Category: Lopsided Observations

I have a hard time being on time and I accept the fact that it is a selfish trait. But I do appreciate it when others are late for something that I schedule. This morning I was late for jury duty. I had a good excuse but those are easy. Peggi was driving me because she needed the car. The new traffic circle at Seneca Road and 590 was closed, no detour signs or warning until we got up to the “Road Closed” sign. We tried getting on at Titus but it was backed up for half a mile so we gave up and drove down Culver. When we got to Court Street, it was closed so they could unload the World Wrestling tractor trailers for tonight’s performance at the Blue Cross Arena. I removed my belt, emptied my pockets and took off my sweater but still set off the alarm at the Hall of Justice. I gave up my watch and then my wallet and I still beeped. They brought over the the guards with the hand held wands and they determined it was the snap on my Levis. I sat down in the court room and asked the woman next to me if they had called anyone’s name who wasn’t there and she asked, “Are you Paul Dodd?”

I watched as they found their last jury member and I was excused for another eight years. I was wrong when I said these lawyers were looking for blank slates. After two days I have no idea what they were looking for. It did seem obvious that the defense was determined to find one person who could doubt eye witness testimony and the cops statements and then stick to their guns even though the rest of the jury felt differently.

I hopped on my bike as another guy on a bike said, “Hey Bro. Where’d you lock your bike up at?” I said, “I locked to that picnic table over there.” He smiled and said, “I don’t think nobody gonna take no picnic table.”

I rode down Monroe Avenue past KrudCo and the Bug Jar to Lumierre Photo where Bill Jones is printing a post card for us. I stopped by Parkleigh to visit my sister but she hadn’t showed up for work yet. I cruised through the Public Market and bought some new red potatoes. And then I rode down Clifford to Savoia Bakery and bought some almond cookies for Peggi. I recognized the woman behind the counter and asked her if she used to work at Calabresse’s Bakery on Culver. She said, “Wow! I guess I don’t look all that different.” I was too embarrassed to tell her she was featured in a song we wrote for the Planetarium Gig in 1987. She was the girl in the bakery with silver fingernails!

Personal Effects “Silver Finger Nails” from “90 Day In The Planetarium” 1987

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How about a ten foot wide road right here?

In my nightmare scenario post last week I speculated wildly on what the County might have been thinking when they tore up one of our favorite walking paths in what they call the “undeveloped section” of Durand Eastman Park. We walked the path after that post and followed the giant tire tracks from the trail’s entrance across from 700 Hoffman Road to where the path enters the subdivision near the corner of Hillview Drive and Eastman Estates. We spotted some guys hanging around and asked them if they knew who might have driven through the woods in a bulldozer. They didn’t know much about the woods but they said one of their neighbors had unloaded a big piece of equipment on Eastman Estates a few days earlier. As we were talking to them their neighbor drove up the driveway that was once part of this bridal path in a black Hummer.

These people, who apparently have rights to the old bridal path that runs through the sub-development, decided to continue the path about a mile in to the park by hiring some sort of front end loader to drive the distance and widen the old walking path to accommodate motor vehicles. We were up there yesterday and the trail is covered with tire tracks.

I emailed Larry Staub the Director of at the County Parks. The City owns Durand Eastman but it is being managed by the County. Larry walked the path and told me that I had underestimated the damage in my email. He got part way up the path and called 911. When he got to the other end of the path he met this guy who acted like he had done the Park a favor. Larry called for Sherriff’s backup and had the guy arrested. The innocent until proven guilty suspect will appear in City Court on Tuesday October 6th at 9:30 AM. Larry thanked us for bringing this matter to their attention and he asked us to think about what sort of restitution the County should be seeking from the guy. Our neighbors have suggested a few ideas but they are all illegal.

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We’re thinking it won’t rain this evening so we’ll be able to play outdoors at the Village Gate and if it does rain we move the action inside, fire jugglers and all. But we’re thinking it won’t rain.

There is beautiful section of Durand Eastman that we used to call the “undeveloped section” and we hike up there three or four times a week. It’s located south of Titus between Kings Highway and Hoffman Road and in five years we have only come across two other parties on the trail. Today we found the path had been widened to to ten feet or so by a bulldozer. We can’t imagine what kind of nightmare scenario this is part of. Widened and flattened for dirt bikes? ATVs? Housing development going in? Bored park maintenance staff with new taxpayer funded equipment? Handicapped Accessible woods?

We wanted to cry but we were too mad. We plan to call Stephanie Aldersley, our town represenative.

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