So yesterday it took me about three hours to walk home from work. Perhaps the highlight was being a part of the throngs of folks making the mind-numbingly cold (albeit scenic) trek across the Brooklyn Bridge. I could bitch about the rather unpleasant journey (made more-so due to the bone chilling winds) at length, but I can’t, simply because there were plenty of others in the same exact boat, and many of those folks were much older and in far less able shape than myself.
But I gotta say, nothing felt better than approaching Brooklyn and hearing some guy on a megaphone declare “Welcome back to Brooklyn! Because everything’s a-okay when you’re back home.” Him and others were handing out invitations to stop by the Brooklyn Borough Hall on the behalf of Borough President Marty Makowitz for a rest. Which I did, and the chance to sit down, go to the bathroom, and enjoy hot chocolate plus donuts, as well as the extremely warm and friendly staff of the Borough Hall was extremely appreciated.
Yeah, it was a real bitch getting home, a real 180 from the almost exciting journey to work just the other day. I guess I’ve bitched enough about the striking transit workers (at least in real life, which seems to be the main topic of conversation among everyone these days, though that’s to be expected). Again, I have zero sympathy for them, and any rationale to defend their actions is made instantly moot due to the outrageous salaries they make, especially given the piss-poor attitudes and work performance, as well the lack of any real education required for their jobs, plus how they don’t pay for their own healthcare. It would seem that those who do defend them simply do so because its a union, and while I support the ideas of unions, the fact of the matter is that they can become corrupt and reckless, which is obviously the case here. There are many ways to work through problems, and holding the city and it people hostage sure as hell is not one of them.
Though as much as I think the whole strike is bullshit, I must once again state that the idea of it being illegal is total bullshit. It’s freedom of speech!
But another point of contention is the sad as shit manner the city has handled things thus far. Some “contingency plans”… They figured out an effective means to get into the city in the morning via forced carpooling (and that’s highly debatable), but its a totally different story later in the day when trying to get off the island (with many of the restrictions dropped, all bets are literally off, and calamity has ensued). Plus there’s the free license to rip people off which the city has given cab drivers…. There’s so much poor planning and organization on every single level, and anyone who’s watched the news and heard from frustrated commuters at Penn Station, who are herded around like cattle (literally in circles) for hours on end will know what I’m talking off. Hey, as shitty as it is being a Brooklyn resident, at least we have it better than Queens residents. And those in the Bronx have it even worse.
Once again, thank God I got all my Xmas shopping done early! And thank God I’m on vacation; I was supposed to meet up with Dave and Joe at one point to exchange presents, but I’m not leaving for the city until this whole mess is done and over with. And I just heard that the strike might be coming to a close…
