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Wiser’s Wramblings-Wreturn

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After a two-week departure from my wrandom Wramblings, favoring eulogizing a couple of friends, I think I will stick with the miscellaneous musings today. These are less emotional and most likely of more interest to those not familiar with my acquaintances or friends. “Both of them” 😊.

I am still in recovery and rehabilitation of my shoulder having had a full shoulder joint arthroplasty back in October. Having had the dubious pleasure of four full knee replacement implants…that’s right four, I have discovered that the shoulder joint is much more complex and difficult to recover from than a knee (or four). The knee story is complicated, so I won’t go into detail as to the why I needed four, at least not this week. No, I am not a four legged creature.

They reroute the bicep and deltoid muscle during the shoulder repair, so you need to train the muscles to move the shoulder, doing the job that the ‘rotator cuff” tendons used to do. The most daunting challenge, to date, has been that of threading my belt through the belt loops with my left hand/arm, on the side where the repaired shoulder is. It has taken awhile but I’m getting close to full mobility. It is not unusual to never return to full mobility, but I am persistent. I refused to put my belt through the loops without the pants being on me.

Being more aware of the number and location of belt loops it raises questions in my mind as to who decides how many and where to locate the loops. The most obvious conclusion is that some garment makers have reduced the number of belt loops as a cost savings measure. The most meager quantity that I have run across is 5 and the most is 7, with 6 being most common. The most challenging for me, is a pair with 6 loops but two are closely spaced in the middle at the back making them the most difficult to deal with. The location of the front loops seems to be the most critical as far as functionality is concerned. If the two in front are too widely spaced, away from the front button or snap. Being farther apart, it causes the belt to “pucker” the fabric, and the closure area doesn’t want to stay under the belt, which also affects a tucked in shirt to stay tucked in the front.

I just cannot travel County Road 16 across the Genesee River crossing the Transit Bridge and going past the former Six S golf course, without being reminded of the sadness of its demise. What a shame, in my mind, that the County couldn’t have taken over the golf course and its hundreds of acres of prime camping facility capable grounds, and make a real county tourist attraction at a time when the county was focused on making Allegany County a “destination” for tourism. The course, until sold by the Short family was the most popular public golf course for many miles around. The course location was as centered in the county as you can get with easy access from I86 putting it equally accessible from Cattaraugus and Steuben Counties and less than an hour and a half drive from Rochester. It would have greatly enhanced the desired effect of the Crossroads complex due to its proximity. The “Irish” purchasers, with their grandiose plans, drove it into ruin with their course modifications and mismanagement. I firmly believe that the County or State could have made this a profitable business once again. But now, it is merely fields full of solar panels.

THEY’RE BACK! The highlight of our summer, perhaps just a tad more enjoyable than the spring arrival of our wintering feathered friends, is the “fledging” of their offspring. For the past couple of weeks, we watched the feeding frensy of the adult pairs as they made numerous trips to and from their nests delivering nourishment to their “Hatchlings”. Consistent with the timing shared by our fellow bird family hosts, we see the juveniles are now being brought to the feeders. For the most part, and I say that to start this comment, as there is one exception to the rule for one species it seems this year, normally, the “fledglings” follow the adults to the feeders and perch with wings fluttering, often chirping. The adults feed the young for the first few times and then they don’t. Having watched the adults to see where the food came from the young soon learn to feed themselves. With the jelly and orange eaters, this is a pretty simple task. In the past we have watched the adult Grosbeaks and Cardinals break the Sunflower seed shell and feed the chicks for the first couple of times. This year, and maybe it has always happened and we just hadn’t noticed, the Grosbeak fledglings have come to the feeders and start picking complete seeds out themselves, cracking them to get to, and eat, the sunflower meat.

Just recently I experienced the satisfaction that a talent scout or celebrity agent must feel when introducing a talent to the world. I would like to add my welcome to Dan Jordan, owner/operator of Jordan Photography and Consulting, Olean, NY, to the Wellsville and Hornell “Sun” family of contributors. I first met Dan as the owner of Advanced Monolithics in Allegany, NY. His company made space age electronics components. In my teaching days I split my teaching activities between traditional College environment classes and conducting several Industrial Training programs, where I often taught “Blueprint Reading” and AutoCAD Computing graphics courses. I worked with Dan’s employees in that regard. More recently I met up with Dan having learned of his love and expertise in studying and photographing mainly Bald Eagles, but also other wildlife as well. This joyful, but time extensive experience, is in addition to running a full-service Photography business featuring individual and group photographic services. Dan had been sharing his wildlife photography via social media on a regular basis. Aware of its noticeable popularity, I asked if he would be interested in sharing his photographs through the Wellsville Sun and Hornell Sun online media outlets. Upon his consent I introduced him to owner, Andrew Harris.

You most likely have already seen the result of this “joining of forces” and are as pleased with the result as I am. I played but a “bit part” in this transaction but am glad to have had the opportunity to do so. I now know how a successful “matchmaker” feels.

This time of year brings forth the “love-hate” relationship with some of our feathered and furry creatures. Those who put feeders out likely fall into two categories. There are those who enjoy watching and feeding any, and all, and there are some who are particular, and have a preference, regarding what they are attracting to their feeders. We fall into that latter category for several reasons. We tend to not like, and don’t want, those types that are gluttons, like the Chipmunks, Squirrels and Raccoons, or the “bullies” such as the Blue Jays which “don’t play well with others”.  There is no question as to the beauty of them all, but for some, their downside contributes to their non-welcome status. Red Squirrels in particular can be very problematic if they get into your house as they will eat the insulation off your electrical wiring and cause a fire hazard. Not many welcome the bears😊.

Well Veterans, it seems that Home Depot has flip flopped again with their Veteran’s discount policy. Over the past several years Lowes and Home Depot have been on again off again with offering military veteran’s a discount on purchases. The discounts aren’t huge amounts only being 10% but it is a welcome thank you to those of us who served our country. The way I figured, at least it paid the sales tax plus a little more. If you were buying a pricier item like an appliance or making a significant lumber purchase it is, or would have been, a measurable savings. At one time Home Depot offered the discount while Lowes didn’t unless you were active military or had retired from the military. Then, Home Depot did away with the discount and Lowes instated it, if you signed up for their “Lowes Card”. This wasn’t solely a credit card but could be used for purchases. Eventually Home Depot came up with the same plan. For a few years both stores offered the same discount. Recently I had occasion to have to return an item to Home Depot having mistakenly purchased the wrong size. Upon getting a refund and then re-purchasing the correct size, the item did not ring up at the price as noted on the sign in front of the item. Back I went to the returns counter, and in the ensuing discussion with a very friendly, older, cordial, and respectful customer service representative I was told that I needed their app on my phone to get the discount. Following our friendly discussion, she graciously gave me her version of a discount. I still had to pay the higher price, but she turned it into a “Buy One, Get One Free” sale for me, and even without the discount I was ahead of the game. As we discussed the discount issue, I commented on the fact that it really made a significant difference, especially when making a “large ticket” appliance purchase. It was then that she informed me that the discount no longer applies to appliances or lumber purchases.

OK! I think I like Lowe’s just fine and unless they too have flip-flopped I will make any purchases of those more costly items at Lowes. Hornell is closer than Olean anyway, and they too have a nearby Walmart.

I will close this out by commenting on gas prices. I made my bi-weekly stop at the “Reservation” in Cuba last week only to discover that their gas was now only 10¢ cheaper than at regular local gas stations prices. It took me a couple of minutes to realize why. With our temporary gasoline sales tax “freeze” in effect, that offsets the Native Americans advantage of not having their gasoline taxed. This had normally given us a savings of up to 30¢ per gallon. My lawn mower gas cans are now all empty, so, knowing I had some Tops “Gas Points” I checked out last week’s flyer for their discount eligible purchases. We had previously abandoned buying the “Gas Point” items as you can buy just so many rolls of paper towels and paper plates. Fortunately, the “points offer” included 20¢ per gallon off, if you bought 6 items including many Kraft Foods things like Cracker Barrel cheese, Miracle Whip salad dressing and bacon at $6.99 per pound. I got those items and the purchase alone, plus the discount I had already earned, “bumped me up” over the 40¢ off “gas points”. Now I can go to the Olean Tops and fill my car and gas cans at a little better price of $4.49/gal.

If you would like to celebrate your 4th of July with a little patriotic music, the Genesee Valley Chorus will be performing at the Scio Memorial Library Wednesday, July 6th at 6:15 PM, and then will follow that up with a performance at the Allegany County Fair the evening of July 17th.

Thanks again Mom! I’ve mentioned before that my mother taught me how to write cursive to pass on from the 2nd Grade at Richburg Central School. When signing a lunch credit card slip at Twin Hickory golf club yesterday, where my son Todd gifted me a Father’s Day round of golf, the cashier looked at my signature and exclaimed “what beautiful handwriting” I had. My mother’s legacy is written every time I sign my name.

After editing and re-typing the entire document just minutes ago I knocked the “Mouse” off the arm of my chair, and it closed me out of the document. It had been about 30 minutes since my last save and I had made significant changes, including the pictures additions, in that time. I now know, thanks to Google Search, how to find an automatically “system saved” file.

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