Greetings from Seoul

Since President Obama has troubles with waterboarding as torture perhaps he should look into herding terrorists W-A-Y in the back of a United 777 international flight all middle seats and make sure to break up a family traveling together with the two children. Yikes!

Lousy service, lousy food, with no legroom.

And naturally as we approached Japan the 3 MPH tailwind became a 100 MPH headwind and slowed us down. Just what you need after 13 hours in the air. We were also told to stay seated after the plane landed so Japanese authorities could come aboard and test travelers for body temperature and collect health forms (the last thing you wanted to acknowledge in writing was coughing, sneezing or runny nose.)

They never bothered to do either but a when we landed two hours later in Korea those authorities did.

A smattering of passengers on both flights were wearing surgical masks and the workers at the airport taking body temperatures with a small wand like device placed near the forehead or ear canal all were wearing them.

Yes, my Mac laptop survived the trip--although Japanese security folks did pick it up and turn it around a few times, looking puzzled. Still trying to get the cable modem working where we are staying so my posts may get as crusty as the Gazette.

Speaking of torture: Since we are 13 hours ahead (it's Tuesday morning here) Amherst Town Meeting is probably still in session.

The dangers of blogging

So yeah I'm a little concerned about bringing my MacBook Pro 17" by Airport Security or Customs as we enter Korea...with black electrical tape and oversized paper clips making it resemble a bomb and all.

It started as a crack in the very back corner where the monitor hinges to the main frame and I noticed it a day or two after live blogging the Select board meeting where the Town Mangler announced he was withholding a permit for the private committee who has run the July 4'th Parade after a 26 years hiatus for the past seven years, in other words, the People's Republic was "taking over" the July 4'th Parade. I guess I closed it a little too hard that night.

I joked on my post back then that "no chairs or desks were injured in the making of this film" (turn up your volume at the very end of the clip) little realizing my computer was indeed injured.

There he goes again...

So once again the People's Republic of Amherst has a Field of Dreams--errrrr, I mean wheat, growing smack dab in the middle of Kendrick Park.

The Kendrick Park Committee is issuing their report about what to do with the donated landscape and cheered the Town Mangler's sorry attempt at a skating rink. Last year we spent thousands in DPW labor and got only one or two days of skating out of the deal; way cheaper to have rented ice time from the Mullins Center.

Maybe this winter Mr. Shaffer should hire a expert consultant to create an outdoor skating rink.

Ironic isn't it? Larry Shaffer loves the Rockwellian idea of an open small-town public skating rink for families to enjoy, but he bullies the July 4'th Parade Committee by withholding police and fire vehicles because he wants anti-war protesters to get the free publicity paid for on the Parade Committee's dime.

Last year's fiasco

Out with the old, in with new

Dave Sullivan would hate for me to say it, but now that District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel has announced she will not seek re-election next year, he's a shoe in to replace her.

And no, it has nothing to do with his Irish heritage, adopting a beautiful daughter (along with the other two beautiful daughters) or that he marches in the Amherst July 4'th Parade (not to mention donates money.) Or...maybe it does.

Dave has also reorganized and streamlined the Hampshire County Probate and Family Court into a fine-tuned working machine--something I almost never see in government. He financed their web page without tax money because he knew how accessible it would make all the important documents dealing with personal family matters.

And, like Lady Justice, he treats everyone the same--in a good way of course.

DA Scheibel stepped in deep do-do with the embarassing Pottygate affair (wasting taxpayers money on a silly turf fight) and she's a Republican in a state where that party is a decidedly endangered species.

Simply put, Dave Sullivan is a stand up guy.

Twilight

A Mexican standoff

Helen Thelen , Stephanie O'Keeffe, Alisa Brewer, Kevin Joy. Friday

So the trials and tribulations of the July 4’th Parade in the People’s Republic of Amherst is starting to resemble an old Buck Rogers movie serial with every week a new cliffhanger ending to the ongoing sad saga.

At last week's Select Board meeting (out of nowhere) former Lordship Gerry Weiss issued a public “plea” for the private Parade Committee to relent “just this year” and allow “free speech” in the Parade line of march so that the town could allow Police and Fire vehicles so that retiring police chief Charlie Scherpa and Fire Chief Keith Hoyle could lead the parade as Grand Marshals.

I asked the previous week: why can’t the town—just this year--allow the Parade Committee their First Amendment right (upheld by a 9-0 Supreme Court decision) to decide "what not to say" and allow town equipment so that two retiring chiefs with over 75 years of service could be publicly thanked by the people--especially children--in the community?

On Friday Princess Stephanie and Alisa Brewer (one shy of a Select board quorum) came to the VFW to press the issue with the July 4’th Parade Committee. No shots fired, but no treaty signed.

Interestingly last Monday Alisa Brewer said the town’s 250’th Parade Committee had created a superb float that would be in the Hadley 350’th Parade this coming Saturday and the Amherst July 4’th Parade.

Hmmm…even if the float is built with all volunteer labor and donated materials it is still town property. But town officials are allowing this vehicle in the July 4’th Parade even though enforcing a ban on police and fire vehicles unless the Committee surrenders their principals?

Oh, I forgot: the town’s 250’ th Parade is being held to a totally different set of standards than is the private July 4’th Parade.

What so proudly we hailed...

-----Original Message-----
From: Anthony Marx
To: amherstac@aol.com
Sent: Fri, 5 Jun 2009 2:29 pm
Subject: Your majestic American flag on Chapel Hill

Dear Larry,

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I believe that it is important for the College to honor courageous Americans in accordance with state and federal edicts. We have been working to improve our observance of proper flag protocol, as I see you noted on Memorial day. I have asked staff in the Public Affairs office to subscribe to the state listserve you mention. They will also conduct further research into all federal guidelines regarding display of the flag and be sure to act in accordance with them.

Thanks again for writing, and best wishes for an enjoyable summer.

Yours,
Tony Marx

From: amherstac@aol.com
To: marx@amherst.edu
Sent: Fri, 5 Jun 2009 3:06 pm
Subject: Re: Your majestic American flag on Chapel Hill

Hey Tony,

Thanks! I and plenty of other caring Amherst residents will applaud this. That particular flag is so majestic and so well placed...

And yeah, you did great on Memorial Day (W-A-Y better than the town of Amherst.)

All you really need do is to subscribe to the state listserve as it covers both Federal and Governor ordered lowerings. And Suzzette--the person in charge--honestly cares.

Thanks again (you too have a great summer)

Larry

PS: The next official Federal lowering is 9/11 (and I believe you lost some alumni that awful day.)

Sent: Friday, May 15, 2009 3:09 PM
To: Anthony Marx; sh.events@state.ma.us
Subject: Your majestic American flag on Chapel Hill

Hey Tony,

So Wednesday was one of those state-wide local edicts issued by our Governor to fly the flag at half-staff, commemorating the ultimate sacrifice of Massachusetts resident Explosive Ordinance Disposalman John Trahan, age 22--and with that "job description" you can imagine how he died (at least it was quick.)

But today is Peace Officers' Day--and the President of the United States has ordered all flags to half-staff to commemorate those men and women in blue who have also given up their "last measure of devotion" to keep us safe.

Your flag on Chapel Hill is the most prominent in Amherst. Could you maybe please (since the College tends to bring it down to half-staff for employees) subscribe to the Mass state listserve for those rare occasions when the Governor orders it down, and also observe the Federal ones as well (also rare) for flag protocol? Memorial Day is coming up.

Top be perfectly honest, it's kind of embarrassing.

Larry Kelley


Memorial Day 2009
I should also note the main town American flag in town center stayed down at half-staff for an entire week. Amherst College got theirs back up around 10 minutes after noon on Memorial Day (protocol calls for it to return to full-staff at noon, and lots of folks keep it at half-staff till dusk, like all the other Federal remembrances.)