Here's the latest sign of old age setting in: The latest New Yorker arrived in the mail Monday. I didn't "get" two of the cartoons in the magazine
That's not funny
Buggerthebooboisie is dedicated to the memory and spirit of H.L. Mencken (above) who coined "booboisie," loosely defined as the middle class of the gullible masses. Mencken's observations and commentaries have withstood the test of time -- with appalling modern relevance. I invite all commentary that debunks the prevailing nonsense in America's political and social dialogue. As a newspaperman I also invite the reminiscences of others who recall the happier days of the trade.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Happy Ending
Bob Timberg, an old colleague, inquires how the Amtrak experience ended yesterday.
Answer: Quite nicely, thank you. New locomotive attached in Philadelphia, after which Train # 86 hurtled to New York at breakneck speed, arriving only 90 minutes late. Time enough to get to Keen's where Bruce Michel, my friend since childhood, bought me lunch.
Cheers, all.
-30-
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Amtrak – Gotta love it!
Amtrak
– Gotta love it!
Aboard
Amtrak NE Regional # 86 to NYC. Train
breaks down around Elkton. There’s a blown fuse. The engineer does not know how
to open and close the circuit breaker box.
THE
ENGINEER DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO OPEN OR CLOSE THE CIRCUIT BREAKER BOX!!!
The
train sits idle. There’s no electricity. After about 45 minutes, another train
comes along. The plan, we’re told, is to transfer the passengers from the
stalled train to the working train. They have bridges for this. (who
knew?) The bridges are laid down between
the two trains at the café car exit. We wait. Then the bridges are withdrawn.
The electricity comes back on.
(In
the midst of all this commotion, the funny-guy-wise-guy conductor who has been
keeping us posted on all these developments is told by someone that he better
put on his tie because there may be Amtrak brass on the othet train who would
dock his pay for being out of uniform. This is a true story!).
The
electricity is back on train 86 because an engineer on the other train actually
knows how to open and close a circuit breaker box. He has transferred to our
train and will accompany us as far as New York. Uncertainty lies ahead for
passengers travelling from New York to Boston.
Now
they’ve decided to change locomotives in Philadelphia, meaning more delay.
My
question is: What happens to the lone engineer who knows how to open and close
the circuit breaker box, and is he really the only guy left on the job today
who has that particular expertise? Is this a hitherto unreported consequence of
the sequester? Or is it that Amtrak has gone to hell in a handbag ever since
Joe Biden stopped riding the rail?
Stay
tuned.
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