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captainsblogLot of ground to cover here. First, though: Tuesday's (post about the) Child, though lightly but lovingly commented on here, brought out a groundswell of responses from friends on Metadodo House or whatever they're calling themselves now. I thanked everyone there, and now do here, for the kindnesses expressed. One non-commenter, here or anywhere, is the subject of the post, who, if read, has not responded. That's fine. One of the running themes in the replies we did get was to Give It Time.
Just as well. We've been busy.
I write from the office, after four days where I settled two long-standing cases, got a meaningful payment on an even older one, got two repayment bankruptcies confirmed this week, and am about to file three more. Plus there's one I filed in much earlier this year, in which I will see no more money than the minimal amount I was paid to file it in the first place. It walked, quacked and swam like a no-asset duck, but we were then contacted by a tax specialist who has pulled several thousand dollars out of its beak that will go to the company's creditors, but only after a kind and thoughtful bankruptcy trustee gets a well-deserved share of it. I am immensely happy for him.
October ended as September began: with music for me, then both of us.
Sportsmen's was the venue, and breast cancer research was the cause. This annual fundraiser returned after a COVID hiatus with my friend Maria Sebastian and her fellow Buffalo Music hall of famer Allison Pipitone contributing their time and most of the door to it. Others joined between and after. I've been coming here for years, from Kinky to Burrito Brothers, but somehow never noticed the railing on the way up to the balcony where I settled in for lunch and tunes:
Then, the next night it was Eleanor who wanted to hear music. A small club one town over has been trying to build a business from hosting local musicians, and a friend of ours was one of this duo:
It's called Penny Lane cafe, and we took in the Beatles homages as much as we could: sitting at table Number 9, me ordering fish and chips (with vinegar, of course), and checking out the Good Day Sunshine gift shop off the stage. Many others will be coming through later this month, including Maria again, at slightly later hours than you see here-
- so we may be out and about again.
----
Tuesday was Election Day, though we'd both voted earlier. It was a weird year at the polls. Locally, our town returned a Democratic supervisor and board majority (our former home near Rochester doing the same), but India Walton, the grassroots candidate for Buffalo mayor, lost to the incumbent. He won a record fifth term despite ignoring her in the primary campaign and going write-in when he lost. All the usual monied suspects lined up behind him, even passing out rubber stamps with his name to mark the ballots with. The other Black woman on the ballot should have (and might still) become the first Black or woman to be elected county sheriff, since three other Republicans were running against her on three other party lines, but she was running behind before they get to the counting of absentees later this month, and I suspect it's because this stupid region just can't get over their prejudices when it comes to race.
There were no statewide or federal offices up this year in New York, but there were three election reform amendments on the ballot and they all lost. I disagreed with the first of them- a shameless attempt to strip a near-toothless 2010 "reform" that set up a bipartisan commission to handle redistricting- but the other two would have allowed same-day registration and no-excuse absentee voting and both went down to defeat. Stupidly, indifference was the main cause of that, since our scannable ballots put the propositions on the back and large percentages of urban voters didn't turn the page over to vote yes OR no. The Bubbas all knew to do it, and voted for voter suppression.
And the theme, locally as well as nationwide seemed to be, Don't say the quiet parts out loud. Candidates who fully embraced The Former Guy didn't do well, whereas the victorious Republican in Virginia kept TFG out of the state and only quietly accepted his endorsement. Amazingly, no Democrats there are claiming voter fraud.
We have a year to start getting our shit together before the contests become much more significant.
----
The other big local story is that the Sabres finally unloaded their former #1 draft pick from their year of shameless tanking. Jack Eichel is now in Vegas, baby, who will let him have the experimental surgery he wants and, if he comes back, will only bother us twice a year unless both teams make the Stanley Cup finals.
Yeah yeah yeah.
Just as well. We've been busy.
I write from the office, after four days where I settled two long-standing cases, got a meaningful payment on an even older one, got two repayment bankruptcies confirmed this week, and am about to file three more. Plus there's one I filed in much earlier this year, in which I will see no more money than the minimal amount I was paid to file it in the first place. It walked, quacked and swam like a no-asset duck, but we were then contacted by a tax specialist who has pulled several thousand dollars out of its beak that will go to the company's creditors, but only after a kind and thoughtful bankruptcy trustee gets a well-deserved share of it. I am immensely happy for him.
October ended as September began: with music for me, then both of us.
Sportsmen's was the venue, and breast cancer research was the cause. This annual fundraiser returned after a COVID hiatus with my friend Maria Sebastian and her fellow Buffalo Music hall of famer Allison Pipitone contributing their time and most of the door to it. Others joined between and after. I've been coming here for years, from Kinky to Burrito Brothers, but somehow never noticed the railing on the way up to the balcony where I settled in for lunch and tunes:
Then, the next night it was Eleanor who wanted to hear music. A small club one town over has been trying to build a business from hosting local musicians, and a friend of ours was one of this duo:
It's called Penny Lane cafe, and we took in the Beatles homages as much as we could: sitting at table Number 9, me ordering fish and chips (with vinegar, of course), and checking out the Good Day Sunshine gift shop off the stage. Many others will be coming through later this month, including Maria again, at slightly later hours than you see here-
- so we may be out and about again.
----
Tuesday was Election Day, though we'd both voted earlier. It was a weird year at the polls. Locally, our town returned a Democratic supervisor and board majority (our former home near Rochester doing the same), but India Walton, the grassroots candidate for Buffalo mayor, lost to the incumbent. He won a record fifth term despite ignoring her in the primary campaign and going write-in when he lost. All the usual monied suspects lined up behind him, even passing out rubber stamps with his name to mark the ballots with. The other Black woman on the ballot should have (and might still) become the first Black or woman to be elected county sheriff, since three other Republicans were running against her on three other party lines, but she was running behind before they get to the counting of absentees later this month, and I suspect it's because this stupid region just can't get over their prejudices when it comes to race.
There were no statewide or federal offices up this year in New York, but there were three election reform amendments on the ballot and they all lost. I disagreed with the first of them- a shameless attempt to strip a near-toothless 2010 "reform" that set up a bipartisan commission to handle redistricting- but the other two would have allowed same-day registration and no-excuse absentee voting and both went down to defeat. Stupidly, indifference was the main cause of that, since our scannable ballots put the propositions on the back and large percentages of urban voters didn't turn the page over to vote yes OR no. The Bubbas all knew to do it, and voted for voter suppression.
And the theme, locally as well as nationwide seemed to be, Don't say the quiet parts out loud. Candidates who fully embraced The Former Guy didn't do well, whereas the victorious Republican in Virginia kept TFG out of the state and only quietly accepted his endorsement. Amazingly, no Democrats there are claiming voter fraud.
We have a year to start getting our shit together before the contests become much more significant.
----
The other big local story is that the Sabres finally unloaded their former #1 draft pick from their year of shameless tanking. Jack Eichel is now in Vegas, baby, who will let him have the experimental surgery he wants and, if he comes back, will only bother us twice a year unless both teams make the Stanley Cup finals.
Yeah yeah yeah.