal before the law. We know that is a crock but we will go down that road at another time.
If you plead guilty and pay the fine you have then joined a very large and not too exclusive club here in the U. S. You are now a convicted lawbreaker. Fear not because if you have been speeding, drinking and driving, talking on your cell phone while driving (in some places) and a number of other things (some of which are between you and another consenting adult behind closed doors - another possible topic for later) you are a member of an even larger club - lawbreakers who have not yet been convicted. As a matter of fact, if you carefully read the laws of the state in which you reside and the municipality in which you live you will discover, to your shock I am sure, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to go through a day without violating a law of some sort.
Now I am guessing that the founders of this country did not have that in mind, but that is where we are and it is going to get worse. As the press in this country has given up on investigating real issues such as corruption in government at all levels and other such issues that actually matter they have plenty of time to dig into what Brittany Spears wears for lunch and how many accidents are caused by people talking or text messaging on their cell phones.
First off, let me go on record as saying that people who engage in this activity are in the wrong, pure and simple. There are enough tests to show that people who talk or text while driving display as much impairment as those who have been drinking. Of course, the immediate reaction is, "We will make it against the law."
This tells me that the people in government are probably the most ignorant of all those who roam this country. They display a blissful ignorance of history as they actually believe that by making this behavior illegal it will cease. It would appear these folks actually think that a law will change behavior.
If that were true Prohibition in the 1920's would have eliminated the production and consumption of alcohol. It did not and it actually provided a group of criminals with the income to leave their small time crimes behind and go national. More on that some other time.
My guess is that will see these laws and that will give those charged with enforcement even more to keep them from addressing the real issues in their daily tasks. I would ask, "Has anyone conducted tests on law enforcement officers to see if they are distracted while driving in their patrol cars and looking for people not wearing seat belts, checking to see if children (up to age 14 in Pa. I think) are in car seats or any of the other things considered to be the bane of society?
Yes, making things against the law appears to me one of our major occupations. Too bad as there really is a lot of work to be done in this country. Of course, we do not have time to do it because we are talking on the phone or test messaging someone to let them know what we are doing every second of our so important lives.
Perhaps the worst thing that will happen here is that even more people will be entered into the category of lawbreakers not yet caught/convicted. The real bottom line is that more and more people have less and less respect for the law and that, my friends, is not a good thing for more reasons than I can list here.
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
After a couple of delays, the reports I promised in my last post are available in the Members Only section of www.tcamembers.org. You will also find the proposed bylaws. These were approved by a unanimous vote of the Directors at their meeting in Scottsdale, AZ in July of this year.
Of course, I am required to remain neutral in all elections but I will say that Bob Hazlett and his committee did an outstanding job on a difficult task. Please reward their work by voting on the bylaws when your ballot arrives in the September issue of the National Headquarters News.
Of course, I am required to remain neutral in all elections but I will say that Bob Hazlett and his committee did an outstanding job on a difficult task. Please reward their work by voting on the bylaws when your ballot arrives in the September issue of the National Headquarters News.
28 July 2009
Read All About It
Let me start by saying that I am not going to go on a posting spree but there are a number of things I need to convey to the two or three people who actually read this. Here is additional news related to the Convention.
Officers, Division Presidents, Committee Chairs, the Director of Development and the Operations Manager are required to deliver a written report to the Board of Directors far enough in advance of the Board of Directors meeting to permit everyone to read them and pose questions about their contents.
Those of you who have attended National Conventions may or may not know that those reports are made available to the membership. They can usually be found on a table outside the entrance to the trading pits. This is a custom of long standing and is a part of the organization trying to educate and involve the membership. The reports are not edited in any way and some of them make interesting reading.
It is a fact of life that most of the membership does not attend the National Convention. This is a good news/bad news thing as having about 30,000 TCA members and their families show up at a hotel or resort would be a real challenge for all concerned.
What this means is that a vast number of members have no opportunity to learn what is happening in the Association because they never have an opportunity to read these reports. A few years ago we began to change that.
The TCA presence on the Internet has vastly improved over the years. The Internet Committee and people like Nicole Peace and Ron Morris deserve a lot of credit for that. There is the Toy Trains Mailing List (TTML) which might be one of the oldest continuously operating forums on Yahoo.com.
We also have http://www.nttmuseum.org/ which makes thousands of people each month aware of what is at the National Toy Train Museum. We have some interesting plans for this site but first the economy needs to rebound so we have income to pay for the upgrades.
Of course, there is the TCA X-change (http://www.tcabuysell.org/) which is an expanded version of the Interchange Point found in the National Headquarters News. This is developing into an on line train meet and actually has the capacity to handle 3 million items (each with 3 photos) at one time. Trust me, you folks are not even making this break a sweat.
What I think is developing into our flagship site is http://www.tcamembers.org/. Recently, we broke it into two sections. One makes a lot of information about TCA available to one and all and the Members Only Section has and will continue to add information, offerings and other benefits to TCA members.
It is this site that is hosting all of the reports that were filed for the Board of Directors Meeting. About 2 Board meetings ago we made it known that, instead of printing out 30+copies of their reports, everyone could send them via E-mail. This saved a lot of paper and it gave Nicole Peace, our IT Manager, the "raw material" we needed to post them on www.tcamembers.org.
Officers, Division Presidents, Committee Chairs, the Director of Development and the Operations Manager are required to deliver a written report to the Board of Directors far enough in advance of the Board of Directors meeting to permit everyone to read them and pose questions about their contents.
Those of you who have attended National Conventions may or may not know that those reports are made available to the membership. They can usually be found on a table outside the entrance to the trading pits. This is a custom of long standing and is a part of the organization trying to educate and involve the membership. The reports are not edited in any way and some of them make interesting reading.
It is a fact of life that most of the membership does not attend the National Convention. This is a good news/bad news thing as having about 30,000 TCA members and their families show up at a hotel or resort would be a real challenge for all concerned.
What this means is that a vast number of members have no opportunity to learn what is happening in the Association because they never have an opportunity to read these reports. A few years ago we began to change that.
The TCA presence on the Internet has vastly improved over the years. The Internet Committee and people like Nicole Peace and Ron Morris deserve a lot of credit for that. There is the Toy Trains Mailing List (TTML) which might be one of the oldest continuously operating forums on Yahoo.com.
We also have http://www.nttmuseum.org/ which makes thousands of people each month aware of what is at the National Toy Train Museum. We have some interesting plans for this site but first the economy needs to rebound so we have income to pay for the upgrades.
Of course, there is the TCA X-change (http://www.tcabuysell.org/) which is an expanded version of the Interchange Point found in the National Headquarters News. This is developing into an on line train meet and actually has the capacity to handle 3 million items (each with 3 photos) at one time. Trust me, you folks are not even making this break a sweat.
What I think is developing into our flagship site is http://www.tcamembers.org/. Recently, we broke it into two sections. One makes a lot of information about TCA available to one and all and the Members Only Section has and will continue to add information, offerings and other benefits to TCA members.
It is this site that is hosting all of the reports that were filed for the Board of Directors Meeting. About 2 Board meetings ago we made it known that, instead of printing out 30+copies of their reports, everyone could send them via E-mail. This saved a lot of paper and it gave Nicole Peace, our IT Manager, the "raw material" we needed to post them on www.tcamembers.org.
They are up there for your reading pleasure and I invite you to do that and pose questions to the authors. This is YOUR organization and the people running it want you to be informed.
The Convention and Other Stuff
When we last met here I was complaining about having a cold and I talked for a bit about some famous people who had passed away. A lot has happened over the past month so I guess I should get going on getting people up to date.
First, not that it matters, I am over my cold and those who passed away are still dead. I suppose everyone, except the media, is pretty much overdosed on Michael Jackson. On a positive note here, you can see a lot of his dance moves and some of his videos on YouTube.com.
My cold hung on during the TCA National Convention in Scottsdale, AZ (right outside of Phoenix). Flying with a cold should be avoided if at all possible. If you missed this convention and, unfortunately a lot of you did, you missed a well-run event that provided the attendees with a truly unique set of experiences. My hat is off to Desert Division as they did a great job.
Let me tell everyone that the Phoenix is HOT. Do not believe that, "It is a dry heat story." When I got off the plane it was 96 degrees at 1000 hours and the humidity was exceptionally high. That made it very uncomfortable and only those who had to were moving.
While the humidity dropped later in the week the temperatures remained high (I understand that after we left town it really got hot). On Thursday night going into Friday morning the overnight low was 93 and when I left for the airport at 0245 on Sunday morning it was 91. Despite that the resort was comfortable and the staff was friendly, well-trained and professional.
Of course, my reason for going was to attend the Board of Directors Meeting. This year the Board really had its work cut out for it. Most of the first day was spent in discussing the proposed revised bylaws. You can read them on line at www.tcamembers.org and compare them with what is currently in effect. TCA members in good standing will be asked to approve them in September as that vote will be a part of the National Officer Election. There were very few motions (a 55-year old organization should not need too muck tinkering with its rules, regulations and policies).
I will say this about the upcoming election. All the candidates are well qualified, devoted to making TCA a better organization and worthy of your support. I cannot vote in the election but if I could I would have a very difficult time trying to decide on who would get my vote.
While I am and obviously must be neutral in the officer election I can easily take a stand and urge you to vote to accept the new bylaws. Folks, believe me TCA needs new bylaws. Bob Hazelett and his committee have worked long and hard to create bylaws that bring TCA into the 21st Century. Please make that effort worth their while by voting to give TCA new bylaws.
First, not that it matters, I am over my cold and those who passed away are still dead. I suppose everyone, except the media, is pretty much overdosed on Michael Jackson. On a positive note here, you can see a lot of his dance moves and some of his videos on YouTube.com.
My cold hung on during the TCA National Convention in Scottsdale, AZ (right outside of Phoenix). Flying with a cold should be avoided if at all possible. If you missed this convention and, unfortunately a lot of you did, you missed a well-run event that provided the attendees with a truly unique set of experiences. My hat is off to Desert Division as they did a great job.
Let me tell everyone that the Phoenix is HOT. Do not believe that, "It is a dry heat story." When I got off the plane it was 96 degrees at 1000 hours and the humidity was exceptionally high. That made it very uncomfortable and only those who had to were moving.
While the humidity dropped later in the week the temperatures remained high (I understand that after we left town it really got hot). On Thursday night going into Friday morning the overnight low was 93 and when I left for the airport at 0245 on Sunday morning it was 91. Despite that the resort was comfortable and the staff was friendly, well-trained and professional.
Of course, my reason for going was to attend the Board of Directors Meeting. This year the Board really had its work cut out for it. Most of the first day was spent in discussing the proposed revised bylaws. You can read them on line at www.tcamembers.org and compare them with what is currently in effect. TCA members in good standing will be asked to approve them in September as that vote will be a part of the National Officer Election. There were very few motions (a 55-year old organization should not need too muck tinkering with its rules, regulations and policies).
I will say this about the upcoming election. All the candidates are well qualified, devoted to making TCA a better organization and worthy of your support. I cannot vote in the election but if I could I would have a very difficult time trying to decide on who would get my vote.
While I am and obviously must be neutral in the officer election I can easily take a stand and urge you to vote to accept the new bylaws. Folks, believe me TCA needs new bylaws. Bob Hazelett and his committee have worked long and hard to create bylaws that bring TCA into the 21st Century. Please make that effort worth their while by voting to give TCA new bylaws.
25 June 2009
You Just Never Know
For the past week I have been suffering from a cold. As I, and the people at the National Business Office, are in the final throes of preparation for next week's Board of Directors Meeting at the National Convention in Scottsdale, AZ, just staying home and treating it is not an option.
I have been struggling but am seeing progress as I have been leaving the office about an hour early to go home and get some sleep. This usually results in me waking up at some strange hour with little or nothing to do and little ambition to do anything in any event.
As I am going on 12 years without owning a TV, I do not have that to lull me back to sleep. I usually end up on line checking out news sites such as the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Fox News and CNN.
The last few days have seen some well known people pass from the scene and in a manner that appears to give credence to the belief that "things happen in threes."
First, Ed McMahon passed away at age 86. Most people remember him as the announcer and straight man to Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." Others might remember him working with Jerry Lewis on the annual Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.
My recollection goes back much further as a friend of mine and I used to ditch school on occasion to watch Wee Willie Webber and his morning cartoon show in Philadelphia followed by Carson and McMahon on "Who Do You Trust?"
While it was supposed to be a game show, it was really a platform for Carson to do stand-up comedy with McMahon as his straight man. The contestants on the show were either willing foils or window dressing. It kept us in stitches and it came as no surprise to us when Carson moved to the Tonight Show after Jack Parr left in early to mid 1962.
Today, I learned that Farrah Fawcett died at age 62. While McMahon was almost as old as my mother this one hit closer to home as she and I are/were the same age. Of course, many of the stories mentioned, and showed, the famous poster of her that went on sale in 1976. At the time, it seemed like a photograph of the "ideal woman" and, as much as anything else, help build the expectations of the Baby Boomers beyond reality. It survives to his day as an icon of what used to be called "pin-up photography."
Less well-known are the photos of Fawcett that appeared after she had been beaten by her, now former, husband. Completely gone was look of the poster girl and for me it reinforced what I already knew, money, looks and fame are no safeguard from making bad decisions. As it is with many cases of that happening, there was nothing I could do but sympathize with her plight and express anger and distress that some groups used, what I consider an aberration, as proof that this is a trait common to all men.
Today's final shock came when I learned that Michael Jackson died, possibly of cardiac arrest, at age 50. It is unfortunate that most people today only remember him as a disgraced pop star who allegedly engaged in strange behavior, mostly with children. He was one of the most creative personalities to see the light of day in the music industry from the late 1960's to the early 1990's.
In the heyday of MTV, when it really was Music Television, Jackson was one of a small band of performers and directors that turned the music video into an art form. Watching those videos from the 1980's made one realize that the marriage of film and music had created something that was special and worth watching. My guess is that many film school careers were launched between 1981 and 1990 because of what played on MTV.
For some of that time I was working as a photo and film rep and potential clients always expressed a desire to have their commercials "look like MTV." Of course, once they discovered what it cost to achieve that look, their thoughts changed and that is also what turned MTV into the Junk TV it is today. Record companies did not see enough of a return on their investment and too many directors were trying to get the same type of money they got for directing full-length films. In the end it was, all about the money.
Still, I would hope that at some point someone would do a retrospective of Jackson's videos so people could get a sense of his real talent and creativity. They really were something to see.
All these folks, while famous and at one time, wealthy, are really not that much different from all of us. They suffered from bad decisions and physical conditions that, in the end, could not be overcome by a sudden change in the script.
I think the larger lesson here is that life is short and happiness fleeting. All of us should take a moment to stand back and look at ourselves and how we interact with those around us and probably consider changing some of what we do.
I can honestly say that over most of my 62 years I have been flabbergasted and amazed at how petty stuff can cause so much discontent, anger and distress, sometimes to the point of rage, and hatred. We human beings are strange creatures. Things of great import slide right by us and things of the most temporary nature and fleeting value inspire us to behavior that borders on animalistic.
As Byron once said, "Truth is strange, stranger than fiction."
I have been struggling but am seeing progress as I have been leaving the office about an hour early to go home and get some sleep. This usually results in me waking up at some strange hour with little or nothing to do and little ambition to do anything in any event.
As I am going on 12 years without owning a TV, I do not have that to lull me back to sleep. I usually end up on line checking out news sites such as the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Fox News and CNN.
The last few days have seen some well known people pass from the scene and in a manner that appears to give credence to the belief that "things happen in threes."
First, Ed McMahon passed away at age 86. Most people remember him as the announcer and straight man to Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." Others might remember him working with Jerry Lewis on the annual Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.
My recollection goes back much further as a friend of mine and I used to ditch school on occasion to watch Wee Willie Webber and his morning cartoon show in Philadelphia followed by Carson and McMahon on "Who Do You Trust?"
While it was supposed to be a game show, it was really a platform for Carson to do stand-up comedy with McMahon as his straight man. The contestants on the show were either willing foils or window dressing. It kept us in stitches and it came as no surprise to us when Carson moved to the Tonight Show after Jack Parr left in early to mid 1962.
Today, I learned that Farrah Fawcett died at age 62. While McMahon was almost as old as my mother this one hit closer to home as she and I are/were the same age. Of course, many of the stories mentioned, and showed, the famous poster of her that went on sale in 1976. At the time, it seemed like a photograph of the "ideal woman" and, as much as anything else, help build the expectations of the Baby Boomers beyond reality. It survives to his day as an icon of what used to be called "pin-up photography."
Less well-known are the photos of Fawcett that appeared after she had been beaten by her, now former, husband. Completely gone was look of the poster girl and for me it reinforced what I already knew, money, looks and fame are no safeguard from making bad decisions. As it is with many cases of that happening, there was nothing I could do but sympathize with her plight and express anger and distress that some groups used, what I consider an aberration, as proof that this is a trait common to all men.
Today's final shock came when I learned that Michael Jackson died, possibly of cardiac arrest, at age 50. It is unfortunate that most people today only remember him as a disgraced pop star who allegedly engaged in strange behavior, mostly with children. He was one of the most creative personalities to see the light of day in the music industry from the late 1960's to the early 1990's.
In the heyday of MTV, when it really was Music Television, Jackson was one of a small band of performers and directors that turned the music video into an art form. Watching those videos from the 1980's made one realize that the marriage of film and music had created something that was special and worth watching. My guess is that many film school careers were launched between 1981 and 1990 because of what played on MTV.
For some of that time I was working as a photo and film rep and potential clients always expressed a desire to have their commercials "look like MTV." Of course, once they discovered what it cost to achieve that look, their thoughts changed and that is also what turned MTV into the Junk TV it is today. Record companies did not see enough of a return on their investment and too many directors were trying to get the same type of money they got for directing full-length films. In the end it was, all about the money.
Still, I would hope that at some point someone would do a retrospective of Jackson's videos so people could get a sense of his real talent and creativity. They really were something to see.
All these folks, while famous and at one time, wealthy, are really not that much different from all of us. They suffered from bad decisions and physical conditions that, in the end, could not be overcome by a sudden change in the script.
I think the larger lesson here is that life is short and happiness fleeting. All of us should take a moment to stand back and look at ourselves and how we interact with those around us and probably consider changing some of what we do.
I can honestly say that over most of my 62 years I have been flabbergasted and amazed at how petty stuff can cause so much discontent, anger and distress, sometimes to the point of rage, and hatred. We human beings are strange creatures. Things of great import slide right by us and things of the most temporary nature and fleeting value inspire us to behavior that borders on animalistic.
As Byron once said, "Truth is strange, stranger than fiction."
16 June 2009
Even More Breaking News
Around the middle of July, we will be posting all the reports submitted by officers, directors, committee chairs and employees for the Board of Directors meeting on www.tcamembers.org.
They will be posted as PDF files and you will need Adobe Reader to open and download them. This is a free software program that can be found on the Adobe website.
This is another way to keep the membership informed and up to date with what is happening in their Association. Watch for them!
They will be posted as PDF files and you will need Adobe Reader to open and download them. This is a free software program that can be found on the Adobe website.
This is another way to keep the membership informed and up to date with what is happening in their Association. Watch for them!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
