Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Roaches

            In the movie The Apartment Jack Lemon uses bug spray in his apartment to disperse cockroaches and is promptly chastised by his neighbors for disturbing the status quo. “Now you’ve got them all upset and they’re running all over the place,” a neighbor complains.  “Leave them alone.  We co-exist.”  It’s hard to co-exist with roaches.
            In the movie Death Wish IV Charles Bronson looks out an apartment window at thugs and criminals running freely through the streets in a lawless neighborhood and exclaims, “They’re like roaches. They’re everywhere.” Left alone roaches will indeed turn up everywhere.
            In real life criminals, murderers, robbers, muggers, rapists, home invaders, drug dealers are like roaches.  Left alone they multiply like crazy and take over houses, blocks, cities.  So in the wake of news that Camden, New Jersey has been deemed the second-most dangerous city in America, the city fathers and mothers have announced they are laying off 135 police officers, about half of the police force. This is being sanctioned by the State of New Jersey which has declined to step forward and bail Camden out financially.
And so now the roaches will run freely through Camden’s streets separated from Philadelphia only by the Delaware River and a few bridges.  But roaches are resourceful.  They are hearty travelers. Left alone they will spread.  Philadelphia, you’d better get your cans of Raid ready.
           

Monday, November 15, 2010

From the Medicine Cabinet

When we are not feeling good, or are in the throes of an illness we long for a remedy, a cure, some relief of any sort. We resort to taking medications of all kinds in pursuit of feeling better. But is it worth the risk of possibly suffering major side effects? When we’re hurting do we read and heed warnings on labels as carefully as we should? Do we just console ourselves with the thought that dire side effects are only remotely possible?  I was moved to consider medication consequences after hearing commercials for an increasing number of maladies and conditions I’d never heard about before and the pharmacological solutions recommended. 
            Side effects cited in various commercials may include routine headaches, migraine headaches, seizures, confusion, loss of vision, loss of hearing, abdominal pain, yellowing of skin and eyes, osteoporosis, kidney stones, kidney failure, breast cancer, heart attack, stroke, dehydration and the ever dire suicidal tendencies. Should you experience any of these side effects, these symptoms, you are urged to immediately contact your doctor.      
I hope I don’t come across as being unduly light about the situation as conditions associated with such side effects are no laughing matter. But side effects mentioned in commercials are presented in a matter-of-fact manner that I find hard to swallow.
On another matter, a recent story on KYW Newsradio detailed the hazards faced by pregnant women and their developing babies from a chemical found in plastic water bottles, cigarette filters, even second-hand smoke.  The story warned against exposure to the objectionable chemical as much as possible. The story was followed by another recommending ways to keep squirrels from chewing up Holiday pumpkins and gourds placed on porches. An interviewed garden expert recommend using chemicals that smell like mint or garlic or if more was needed fox urine.  That’s right fox urine. I’m not sure how they got the fox to pee in a bottle but the end results are what matters. I mean us humans on occasion at the doctor’s office pee in a bottle. What got me was the juxtaposition of the stories…one warning against chemicals butted up against a story recommending the use of chemicals. I’ll see you later. I’m off to pee on my pumpkin.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Coming Out of the Closet

As a collector, buyer and seller of antiques and collectibles I am a packrat.  Some things that are currently not as popular as they once can be found in my clothes closet because you never know when they may come back into style. I have dozens of neckties hanging from four or five hangers categorized by width. I have saved very thin ties from the 60s, very wide ties from the 70s, hand-painted ties from the 40s and one, alas only one, tie that my late Father wore in the 30s. As is often the case when a family member passes away their clothing is donated or merely tossed and so I only have one of my Dad’s ties, a wide maroon tie adorned with red and white flowers. 
            I ventured into the back of my closet the other day after reading the Fashion and Style section of the New York Times and encountering Trading Up, a new column that takes a fresh look at fashion's classics. The fashion classic in this case was the wingtip shoe which the column claimed was a “much-loved shoe with the much-perforated upper that has stealthily become a favorite in the last couple of years…”  The column described trendy shops in Manhattan’s West Village featuring wingtips from work boots for $350 a pair to bench-made British long wing brogues for $1,125. The pair of oxblood wingtips that have languished in the back of my closet for many moons were acquired 25-30 years ago and while I have put on new heels and soles over the years the uppers have worn like iron, intact and seemingly lovely to this day.  I say seemingly lovely because the New York Times says they are really big right now. Even makers like Prada and Gucci are reportedly turning out “slick Continental loafers and lace-ups…and given this breadth of offerings, the wingtip is now available in lighter weights, softer constructions and slimmer silhouettes than the full brogue, with its unwieldy touch of the old cement shoe.” Ah yes, my trusty old pair of heavy wingtips are like old cement shoes, something like a pair you’d wear when being tossed off the end of a Brooklyn pier.
The deal on wearing wingtips again was sealed for me when I read a comment by a 27-year-old who had just bought his first pair of wingtips having just started a new job as project manager for a construction development firm in New York. “The thing is,” he said, “they go really well with regular work pants and jeans. I’ve usually worn sneakers and boots…but these look good with everything. They’re dressy, but in a casual way.”  Hey, that’s me too bro, dressy, but in a casual way. Now when are those wide ties coming back into style?