Snow Puppy

Alexandria Bay:

The snow has hit the ground and so has our 5 month hold Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier LUNA.  This is her first exposure to the white stuff, and I told her there will be more to come. She seemed very happy about this and posed for a picture..... These photos are screen grabs from my flip video camera

Stats And Facts: Alexandria Town Highway Supt. Race

The results of the Republican Primary for the Alexandria Town Highway Supt. race were Durand 225 and Davis 220.  The tally of the paper ballot vote of the Town of Alexandria Democrat Caucus  Durand 21 to Davis 6 and as a result Durand gained the nod from the Dems.

Durand went into  the General Election with the support of the 2 largest political parties while Davis relied on the Working Families Party to carry him on election day.  Below is the Jefferson County Party Enrollment as of April 1 2013.

The results of the General Election before the count of the Absentee ballots was Davis[WF] 578 votes to Durand [D+R] 537 votes.

The count of the Absentee ballots swung the race in favor of Durand with 605 votes to Davis' 604.

The qualifications [as outlined by the Jeff Co BOE] to vote using an absentee ballot are listed below:

Unavoidably absent from your county or, if a resident of the city of New York absent from said city, on Election Day;
Unable to appear at the polls due to illness or disability; a patient in a Veterans’ Administration Hospital;
Detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony.

Bloggers Note:  These are the facts and I decided not to muddy them with my opinions.  After a few days, I just my share some of those with you.... and I am sure you probably just can not wait for that....

T.H.S. Race

The Fat Lady

Some Things Never Change

Typhoon Haiyan has decimated the landscape and lives of the people of the  Philippines. These people like so many others during recorded history are suffering an unfathomable pain.  Others around the world are agonizing because of tempests like Haiyan or from the miseries of war, the squalor of famine, or the torture of oppression. These unbearable pains that these souls endure suggests that Some Things Never Change.

Earlier this summer folk-rock recording artist Dave Maswick released his second CD titled "News From Here". A track on the CD "Some Things Never Change" is Dave's heartfelt response to the torment and anguish of the people that endure such pains as the people of the Philippines have undergone in the past week.  A pain that will last for months and years to come.

When Dave asked me to make this video, it was his desire to have a video made that reflected his painful realization that Some Things Never Change, an awareness that he wants to share with everyone.  I recorded this video in late August, long before Typhoon Haiyan and  have spent many weeks editing and tweaking it to the version that Dave and I are sharing with you now.



Some Things Never Change from Jim Cummings on Vimeo.

Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" WWII Fighter Pilots

We live in a digital era.  Digital photos, High Definition Videos, and Music, all of them can be archived and kept  on a thumb drive.  These "files" can be shared with anyone, anywhere in the world. But what about our parents era? 

Photo Corner Tabs

Our parents displayed their photos in frames that sat on shelves or hung on walls.  Other photos were arranged in albums kept in place with corner holders. I remember our dining room table becoming  an album assembly line.  My mother would have stacks and rows of photos arranged in "her order".  I would pick a photo out of the pile asking who is this a picture of?  She would patiently tell me who it was and the "story" that went with the photo.  But, a mothers patience soon wears thin and she would simply say, Jimmy turn the photo over and read the back, followed by: make sure you put that back where you found it.

The back of the photos contained handwritten information which satisfied my curiosity of who, where, and when. The writing styles varied, some of the photos were copies given to us from various relatives and friends. No doubt each copy of the photo's information was carefully transcribed from the master photo each time a copy was requested.

Which brings me to today.... I googled Lockheed P-38 Lightning looking for a picture of my fathers plane that he flew as a WWII Fighter Pilot. I found what I was looking for and used it as my facebook cover photo.  My son came down the stairs and said "dad, don't you have a photo of your dads actual plane"? I thought for a minute and said "yes I think there is one on a shelf, someplace.... Amazingly I found it and carefully removed the photo from the frame.  I flipped the photo over and on the back was a wealth of information.  

My son was surprised at the story that was written on the back in my fathers handwriting.  A story that I am sharing with you.  I wonder how many of you will start pulling out old photos and looking on the backs for the rest of the story....

The Back of the photo

My Dads Fighter Squadron "The Screaming Meanies"

Pre-Election Day

Village Of Alexandria Bay and Town Of Alexandria:

A few days ago I posted a blurb about Tactical Voting i.e. Bullet Voting.  Another tactic that I should have mentioned is the "Write In".  Some people will write in their own name or someone famous like Mickey Mouse or not so famous..... Walter Felterbush.  The Write In can be a very powerful tool, not so much for winning the current election but maybe a future one.  If there were enough bonafide Write In's on the Ballot, then maybe that person[s] might just make a serious attempt at running for public office the next go around.

When it comes right down to it, I know that most people are reluctant to throw their hat into the political arena.  HA!  I said that word r-e-l-u-c-t-a-n-t.  It was a word that I used to describe myself as a reluctant candidate when I ran for village trustee a couple of years ago. In an attempt to discredit my candidacy  a local bully jumped all over me for making this statement.  Being reluctant or hesitant is a sign of humility and unpretentiousness at the possibility of becoming voted in as a public servant.  Those that criticize these traits are out of touch dinosaurs that will hopefully become extinct.... soon.

Everyone needs to make a commitment to go out and vote tomorrow even though it is only a municipal election year.  And here is a shameless plug for the best Election Day Ham Dinner held at St. Cyrils Church.