f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

New Police Chief in Schenectady:   Yesterday, fifty-six years after his father Arthur Chaires became Schenectady’s first black police officer, Mark R. Chaires was sworn in as the City’s first African-American police chief.  See “Son of police pioneer makes history of his own” (Albany Times Union, Sept. 18, 2008); “Chaires begins job as Schenectady police chief” (Schenectady Daily Gazette, September 19, 2008); “Schenectady names Chaires first African-American police chief” (FoxNews23, Sept. 18, 2008).

A Schenectady native, Chief Chaires is 52 years old and has worked his way up the ranks in his 19 years in SPD.  He is taking over the helm of a Department that employs 165 officers, and has more than its share of controversy, scandal and morale problems.  (See, e.g., our post on Sept. 6th, and recent coverage of SPD’s dismal arrest statistics as compared to both national averages and our comparable neighbor, Troy, NY.)  Growing up with the example of a father who “never missed a day of work during his 27-year career” and who surely experienced — from the public and within the department — the racial prejudice that is rampant in blue-collar Upstate cities, Chief Chaires brings important personal and professional experience to the job.  That experience includes eight years in the Air Force.

Those who know him speak often of his integrity, and I’m impressed with the new Chief’s thoughtful remarks yesterday — focusing more on the need to get to work to achieve on-the-job excellence within the Department (improving “customer service”) and to earn the public’s trust, than on the historical importance of his appointment.  I’m also pleased to know that he had oversight of the SPD internal affairs office, which chose to refer the 2007 excessive force complaints of Donald Randolph (see our prior post) to the district attorney, rather than keeping the investigation in-house.

Chief Mark Chaires deserves the support of rank and file officers, of our poliical leaders and of the public as he tries to restore the performance and reputation of his Department, and to prove that Schenectady does indeed “have the makings of an outstanding police department.”  As a Gazette editorial noted today, the Chief’s job is a bit symbolic, since the City created the post of Public Safety Commissioner last year, and Chaires therefore reports to Commissioner Wayne Bennett (who is in the background in the photo at the head of this posting).  But, the position comes with plenty of responsibility and calls for skillful balancing among all the interests that need to work together to create the kind of Police Department that allows good cops to flourish and the public to trust and respect our police force.

The Gazette is correct that, with a population that is 15% black, Chaires’s promotion “is a significant step for a city, and a department, that has had relatively few minority employees and almost no minority managers.” “Editorial: Good choice for symbolic appointment” (Daily Gazette, September 19, 2008).  If Chief Chaires can gain the trust of Schenectady’s black community, we may indeed find arrest rates climbing and claims of excessive force and institutional neglect greatly reduced.

A final thought on the Schenectady Police Department: Recent online Comments at the Gazette website regarding editorials and articles about SPD show that far too many Schenectadians (especially police officers and their families, I presume) equate support for our police with silence over their flaws and failings and those of the Department. (see here and there, for example) I hope Chief Chaires can help demonstrate that honesty about past and ongoing problems, and the need for procedural and supervisory improvements, can help to rally support — internally, within City government, among the public — to find and implement solutions.  We all want our good cops to thrive within an effective and respected police department.

the dragnet of nightingales
closes in…
police station

……… by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue

.. Silly Donkey Club (Schenectady Chapter):  We’ve never been shy here at f/k/a about noting our disappointment with the Schenectady County Democratic Committee (e.g., here and there).  Today’s newspaper brought one more reason for registered Democrats in Schenectady County to blush with embarrassment over the crassness and political ineptness of our so-called party leaders. The Gazette article “Fair campaign group seeks more pledges” (Sept. 19, 2008) describes efforts by the group Fair Campaign Practices for the Capital Region, Inc to get county parties chairs across the Region — and not merely individual candidates — to sign the group’s Fair Campaign Pledge.  FCP is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady Counties and the Interfaith Alliance of New York State, Capital Region.

Seven years ago, FCP established procedures to accept candidates’ charges of unfair campaign practices within the Capital District, hold hearings and issue decisions regarding the charges, and their efforts have been welcomed by the voting public.

See their “tips for Candidates” and list of “2008 Pledge Signers” , as well as their Candidate Manual (.PDF), and Decisions from prior years.

This sounds rather non-controversial, and the Gazette article tells us that party chairs around the region have signed the FCP pledge — except for Brian Quail, chair of the Schenectady County Democratic Committee. According to the Gazette:

. . QUAIL OPTS OUT

At least one party leader said he will not sign the pledge. “There are several reasons why I won’t sign it,” said Brian Quail, chairman of the Schenectady County Democratic Committee.

“You should not sign a piece of paper to promise to do good and decent things when you should always be doing good and decent things,” he said.

The second reason, he said, is that Fair Campaign Practices for the Capital Region lacks credibility. “They use totally subjective standards and they apply their standards to other people’s conduct,” Quail said. “They don’t matter. Who matters are the voters.”

I’m sorry, Chairman Quail, but voters really do want to know what an objective source like FCP has to say about the claims and accusations made in campaign materials, and about the charges hurled by political candidates and their election managers and parties.  The voters need to hear from balanced sources.  Your failure to sign the pledge makes us all wonder just what you have to hide and what FCP decisions you are hoping to avoid.

Here’s what Fair Campaign Practices says about its structure and procedures:

“A pool of 32 respected individuals from the four county region is selected to hear complaints. These community representatives serve on Hearing Panels that determine the validity of complaints. In order to ensure a balanced, fair process for all sides, the local chairs of all the recognized political parties, or their designees, automatically become ex officio members of the FCP Hearing Panel and attend hearings.

“After a hearing is held and a decision is made by the hearing panel, the decision is made known to the candidates involved and to the media so that the media can inform the voting public.”

I’m really tired of the leaders of the Schenectady County Democratic Party acting as if the rest of us are morons who will simply take them at their word and nod agreement to their nonsense.  Quail, Savage, et al. continue to make the Party look bad with their high-handed, irrational positions and policies.  They keep presenting a very big target for anyone wanting to pin the tail on the Democratic Donkey.

update (September 20, 2008): Today’s Gazette editorial is titled “Party Chairmen should embrace fair campaigns.” Here are excerpts worth repeating:

• “But the process is elaborate, it seems meticulously fair, and, slowly but surely, it has been gaining acceptance with candidates and voters. Now the League wants the region’s political party chairs to join in — a logical step, since chairmen often set the tone for campaigns and are behind much of the advertising.”
• “Unfortunately, as a story in Friday’s Gazette indicated, only a few have done so thus far, and one — Schenectady County Democratic Chairman Brian Quail — even denounced the idea as unnecessary and lacking credibility. His scorn for the system might have something to do with the fact that his party was flagged for violating fair campaign practices during the last election cycle.”
• “. . . [T]he more candidates and committee chairs who sign onto the concept of fair campaigns, the more likely they’ll adhere to the principles. That can’t help but make for fairer campaigns, a better-informed electorate and better government.”

playing dead
on the horse’s tail
a meadow horsefly

catching the kite’s tail
with his mouth…
gargoyle

even the old cow
has a fly-whisking
tail

at the tail end
of the cloudburst crowing…
rooftop rooster

sporting with
the big cat’s tail…
a little butterfly

chasing the kite’s tail
’round and ’round…
puppy

its tail points
to the rising moon…
pheasant

……… by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue

Sun-scorched slope–
an old donkey rubs his rump
against a mud-crusted post

Approaching storm…
a black colt in the meadow
snorts against the wind

late fall–
my echo calling
the dog

……………………… by Rebecca Lilly – Shadwell Hills (Birch Prees Press, 2002); “afternoon warmth” & “late fall” – The Heron’s Nest V:2

If you still believe that capitalist markets regulate themselves and that political ads are always fair and truthful, or that government is always the problem and never the solution, you might not agree with the f/k/a Gang today.  Seems to us, after more than a few decades of reflection, that sometimes (indeed, far too often) we need to legislate common sense and basic consideration for the safety and comfort of others.  To wit:

thumbthing in the way she moves — banning texting while driving:  Down south from us, the Westchester County legislature did a smart thing last week.  It passed a law banning Texting While Driving. See “Legislators Vote to Ban Texting While Driving” (New York Times, Sept. 16, 2008); “Board Approves Ban On Texting While Driving” (Westchester.com, Sept. 10, 2008).  It’s a very good trend, and I hope New York State will join Alaska, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington and impose a state-wide ban soon.

Usually, Prof. Yabut would pipe up about now and say something like: Oh sure, the pols can screw up the courage to ban a dangerous activity performed almost exclusively by those under 30 years old, but they’re too cowardly or hypocritical to pass meaningful bans on the far-more prevalent phoning while driving. [see, e.g., our prior post “California’s phony car-phone safety law“].  He has a point, of course, but today I’d rather focus on the positive.

The editorial page of the Schenectady Gazette got the tone and analysis right a couple days ago in a piece titled “Editorial: Textbook case of a law that shouldn’t be necessary, but is” (September 15, 2008):

. . ” It is unquestionably a commentary on how high our society has risen technologically — and how far we’ve fallen in terms of common sense and consideration of others — that laws banning text-messaging on a cellphone while driving a car are becoming more and more commonplace.

“Indeed, such laws seem necessary because no matter how obviously dangerous — how stupid! — it may be to take one’s eyes off the road to focus on a miniature computer screen while operating a ton-plus vehicle; then to take one’s hands off the wheel to key in a response, motorists persist in doing so. And when they do, they not only endanger their lives and the lives of anyone traveling with them, but anyone who might be sharing the road with them.”

The Gazette‘s Editor was also spot on with the conclusion: “And [the TWD law] should be enforced more rigorously than the oft-ignored handheld cellphone ban. Perhaps if police had done a better job with that one, motorists wouldn’t be so brazen about engaging in far-more-distracting text messaging.”  ‘Nuff said.

writing with a finger
in the clear blue sky…
“autumn dusk”

the cats are courting
bumping
heads

going nuts in hailstones
crashing down…
a fox

the old hand
swats a fly
already gone

now I watch
with careful attention…
autumn dusk

……… by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue

..  pet peeves – leash law scofflaws:  … An article two days ago in the Gazette reminded me of another of my pet peeves: People who are too self-important (or too sensitive to the feelings of their canine companions) to comply with leash laws in our parks and streets.  In “Town tightens leash laws: Dogs can run loose in only two designated parks” (Daily Gazette, September 16, 2008), we learn that the Town of Clifton Park, NY, passed a combination leash and dog-park-permit law “after months of discussions between board members, dog owners wanting the option to walk their pets off- and on-leash, and people wishing to use town land without being approached by dogs.”   In fact,

“In return for designating Kinns Road Park as an official leash-free zone, the board is tightening laws in all other parts of town, mandating dogs remain on leash at all times in neighborhood parks, playgrounds and other public places. While the former town law required that dogs remain ‘under the immediate supervision and control’ of their owners, the new law goes further, stating that dogs must be ‘under direct leash control’.”

One Clifton Park dog owner supports the new law, but correctly noted that she wants the leash law enforced, so that the money she pays for a permit to use the dog park doesn’t just become another tax with little real benefits.    Real enforcement — and, better yet, real compliance — is indeed an important aspect of a leash law.  We have one here in Schenectady, but I regularly see scofflaws at the small Riverside Park at the end of my block, along the Mohawk River.

Far too many dog-walkers act as if Schenectady merely requires their pets to be “under their immediate supervision and control” in public — and they very often fail to keep them under control.  Over and over, dogs off their leashes scare the elderly and the very young in Riverside Park, and terrorize other dogs and their owners, too.   When asked why they are merely carrying an unattached leash, the scofflaws are uniformly gruff and defensive, or simply indifferent and self-righteous.   I found this nifty quote from the California Court of Appeals at the Dog Law website:

“Whatever may be said about the affection which mankind has for a faithful companion, modern city conditions no longer permit dogs to run at large.”

Dog Law is presented by Nolo, Justia, and Little Sheeba the Hug Pug, with lots of materials put together by Nolo’s Mary Randolph, the author of the book “Every Dog’s Legal Guide: A Must-Have Book for Your Owner.” The website has information on many relevant topics, from Leash and Pooper Scooper Laws, to dangerous and barking dogs, traveling with dogs, and much more.  On the topic of Leash Laws, it tell us:

“Long gone from most of America are the days when you could answer a longing whine from your dog by opening the back door and letting it roam the neighborhood at will. . .

” ‘Leash laws’ generally require dogs to be on a leash and under control whenever they’re off their owners’ property, unless a specific area is designated for unleashed dogs. Some laws apply only at night (when dogs may form packs and do the most damage to livestock) or allow an owner to have a dog unleashed if it is under “reasonable control.” Even dog owners who let their dogs off a leash only because they’re confident they have complete control over them are probably in violation of a leash law.

“The intensity of enforcement, however, varies from city to city and neighborhood to neighborhood. In many places, an owner is unlikely to be cited if the dog really is under voice control and not bothering anyone, even if in technical violation of a leash law. But in some cities, police enforce leash laws strictly, especially if they have received complaints about unleashed dogs in a certain area. . . .”

.. .. Around here, we like to say: “Behind every annoying dog or child there’s an annoying adult.”  And, since it’s dinner time, it’s about time to say: ‘Nuff said.  So, let’s let dog-lover Issa take us home.

peach blossoms–
riding a dog
the naughty boy

suddenly
the dog stops barking…
lotus blossoms!

under dewy umbrella-hat
nodding off…
the dog barks!

the backstreet
is the dog’s toilet
first snowfall

all stretched out 
the dog naps
in the lilies

runaway kite!
the dog also eyes it
restlessly

playing with
the rambunctious dog…
little butterfly

the dog comes out
and calls them too…
fireflies

the dog chewing
the shuttlecock
comes running along

an east wind blows–
the dog lays his chin
on the bank

……. by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue 

There are many events each year that help make Schenectady’s historic Stockade district both an interesting place to live and a real neighborhood — a placed filled with neighbors and welcome guests.  The event I most look forward to is the Villagers Outdoor Art Show, which always takes place the weekend after Labor Day. The tropical storm formerly known as Hanna caused the original date of this year’s 57th annual Outdoor Art Show to be canceled on Saturday, and we all crossed our fingers to see what Sunday, the Rain Date, would bring.  What it brought was a perfect late-summer day, with sunny skies, a slight breeze and temperatures in the mid-70’s.

outdoor art show
three agnostics
pray the rain away

…. by dagosan

.. Lawrence after the Show — Front, Ferry & Green Streets. . .

More important, Sunday brought almost all of the fine artists (over a hundred) originally scheduled for Saturday — painters, sculptors, photographers, sketchers, and more — plus a robust, smiling throng of residents and visitors.  The result was a celebration of art and neighborliness along both sides of the blocks radiating from the traffic circle monitored by Lawrence the Indian. [As we said on Monday, Wilford “Frenchie” Hamilton, the recently murdered homeless artist, would surely have loved it.]

As with all such events, many people had to work very hard to make it happen. Here’s what they say at the Show’s web page:

“The event  is made possible by many neighborhood volunteers, the cooperation of the Chamber of Schenectady County, the Oakroom Artists, the Daily Gazette and the Stockade Association”.

The f/k/a Gang guiltily admit that we in no way helped to make the event such a success (except for showing up twice Sunday afternoon).  We especially want to thank Connie Colangelo and Matt Volks, who co-chaired the event and inspired so many others to organize, set it up, judge the art, and take it down.

Impressionism
ladies with parasols
walk to the next painting

…. by John Stevenson – Shamrock Haiku Journal (Vol. 1, 2007)

a child’s painting
bleeds into itself
summer rain

flitting from
watercolours to oils
a butterfly

.. by Matt Morden
“a child’s” – A New Resonance 2
“flitting from” – Morden Haiku (August 29, 2007)

.. The Show offers juried prizes (awarding over $1300 in cash) and lets the crowd vote for their favorites.  Below the fold, you will find the complete list of winners (via Connie Colangelo).

gnawing the edge
of the prize painting…
burning wormwood

in the hell painting
perched on a fence…
a lark sings

.. by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue

In past years, some wags have complained that the winning pieces seemed too conventional.   That complaint can’t be made this year.  The First Place prize went to Tony Murray, of Cobleskill, NY, for his metal sculpture “yes! Yes! YES!. Second Place was awarded to Erik Laffer, of Albany, for his “cartographic” painting Electronic Erosion (36”x36” Oil on Canvas 2008).  Third Place went to Katherine Cartwright for her painting All Cracked Up X.

Clicking on the links in the last paragraph will bring you to each artist’s website, which include photos of the winning pieces and many samples of their artistry.  Here’s what the two overall winners looked like — with Tony Murray’s sculpture on location (see a detail here), and Erik Laffer’s painting in situ at the Show on Sunday:

First Place, by Tony Murray . . .

.. .. Second Place, by Erik Laffer

sculpture park
between Romeo & Juliet
a robin’s nest

… by Pamela Miller Ness – HaikuCanada Newsletter

old painter
his bristles
point everywhere

sweltering heat
a drip
from the painter’s brush

… by w.f. owen –  (haiku notebook, Lulu.com, 2007)
“old painter” – fish in love (HSA Members’Anthology 2006)

.. Frank Gilmore won the Best of Our Neighbors award for one of his paintings. (I’d love to show it to you, but my camera captured mostly glare off the glass in its frame.)  Frank also displayed the inspired piece he created for a brand new Stockade tradition, the 1st Annual Stockade Soiree, on September 6, 2008.  Frank’s Soiree “date card” was part of that evening’s silent auction and is gracing the start of this paragraph.

Thanks again to all the workers and artists, neighbors and visitors who made this year’s Stockade art show such a winning experience.  I’m going to stop all this fluffery right now, before Prof. Yabut yanks my curmudgeon card.  [Don’t forget: all of the art show winners, and honorable mentions, are listed at the foot of this posting. Also, you can share this post using this Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/fkaArtShow2008 ]

cut grass
i sweep away
summer’s end

… by Roberta Beary – The Heron’s Nest (Sept. 2005)

on display:
her paintings
and her navel

… by dagosan

straight out of a full moon
painting…
the geese depart

… by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue

paint brush –
my breath moves
a spider

……. by Laryalee Fraser from Simply Haiku (Vol. 5:2, Summer 2007)

watermark
the way the master’s brush
strokes the wings

.. by Peggy Lyles – To Hear the Rain (2002)

p.s. The first version of this post incorrectly stated that Tony Murray’s metal sculpture Arcturus was awarded First Place. The editor of this weblog saw Arcturus under the Blue Ribbon and incorrectly assumed it was the winner.  We still like Tony’s whimsical icon.  And, yes, we’re going to stop doing so much assuming.

(more…)

Our team of cracked reporters has gone to the far corner of our block to solve the riddle posed seven days ago, with photos and discussion, in the post “my hydrant obsession” (Aug. 22, 2008):  Has this fire hydrant outside Arthur’s Market always been smack in the middle of the sidewalk at this busy corner in the Schenectady Stockade?

The surprising answer (according to the people who should know) is: YES, INDEED, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN RIGHT THERE.

Although “always been at that spot” was one of the options we posited last week, we were definitely leaning toward the alternative scenario — that the hydrant had to be moved away from the curb in order to install that cut-in ramp.  It seemed nearly impossible, having walked by often for two decades, that the hydrant could suddenly seem so out of place if it had not been moved.  Because it looked misplaced and in the way in a Very Schenectady sort of way, we believed it had in fact been moved.   We thought so, even though Artur and Joyce Wachala, who own the adjacent Arthur’s Public Market (at the SW corner of N. Ferry St. and Front St.) both told me it had always been there.

Here is the evidence that brought me to the Always-Been-Right-There conclusion:

• This photo taken in 1962, which I found on Monday at the Schenectady County Historical Society’s Library, seemed to suggest that the hydrant had never been particularly close to either the curb or the telephone pole.
• Deputy Chief Kurt Gerfin of the Schenectady Fire Department left me a phone message on Tuesday, responding to my call, saying he doubted it had been moved, because Schenectady hydrants are always placed directly over the water main and it is unlikely the main was moved when the sidewalk and curb were replaced.
• Fire Captain Vincent Krawiecki echoed Chief Gerfin’s statement the next day, when we chatted about the hydrant’s location, and then referred me to the City of Schenectady’s Water Department, saying they would know if it had been moved.
• Although the last week in August is prime vacation time for public servants, I was lucky enough to find Steven Caruso of the Water Department’s engineering unit in and amiable yesterday (Aug. 28). Mr. Caruso informed me that he had been on site when the sidewalk was poured and the hydrant was not moved during that project — in other words, it is in the same spot where it’s always been.  Steven was even nice enough to agree with me that the hydrant’s location is unusually far from the curb and in the way of foot traffic.  He/we could not, however, explain my — or my neighbors’ — failure to notice the odd location before the new sidewalk was installed.

As amazing as it may seem, I’ve been walking past that fireplug for twenty years without either stumbling over it or commenting on its unorthodox location.  It took the installation of a new sidewalk, and removal of the mailbox that had been nearby it and that telephone pole, to make that red hydrant stick out like a red herring and catch our attention. Just a tiny change in context or perspective can make a big difference in perception.  A lesson to keep in mind as my aging memory bank continues to deteriorate.  Another lesson (to which Arthur surely agrees): Joyce Wachala is always right.  For now, I’m trading in my reporter’s pad for a padded futon.

p.s. For the Still Incredulous: There is one more stone to turn over to get to the bottom of the hydrant moving issue.  A&K Slip Forming, Inc., of Cobleskill, NY, did the actual sidewalk and curb installation.  If that hydrant was in fact moved into the middle of the sidewalk — inadvertantly or intentionally — they know for sure.  If you get an answer from the folks at A&K, please let us know.

All this talk of hydrants, poor vision and bumping into things, sent me to the magic search box at David Lanoue’s The Haiku of Kobayashi Issa website (where you will find 9000 poems written by the Japanese haiku master and translated by Prof. Lanoue).  Here are a few of the many gems I found:

standing dead center
in the downpour…
a blind man

tripping over the dog
again…
night of winter rain

the cats are courting
bumping
heads

crossing a bridge
behind a blind man…
frog

blindly following
the setting sun…
a frog

smack in the middle
of the Old Quarter…
fireflies

barley husking–
in the middle of a highway
a tea kettle

watered by
the village dog…
chrysanthemum

………… by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue

afterwords (Sept. 1, 2008, Labor Day): If only Lawrence the Indian wasn’t so taciturn, he could sure help clear up our Hydrant Mystery. I discovered today that even Wall-e has been having hydrant troubles:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/xMAEIh6S1_w" width="300" height="247" wmode="transparent" /]

A leisurely sunset walk around my Stockade neighborhood two days ago left me in one of my really-gotta-know moods. To wit: Who moved that fire hydrant? It happened right alongside Arthur’s Public Market, at the SW corner of N. Ferry St. and Front St. — the intersection where you’ll find the small traffic circle monument to Lawrence the Indian. Strolling up toward Lawrence, on the Front St. side of Arthur’s, I ran across — well, almost walked into — this fire hydrant:

There’s been a fire hydrant at that corner for as long as I’ve lived in the Stockade, along with a mail box and a telephone pole — but I just don’t remember that fireplug being almost dead center in the walkway at that busy Stockade corner (which is at the crossroads of neighborhood life). A sidewalk improvement project — which needlessly took down all of the mature shade trees on both sides of the N. Ferry St. block — recently replaced very old, cracked, uneven slabs on both sides of the Market with new ones, including a new curb, with a wheelchair-friendly curb-cut (causing the mail box to be moved).

Joyce and Artur Wachala, the proprietors of Arthur’s, each told me that the hydrant has always been where it is now. On the other hand, a Schenectady Police office on bicycle patrol through the neighborhood, says he thinks the hydrant must have been moved to make room for the cut-in. I’m left wanting to know whether our fair city has chosen a rather strange new placement for the hydrant, or whether it is in fact exactly where it always was, but I’ve simply got a different perspective after the installation of the new sidewalk.

My urgent need to know has left me searching for a photographic record of what the corner looked like prior to the new sidewalk and curb arrangement. So far, all I can find are pictures like these, which give no clue of the hydrant’s pre-improvement location:

. . . . . .

This very recent photo, found at the Arthur’s Public Market website, is similarly (and frustratingly) unhelpful:

Now, some observers (of my obsession) have suggested that the hydrant was most likely always there in that spot, and I probably just stayed on the old sidewalk and never paid attention to it — perhaps because the mailbox dominated the little tableau next to the unmoved telephone pole. My never having acquired a bruised shin from bumping into the hydrant over the past two decades suggests otherwise.

.

.

.

.

.

However, this photo taken by me yesterday, at the same time as the first photo above, does show how perspectives can be easily altered:

Of course, I’m making too much of this (that’s why I call it an obsession). This could be merely a procrastination ploy preventing the completion of a serious piece on parody and academic freedom. Whatever it is, it’s driving me nuts. I’ll do some more snooping to try to figure out Who Moved That Hydrant? — or, whether it was moved at all. If you have any useful information, please let me know. Come back to this post for updates, as I learn more.

update (Aug. 25, 2008): Thanks to the Schenectady County Historical Society, especially Librarian Katherine Chansky and the staff at its Grems-Doolittle Library, I’ve located two views of the Arthur’s Market Hydrant, taken in 1962:

– photos taken 1962, Courtesy of the Schenectady County Historical Society –

The angles don’t allow me to make a definitive judgment about whether the hydrant has been moved (and my camera was malfunctioning today and wouldn’t let me take current pictures from comparable angles). Nonetheless, I must admit that the hydrant was located farther from the telephone pole and the curb in the 1962 photographs than I had expected. Here’s a side-by-side of the 2008 photo above, and the more revealing 1962 picture:

. . . .

I’m going to keep looking (and soliciting) more recent photos that would help settle the Great 2008 Hydrant Placement Question.

afterwords: See our conclusion in the post “hydrant lowdown” (Aug. 29, 2008)

As long as I have hydrants on my mind, I might as well post one of my favorite personal haiga:

. . . . .

Here’s another fireplug haiku, from my past:

drift-covered hydrant –
the dog puts a halo
on my snow angel

…………………….. by dagosan

And, a reminder of why we have a sidewalk improvement program in the Stockade:

historic district –
an old sidewalk trips
the blossom gazer

. . . dagosan

Meanwhile, that sunset walk ended along the Mohawk River, at the end of my block on Washington, Avenue, where I saw this scene — which made me momentarily forget all about fire hydrants:

it’s pink! it’s purple!
sunset inspires
more bickering

.. by David Giacalone – Frogpond Vol. XXVIII, #2 (2005) – click to see a subsequent haiga incorporating this poem

Sloan Carafello, a 29-year-old resident of Schenectady, died Saturday afternoon, June 7, 2008. May he rest in peace, after ending what must have been a very troubled life, by jumping out of a sky-diving plane without a parachute.

See “Man dies after leap from plane: Schenectady man hits house in jump without parachute” (Albany Times Union, June 8, 2008); “Police say jumper’s death suicide” (Albany Times Union, June 9, 2008); “Man leaps from plane, dies: City man didn’t wear parachute” (Schenectady Sunday Gazette, June 8, 2008); “Plane jumper called ‘quiet’ resident of Y” (Schenectady Daily Gazette, June 9, 2008); “Man jumps from plane with no parachute, dies” (Associated Press, June 8, 2008); “Jumper’s death ruled a suicide” (CapitalNews9, June 9, 2008).

Here’s a news video clip with a good summary, including an interview with Bob Rawlins, the owner/pilot of the plane and the Duanesburg Skydiving Club, from WNYT.com, Channel 13 in Albany, NY. “Skydiver jumps to his death,” June 8, 2008. [Frankly, I don’t much like the look on the anchor woman’s face at the end of this national FoxNews video of the event, called Bizarre Death. ]

update (June 10, 2008): “Probe of fatal leap from plane finds pilot issue: FAA says sky-diving club owner lacked required commercial license for carrying paid passengers ” (Albany Times Union, June 10, 2008) Bob Rawlins has a private pilot’s license and an FAA-approved license to pack parachutes, but not the commercial license needed to have paying passengers. The Federal Aviation Administration says it is unlikely that Rawlins’ lack of proper credentials contributed to the tragedy.

The basic facts of Sloan Carafello’s death:

• Carafello had called a number of time and asked to be allowed to ride on the plan as an observer, saying he wanted to take photos for a school project. On Saturday, he rode his bicycle to the Duanesburg Airport, about a dozen miles from his home, a room at the Schenectady YMCA.
• After the three skydivers jumped (a student, a videographer and the instructor), witnesses said Carafello followed with no diving gear, and the pilot was not able to grab him to stop him.
• The videographer filmed as Carafello fell and Carafello took pictures of himself while falling through the air, according to the pilot. Police have the video.
• He fell 10,000 feet onto a house near the Duanesburg Airport, and died of massive trauma. State Police have ruled the death a suicide.
• Carafello’s co-workers, in the seafood department at the Eastern Parkway Price Chopper in Schenectady, told the Times Union that he asked them frequently in recent months, “If you had to die, would you rather jump off a building or jump out of a plane without a parachute?”

(Sch’dy Daily Gazette, photo by Bruce Squiers) This is the tar-covered damaged roof, where Sloan Carafello landed and met his death. The home is located on Duanesburg Road in the town of Dunanesburg, a mostly-rural town a few miles from Schenectady and about a dozen miles west of Albany.

Beyond the note of sadness that I would normally feel about a news item like this, I’m particularly touched by Sloan’s story, because I’ve learned that he lived in a single-occupancy room at our downtown YMCA, just a block and a half from my home. He was one the 182 men who stay on the fourth floor of the YMCA at 13 State St.

Unfortunately, many of my neighbors, and their Stockade Neighborhood Association, very much resent having the Y program located at the edge of our residential historic district (although no one ever points to actual crimes or disturbances caused by these down-on-their-luck men, who are trying to get their lives back together). The Association is very upset that the Y might not remove the program when it moves its gym and pool to a new, distant building.

I hope the struggling young man did not feel that hostility, as he rode his bike or strolled through the neighborhood, with his ever-present backpack and blue parka. It sounds like he bothered no one while living his solitary life.

According to today’s Gazette:

• YMCA Residence Director Louis Magliocca, described Carafello as “Real quiet. . . . His name never came across my desk as an issue there.” And, Carafello never missed a rent payment since his arrival at the YMCA. Carafello, unlike many of the residents, did not come to the YMCA because of a substance abuse problem.
• The Y staff reported no issues involving Carafello on Friday or Saturday. Magliocca said state police told him they searched Carafello’s room and did not find a suicide note.
• According to Sloan’s former landlord, who also runs the boxing gym where he frequently worked out, he was a loner and did not have any friends. Although he may have family in the Troy area, none have been mentioned in any news report so far. update (June 10, 2008): Today’s Albany Times Union reports: “Ryan Carafello, Carafello’s twin, on Monday said the family does not blame Rawlins in any way for his brother’s death. He said his brother was an ‘independent individual’ and that no one else could be held accountable for his suicide.” Ryan also said his family had always loved Carafello and opened their arms to him, but his brother chose to be a loner.

In today’s Times Union, we are told that “Sloan Carafello didn’t talk much. Not when he was at work stocking fish at Price Chopper, and not as a passenger in the sky-diving plane from which he leaped to his death in what State Police are calling an apparent suicide.” The story adds:

“The people who had contact with Carafello in his final moments were still shocked by his death on Sunday. They struggled to understand the silent guy whose life ended when he hit the roof of a house on Duanesburg Road. . . .

” . . . He boxed at a gym nearby and worked out frequently, said James Commarto, the gym’s owner and Carafello’s landlord in Schenectady before he moved to the YMCA. Commarto said Carafello never had parties and kept an immaculate apartment. . .

“Commarto said Carafello previously told him he hadn’t talked to his family in years.”

I have no answers and nothing profound to add. I wish Sloan had not decided to kill himself. If he was determined to do so, I wish he had done it in a way that did not traumatize so many others. But, most of all, as I said at the head of this posting, I hope Sloan Carafello will rest in peace. May we improve our ability and our willingness to help other troubled souls like Sloan Carafello.

update (June 10, 1 PM): An obituary in today’s Albany Times Union tells a story of a young man with many interests (e.g., hiking, travel, photography, oil painting, Bob Marley music, reading biographies) and many loving family members. He was born in 1979, in Catskill, NY; was the son of Jerry E. and Orlinda Reid Carafallo; and had three siblings, including a twin brother, Ryan. Funeral and burial information are included in the obituary.

Personal note: As a twin myself, my heart goes out to Ryan, as I try to imagine what the loss of my brother in any manner — but especially in this manner — would feel like.

afterwords (June 145, 2008):  “Long Story Short” (Life Obscure, June 13, 2008) is a particularly thoughtful weblog posting about Sloan by a young woman called Waven.

summer’s end—
riding a borrowed bicycle
past the graveyard

……………….. by paul m. – from finding the way

staring
back up the open eyes
of the suicide

….. by George Swede – Taboo Haiku (2006) –

autumn evening –
yellow leaves cover
the plot reserved for me

An obituary
circled in the newspaper–
pale winter moon

My small family gone–
ants crawl on their graves
in the pale autumn sun

…… by Rebecca Lilly –
“cold autumn dusk” – Shadwell Hills (Birch Press, 2002)
“autumn evening” – A New Resonance 2; Modern Haiku XXX:2

news of his death
the cigarette smoke rises
straight up

……… by DeVar Dahl – New Resonance 3