equal opportunity employer (EOE)

How many times have you seen this anacronym listed after a company’s advertisement for an open position they are looking to fill? Pretty much all the time unless it’s some local landscaper or painter looking for help. People want to work for a company that will treat all their employees (or associates as most companies prefer) equally and fairly.  I would have to say that by and large that is the case in most business today. Or a least most business feels that they abide by this credo all the time.

But those of us who have been in the workplace for say longer than 6 months realize that what a company states on a mission statement and what they do toward their employees in reality are usually night and day! If a person works for a company that has a unionized workforce then they have some protection from just being shown the door for whatever reason the company decides. But it is far different if the individual is in management at a unionized company. They have no such protection. There is no equal opportunity then. Many times when that person is let go, the reason given and the real reason are not even remotely the same. Kind of like when a head coach is fired but the owner states that they came to a mutual decision to go in another direction. Yeah because you fired him!

It reminded me of a situation that took place at one of the largest employers in WNY a while back. What they said to employees who were let go and what they did in the hiring of a new employee illustrates the gray area that exists under the banner of being an EOE.

Dunlop has been producing tires in Buffalo since 1922. When Goodyear purchased Dunlop in 1999 very little changed. But since then there has been a move to doing things the way Goodyear does them. As a result several floor supervisors have been let go (fired) for a variety of reasons. Under the Dunlop regime most would still be employed there.  Among the reasons given to those managers were: they didn’t follow direction from upper management, attendance problem, shift not producing established quotas, not a good fit for the new Goodyear, no college degree, et al.

The bottom line in all of these firings was the fact that New York State is an “at will” employer, meaning they can terminate an employee for any reason and that person has no legal recourse.  Currently the only state in the Union where this is not true is Montana, who has enacted legislation to protect these type of employees. 

But one disturbing move was made just this past year in the hiring of an area manager.  Desperate for managers who have any kind of college degree, they hired one female as an area manager last year despite the fact that she had been arrested the previous year for a felony possesion of marijuana. The following clip is from the Buffalo News:

News

Seat belt stop results in marijuana seizure

Updated: August 21, 2010, 2:32 AM

A Newstead woman who was stopped by state troopers for an apparent seat belt violation at Bailey and Walden avenues Tuesday was found with more than a pound of marijuana in her vehicle, state police reported Wednesday. The woman, 32, was charged with felony criminal possession of marijuana.

 

That type of action would pretty much sink any chance of being hired by an equal opportunity employer.  I understand that people make a mistake and they deserve a second chance but this was a felony!  At the very least one might wonder why a business like Goodyear Dunlop would hire this type of person to be in charge of other employees where a premium used to be put on one in a management position being of good character.  Turns out that she obviously plead this charge to a lesser one, making her eligible to seek gainful employment instead of doing time.  It’s alleged that the Human Resource Dept.  was aware of this arrest but were satisfied with her excuse of ‘I made a mistake.’  I’m sorry, but a joint is a mistake, a pound is a problem!

 

Apparently Dunlop’s HR Dept never thought this type of information would get out to the rank and file.  But in this age of the Internet and You Tube, nothing is a secret.  It remains to be seen what will come of this now that it is common knowledge.  Maybe Dunlop will want to call back one of those other managers they let go (er fired) who had no arrest for possession on their record!

 

Stay tuned…

 

 

preserve the past…build the future

One of the hot button topics in Buffalo is finding new endeavors and business to improve our town for the future while not neglecting our past history which preserves our legacy. At the dawn of the 20th century, Buffalo was a boom town with the steel, grain, and auto industries beginning to flex their economic muscle. Add to that the Niagara River as a source of water for manufacturing as well as the electrical power being generated at Niagara Falls, Buffalo was a city that the country depended on as the United States began to emerge as the dominating world power in 1900. The Pan American Exposition in 1901 was a showcase for the many uses of electricity that was being generated a mere 10 miles to the north at Niagara Falls. By the 1920′s the steel and auto industries were in full swing. Buffalo was the largest grain milling city in the world. A steady stream of lake freighters moved in and out of the canals of downtown as they loaded their ships at one of many grain silos dotting the downtown landscape. World War II furthered the strength of Buffalo’s economy. But as the 1960′s rolled around many of the city’s dominant industries were beginning to show their age and little was being done to keep them updated. New factories were springing up in other parts of the country and very little was being put into the companies that had helped make Buffalo the city that it was, Queen of the Great Lakes. Today, very little is left of these industries, if any at all. Steel production is gone. Grain production is very small compared to it’s heyday. Automobile production is still going, but scaled way down from what it once was.

In it’s place are new hi-tech endeavors, particularly in the field of medicine. New research at world famous Roswell Park Cancer Institute is at the center of the new medical corrider being built around Roswell and Buffalo General Hospital. But standing in the way of further expansion is the old Trico building where the world’s first windshield wiper was manufactured. In it’s heyday Trico had 3 large manufacturing centers but the old plant #1 was the last to close.

Manufacturing for all intents and purposes ceased in 1998. The building landed on the National Historic Landmark List in 2001. Efforts to convert the building into mixed use facilities fell apart in 2007. The Buffalo Niagara Medical Commission bought the property and converted some of the building for their use and then sat on the rest until they announced plans to start demolition of the rest of the building starting in April 2012. And then all the conservationists, preservationists, community activist groups, and others started clamoring to save the building. It’s historic and a link to Buffalo’s past! Now they want to take more time to do a reuse study. Just another stall tactic. They have no idea what to do with it!

Same thing with the grain industry. With the exception of General Mills, the grain industry is a thing of the past. The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway to shipping in 1959 effectively cut off Buffalo for grain milling. But we still have all the remnants of that glorious past in the form of rusting grain silos.

Yeah they are historic all right. But what are you going to do with them? The preservationists want to keep them here until they can think of a new use. Meanwhile the waterfront continues to be dotted with these rusting hulks of our past. Tear them down and start to really redevelop the waterfront.

The biggest industry from Buffalo’s past was steel. Growing up as a kid it seemed everybody had some relative who worked at either Bethlehem or Republic Steel. The sky glowed orange all the time and the fine black soot permeated the air. Steel was king in Buffalo and had been since 1902 when the mills started up. But there in was the reason for their downfall as well. Because of their age, when it came time to build new steel mills or upgrade existing facilities, Bufffalo’s steel mills were deemed not worth the investment. So they continued along the same as in the old days until it came time to just close it down. By the early 80′s steel production in Buffalo was DEAD, never to return again. Eventually all but a handful of the steel making facilities were torn down. Which leads to one more building on the preservationists must save list! The former administrative headquarters of Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna. Built in 1901, the company moved into another administrative building in the 60′s. Today the building looks like what you see below. The city of Lackawanna has received a court order forcing the current owner to tear it down.

The building is in deplorable shape according to Lackawanna’s code enforcement officer. “All the windows are gone, part of the roof has collapsed in the back. You start tearing down one section and the whole thing will come down”. No kidding, it’s 101 years old!! It’s been empty since the Kennedy administration! But oh no wait just a minute comes the cry from the preservationists. Said Tom Yots, executive director of Preservation Buffalo Niagara, “Even in it’s present deteriorated state, (italics mine), the Bethlehem Steel administration building hints at our region’s grand industrial roots while illustrating our collective great fortune of architectural heritage.”

David Torke, a local preservationist and ‘urban explorer’ said that he was in the building recently and “saw no evidence that the building faced structural collapse”. Alright then let’s keep it standing!

Just like the Trico plant and the empty grain silos this building as well hilights the reason Buffalo has not been more progressive in this now 21st century. While I can understand the fact that these great old structures are a reminder of Buffalo’s past legacy, they are now standing in the way of the business and commercial ventures we need to revitalize our city for the future.

I love history but I don’t need to see the actual buildings where all that history was made. That’s why we have museums andrr books. Let’s move forward. Even Yankee Stadium, the house that Ruth built, is gone and replaced with a modern stadium. Let’s get rid of these empty structures and start building new ones that will move us forward into the future.

only in Buffalo…

drinking and driving

Remember waiting to turn 16 yrs old so you could get your permit and finally drive a car?  It let everyone know that  you weren’t a kid anymore.  You could drive!  But with it came responsibility since you were now operating a moving piece of machinery that weighed in excess of 2 tons (at least in the 60′s when I learned).  It was another reason my parents made me take driver ed class during summer break so that I would learn the rules of the road as well as have actual road driving experience, not just class room instruction.  It’s amazing how fast a moving car travels in just a few seconds.  It requires complete control and awareness of your surroundings at all times.  I remember asking my instructor when he would consider someone an experienced driver.  His reply was that once you had driven around 100,000 miles you would have experienced all types of situations and how to react to be considered, at least in his opinion, an experienced driver.  At the time I thought I’ll never drive that much, but 40 years later I know I passed that distance too many times to keep track of.

I mention this in view of all the tragic accidents that take place everyday in this country, including right here in WNY.  And today we have all kinds of distractions that we didn’t have when I first learned how to drive.  Cell phones, GPS devices, radios that blast the bass so loud it makes your fillings loose, DVD players playing movies for the kids in the back seat, as well as all the fast food drive thrus that make it convenient to get food and eat without ever getting out of your car.

Yet the two biggest causes of accidents continue to be the same as always, speeding and alcohol.  How many people are killed every day because they were driving too fast?  There’s a reason for the saying that SPEED KILLS!  And many of the victims are young people who don’t have many miles of driving experience.  But if ever there was a lightning rod for public fury it is the continuous amount of accidents  and deaths as a result of drunk driving,  It goes on and on and on.  Not helping the problem is a court system that allows drivers who have been arrested for DUI or DWI to continue driving.  I don’t care if you were under the influence or while intoxicated!  YOU ARE STILL DRUNK AND YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS DRIVING A CAR!

Then there are the lawyers who constantly use the airwaves to advertise their legal expertise to help you get out of a DUI or DWI.  Case in point:

 This just enables ones to continue to drink and drive.  If I get arrested I’ll just give ol Sam a call and he will get me off.  And there in lies the problem with drunk driving.  The laws are not strict enough or administered in an equitable way so as to discourage one from drinking and then getting behind the wheel. Too many loopholes and a system that is too lax to keep the habitual culprits off the road. If  you get caught you should serve time in jail and then prove that you deserve to have your license reinstated.  I mention all of this in light of some recent developments regarding drunk driving accidents, some fatal.  Currently as I write this, one Dr. James Corasanti is on trial for hitting and then running from a fatal accident with an 18 year old girl who was riding her longboard home from work last July.  This ongoing trial has captured the attention of the public in WNY not just because the girl was hit and killed, but the good doctor claimed he didn’t realize that he hit someone or something after several hours of eating, drinking, and golfing at a local country club.  I’m sorry but when I hit a squirrel that dashes in front of me I feel it?  Who’s kidding who doc? If this case isn’t bad enough, last week the following events  took place.  A 23 year old driver was drunk and hit and killed a 14 year old boy.  He ran from the scene!  Then a 32 year old was speeding through the Town of Tonawanda and struck 2 teenagers, sending them to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.  The accident happened in front of the town police station!! But the creme de la creme was the 40 year old who was driving drunk, hit a light pole and then fled.  He called the court in the morning to report that he would be late for jury duty due to car trouble.  He is a juror in the Corasanti trial, which involves drinking and driving!!  These events all took place on Thursday last week, the same day.  What the hell is wrong with people?

What is really disturbing and heart-rending is that this kind of behavior will continue.  The laws of the land and the authorities are being overwhelmed with this epidemic.  Maybe we need to rethink at what age a person can legally drive a vehicle.  People also have to realize that driving a car is a privilege, not a right.  And alcohol slows your reflexes enough so that you cannot react quick enough to avoid hitting objects or worse yet a human being.  Even race car drivers have accidents, some fatal and they don’t drink alcohol before the Daytona or Indy 500 so what makes you think that you can?  Especially if you don’t have 100,000 miles of driving experience under your belt.

A car being driven by a drunk is no different than a person walking down the street waving a loaded gun at people.  Someone is going to be hurt.  I just pray it’s not me or any of my loved ones.

welcome to the blue tower

The town of Amherst is having the blue water tower, that has become something of a landmark to daily commuters passing through the NYS Thruway and Youngmann Highway (I-290) interchange, repainted this summer. They also have plans to repaint the Amherst, NY that appears on the top of the tower as well as erect 4 green cedar ‘welcome signs’ at strategic locations throughout the town. Costs for the upcoming project are said to be $1.8 million to paint the tower, $10,000 to paint ‘Amherst, NY’, and another $7,800 to install the welcome signs. That’s a lot of dough for paint and wood!

As expected it has generated a lot of opinions from town officials as well as the public at large. The green cedar signs will feature the town seal with the inscription: Welcome to Amherst/ “the safest town in America”/ established 1818. Some feel it to be a huge waste of money. The safest town in America statistic is debatable depending on what data you are using and when it was taken. If you were a victim of crime in Amherst I’m sure you don’t care what a sign says! Even the City of Buffalo has a sign posted on the shoulder of the westbound NYS Thruway proclaiming it “an All-America City.” That was 10 years ago! The sign isn’t even in Buffalo! And by the way, shouldn’t it read “All-American?”

Whether these signs are accurate or not is of no importance to Supervisor Barry Weinstein. “Part of the sign’s design is to create an image.” Said Highway Superintendent Robert Anderson, “we’re a Class A town and I think we should be telling people you are now entering the Town of Amherst.” Weinstein thinks the signs will be “nice touch. I think image is important. We want to keep our home values up. We want to keep people coming to Amherst.” New signs are going to accomplish all that? Unbelievable! Never again will anyone get Amherst confused with Angola!

You know some towns are missing the boat when it comes to their image. They just need to upgrade their signs on the roadside. For example how am I to know how safe it is in this town? Look at this town’s sign. Nothing. Are they keeping their home values up? Is it a Class A type of town? I need that information?

While the $7,800 expense for new welcome signs met with unanimous approval from the town board, the $10,000 cost to repaint ‘Amherst, NY’ on the blue water tower was a harder sell. Not all agreed the cost was worth it. But while the board finally did approve the cost to keep the town’s name on the water tower, Supervisor Weinstein remains steadfastly opposed to it. His reason was interesting. “It’s an ugly water tower to begin with…. it doesn’t create any imagery. It doesn’t add to the aesthetics of the town.” What? It’s a water tower for cryin out loud!! You mean you’ve seen attractive ones that add imagery.

He also thinks it is “a stupid idea” because most people associate the tower with traffic jams and the fact that the name faces the wrong way. Drivers see the name as they are leaving town not entering it. Oh what is poor Barry to do? It’s not easy being a town supervisor.

Oh if only the water tower were more iconic looking, like say the Eiffel Tower! Then the town wouldn’t need signs with ‘less than accurate’ information, they could paint the name facing the right direction, and eliminate all the traffic jams.

only in Buffalo….

Buffalo bounty hunters

It was reported this week that Greg Williams, the former defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints, is being investigated by the NFL for an alleged “cash for bounty” system while with the Saints. Reports are that players were given money for putting an opposing player out of the game. The very nature of football (NFL style) is blocking, tackling, and vicious hitting. Anyone remember Ray Nitschke, Dick Butkus, Jack Tatum, or Dick “Night Train” Lane? The resulting injuries have become part of the game, some even career ending. Is it any wonder that the average life span of an NFL player is a little over 3 years? But the fact that he crossed the line by paying players money to acheive said results has gotten the attention of the NFL. Especially in light of the closer attention being given to serious injuries such as concussions.

What did they expect? Have you seen an MMA fight lately? The whole object of the sport is to hurt your opponent anyway possible to win the fight. Did you ever see some of these older football players when they hit 50. Their knees and legs are so arthritic that it takes an hour to get out of bed, Johnny Unitas’ fingers were so knarled up he couldn’t hold a pen straight to sign his name.

The extent to which Greg Williams is punished is yet to be determined, in part because he admitted to doing it and not just once. While the NFL report only mentions his actions with the Saints (who won the Super Bowl in ’09), the Washington Post has reported that he had a similar bounty system in place while defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins. And former players for the Buffalo Bills, for whom he was the head coach from 2001-2003 have said that the same practices were going on here.

Really, the Bills? Coy Wire, who played safety for the Bills while Williams was the coach in Buffalo is being quoted in the Buffalo News as saying that an environment of “malicious intent” was here when he played. He went on to say that there were “rewards given to players who made a big hit that hurt an opposing player”. They were commended and encouraged for their actions. Wire also stated that “we had a philosophy in Buffalo about how the game is meant to be played and the type of defense that we wanted to be. We wanted to be relentless, vicious, and feared.”

Wow, those attributes never came to mind watching the Bills for the last decade or so. Nobody on those teams ever made me forget the likes of Joel Collier’s defenses when they ran roughshod over the rest of the good old AFL. How can I forget the hit laid on Keith Lincoln of the Chargers in the ’64 title game in the Rockpile. I don’t know if he was paid extra for that hit, but it knocked out Lincoln for the game, and changed the fortunes of the Bills from that point forward. When George Saimes got his arms around your ankles, you were going down. Those teams were relentless, vicious, and feared!

All I know about the Bills under Williams is that they stunk! Wire did say that there was no such system in place under suceeding coaches Mike Mularkey or Dick Jauron. Didn’t matter, their teams stunk too!

As far as the extent of fines to be doled out to Williams and the Saints, that’s going to be a tricky one. For starters it goes beyond just Williams. It is alleged that Mickey Loomis the Saints GM was aware of the bounty system and did nothing and that head coach Sean Payton turned a blind eye. Not too saintly were they? Here’s a thought; take away the Saints title and give Williams the chair. That oughta do it. And any other teams that have such a system in place would change in a hurry. As for the Bills, we just need better players, plain and simple.

I wonder what Mike Stratton is doing these days?

only in Buffalo….

where’s my mail?

The US Postal Service announced last week that it plans to close the Buffalo mail processing center as part of the cost-cutting measures it will implement to strengthen it’s bottom line.  The USPS has been bleeding money for years and now drastic measures are needed.  Early estimates are that it will result in the loss of 200+ jobs.

Wow, more people losing their jobs in Buffalo. Join the club. You’re not the first nor will you be the last. But what I really get upset about is our local politician, in this case Rep. Brian Higgins who is questioning the accuracy of the projected savings and why only Buffalo and not Rochester was considered to close. Buffalo is not exactly a central location for shipping to other parts of the state.  Does it really matter anyway where our mail comes from?  Most of it is junk. The Postal Service is paying money, good money, to deliver it to our homes and we turn right around an throw it out.  How many credit card, bank, magazines, etc. do I want?  And if it starts coming from Rochester instead of Buffalo, oh well?

Instead of clamoring to save a system that has not kept up with technology, start finding new jobs that utilize that same technology and create new jobs, like all politicians promise to do, but then never make it happen. Quit whinning about how we are such a depressed area and people are always leaving Buffalo. Be part of the solution, not the problem.

But now it is reported that Mr. Higgins is so livid with the report that he has asked the inspector general of the Postal Service to review the postal study of the Buffalo center.  Does he realize the USPS has targeted 223 processing centers for closure nationwide?  What does Rep. Higgins think that is going to change?  If I’m one of the 200 people that are due to lose their jobs, don’t hold your breath.  And get your resume ready?  And oh yeah, there are few jobs out there for people whose job experience is sorting mail, junk mail, junk mail at that!

only in Buffalo….

casino night

I don’t gamble so I have no need to venture into the Seneca Niagara casino in beautiful downtown Niagara Falls, NY.  Besides I spent many hours attending various events over the years when it was known as the Niagara Falls Convention Center until the place started falling apart. 

 I stayed at a casino in Reno a few years ago while on vacation.  Casinos are a lot like airport terminals. They all look the same whether you are in San Francisco or Wichita.  However they do have appealing  bar and restaurant facilities which accomodate all types of people and events. 

 Apparently it was at the bar in the Seneca Niagara Casino on Feb 10 that New York State Senator Grisanti and his wife got into some type of altercation with a couple of Native Americans, resulting in a concussion for the Senator’s wife and some bad press for the Senator.  In the aftermath there’s been finger pointing coming from both sides as to the real culprit.  The Native Americans, who were drinking at the bar (duh) are accusing the Senator of starting the fracas, while the good Senator was being the peacemaker and tried to break up the fight, which resulted in his wife suffering her injuries.  Something is rotten in Denmark folks.  I don’t think we will ever get the real story but what amazes me is this:  Why would a State Senator, a public figure, try to break up a fight between 2 drunk Native Americans, in one of their casinos? Are you nuts?  Didn’t you watch any John Wayne movies when you were a kid?  The last white guy that got involved in a fight with Native Americans was George Custer, a US Army General.  Remember how that one turned out Senator?  He got beat worse than the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII.

Of course that is the politicians side of the story.  The Native Americans and their party are claiming the other side were the instigators.  And all that they managed to do was give outsiders another reason to thrown stones at Buffalo.  We don’t need it thank you!

It was reported that the Senator and his wife are banned from the casino for 3 years.  I have an idea Senator.  If you don’t get re-elected you could move to Reno.  They have lots of casinos, run by white guys.

only in Buffalo…

Sabres on the move

So the NHL trade deadline has come and gone and Darcy Reiger has made some more bold moves to get the Sabres over the hump in the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup!  Ah not so fast Sabre fans.  In typical fashion he unloaded a veteran who was due to be an unrestricted free agent (Gaustad) for Nashville’s 1st round pick this year, ran out of patience with the rookie Kassian and got another rookie in return (albeit one who now becomes the 3rd leading goal scorer on the team the minute he joins them on ice), and moved out another defenseman (Gragnani) who was not able to match the same results he showed late last year and in the playoffs.  It looks like change for change sakes. Are we better?  I ask better than what? 

The real question is how long will Darcy remain the GM?  Many of us hope this year is it.  He knows how to build a hockey team, just not one that is ever going to win the Cup, which is what many long-time Sabre fans have been looking for since 1970. To be fair, none of the trade deadline moves by anyone was that game changing.  The same teams that are the favorites are still going to be the favorites.

As far as losing Gaustad, yeah he was a crowd favorite and a good face-off man but in hockey at some point you better put it in the net.  And in that regard he netted 0 when it really mattered, in the playoffs!

Zach Kassian.  In today’s NHL you better impress fast.  The window to live up to draft predictions is very small.  He was promoted as the big winger who could handle himself and contribute on the score sheet.  He did neither as well as promised, though some rookies take longer.  He looked good for Team Canada in last years World Junior Tournament here in town.  Reading some of the press and tweeting coming out of Vancouver they are all exited about getting tougher now that they have big Zach out west.  Kinda how we felt at the start of this season!

Marc-Andre Gragnani just wasn’t able to maintain what he had going for him last year.  Although in his defense, neither has Stafford, Roy, Miller, Enroth, et al either and they are still here.  Again, that’s life in the NHL.

What does it all mean?  Not much.  We are not making any playoffs this year and even if they squeeze in by a miracle, it’s another one and done in the playoffs like the last two years.  I would much rather have not made the playoffs the last two years and be building the team up so that when we made it this year, like everyone thought, we would be a legit contender.  But it’s not meant to be with Darcy anymore.  Time to get a GM who knows what it takes in todays NHL.  I’m personally still waiting for a return to the days when the Knox brothers owned the Sabres and we had Punch and Fred Hunt (who had made the Bisons champions in the AHL) running the show.

Do you realize how close we came to having a Stanley Cup banner in just 5 years from their birth?  Within 3 years they made the playoffs and in year 5 they were already playing for the Cup.  If not for Bernie Parent making more saves than God in the finals, we already have a major championship in Buffalo, and that was 35 years ago.  They built a team made up of what you still need today; big tough defenseman, goal scorers (as in more than 2), solid goaltending, and savvy coaching come playoff time.

I for one am still waiting.

only in Buffalo….

reading the obits

Sunday morning!  Cup of coffee and the Sunday paper, whatever your choice.  And while we live in a digital age and get most of our news via that method, there still is nothing like sitting down and opening up the old-fashioned newsPAPER.  It’s one of the last links we have to the old days when people got their news in  print form, on real paper.

The newspaper is an amazing collection of bits of information and pictures that mean different things to different people.  Weekly coupons for the weekly groceries, engagement pictures of future brides, 50 year wedding anniversary pictures, pictures from the latest games be it high school, college, or pro teams. What’s happening in my neighborhood?  We all read the paper for different reasons.

I personally like to peruse the obituary pages.   I guess it reminds me of my  own mortality as well as seeing who passed in our town that I might know personally.  People I lived in the neighborhood with, went to school or worked with.  I have even had to see my own parents listing in the paper which is the hardest, because that hits closest to home, it’s personal.  A certain amount of dignity and class are called for.

But you wouldn’t know it by some of the obit listings I see in the paper.  A few things really bother me about some obits.  For instance, why is it that when the very elderly ones pass away we have to see a picture of them in uniform getting ready to be shipped off to the war, the big one WW II? 

 Or when the teacher I had in 2nd grade and who retired during the Nixon administration has her high school graduation picture posted? 

When someone has been in the hospital for a lengthy period, do we have to see a picture of them, head on the pillow with the oxygen tube in their nose?

Better yet when someone younger passes away, I don’t want a closeup of them from that hiking trip they made to Yosemite 5 years ago?

Then there’s the obit that is longer than the President’s state of the Union address!  Wow, what an amazing person!  It seems like there’s nothing that old doc Madigan  didn’t accomplish in his lifetime, except find a cure for what finally did him in!

Finally, if you’ve had the same last name for over 60 years, who cares what it was in 1935?  That’s like one of the main characters in the 60′s series Hawaii 5-0 was named Chin Ho, but the actor’s real name was Kam Fong? Really, you had to change it?  And I really don’t need to know that your nickname was Lucky growing up.  Not anymore if I’m reading about you in the obits, with my morning coffee!

only in Buffalo….

storm team weather

Mention to someone that you are from Buffalo, NY and the immediate reaction is: WINTER, SNOW, COLD.  While it is true that we get snow and cold, so does 2/3 of the continental U.S.  It’s called winter.  Heck, Syracuse, NY, 3 hours due east on the NYS Thruway from Buffalo gets more snow every year than we do.  Visiting athletes from balmy wintertime cities like Boston and NY always like to take shots at our weather. If you want cold, try Canada.  What do you think it’s like in say Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, or Ottawa in January? And Green Bay has taken on a mythical mystique in winter ever since Ray Scott ( the late, great sports announcer for  CBS ) referred to Lambeau Field as “the frozen tundra” during the infamous Ice Bowl playoff game between the Pack and the Cowboys in ’67. ( Quick Cowboy fans, who was the Dallas QB? )

So I laugh when ever I hear some out-of-towner, who’s here  for one day, takes his verbal shot at our city. Go ahead, we can take it.  But 2 things continue to feed this perception.  The people who are born here and have never lived anywhere else and our local news stations, in particular the weather departments of those stations.

First the locals.  I always chuckle when I hear them grumble and complain about the snow and cold and how they are moving to Florida or somewhere else down south to get away from our weather.  The problem these folks have is their view of Florida is always how the weather is in January when they leave 20 degree Buffalo and 4 hours later they land in 65 degree Orlando, Tampa, or Miami. To make a fair comparison go there in July when I’m golfing in humid-less 73 degrees with a slight breeze wafting to keep me cooled off here in Buffalo and it’s 90+ degrees in Florida or any other place south of the Mason-Dixon line, with humidity so heavy that your underwear is plastered to your body.  Better yet spend the whole summer working outside everyday and see if you think it’s still so great.  Go ahead, move.

Now to the local weather coverage.  Giving the weather report is like watching paint dry.  What’s the high and low temp going to be and will it rain or snow or will the sun be shining?  That’s all I really care about.  All the charts and diagrams and doppler readings are just techn0-fluff.  So now we need to spice up the weather reports.  No longer is Accu-weather good enough.  Now we have Warn Weather and my personal favorite, Storm Team 2 Weather.  They live and pray for a storm so they can lead off the news at 6 and 11 plus give updates every 10 minutes.  When radar indicates a storm is approaching with 5 of 10 inches of snow, the weather guy almost wets himself  giving the report.  Calm down dude, it’s winter time!  Besides, half the time it never is as bad as all their technology predicts.

Now if we could get these storm team weather guys to move south!!

only in Buffalo….