And I've seen it before and I'll see again

[sovay]

Good afternoon! I aten't dead. I'm just really, really, really tired. Normal service will resume when . . . something.

1. R.I.P. Lucien, a Good Cat.

2. We are not shopping at Stop & Shop, because their workers are on strike. Don't cross picket lines. Let's hear it for Market Basket.

2. Der Yid, the Yiddish-language weekly of the Satmar Hasidim, has strongly condemned ultra-Orthodox anti-vaxxers in a rare dual publication in English and Yiddish: "Senseless! Heartless! Torah-less and Reckless."

The current state of the MBTA may be judged by the following anecdote: I needed to get to Harvard Square yesterday evening, so I walked from Winter Hill to Porter Square because it was faster than waiting for a bus to take me to Davis to catch the Red Line. spatch and I have to get out to Lexington this afternoon for my father's birthday. Wish us luck.

[edit] The punch line: the bus came seven minutes early, just as we rounded the corner. We walked the half-hour into Davis Square.

Comments

[asakiyume]

Strongly supporting the Stop & Shop strikers. Many people in my neighborhood work there--and ANYWAY PEOPLE NEED GOOD WAGES AND BENEFITS.

[sovay]

Many people in my neighborhood work there--and ANYWAY PEOPLE NEED GOOD WAGES AND BENEFITS.

They do!

[rosefox]

I was really pleased to see crownheights.info also taking a strong stance in favor of vaccination.

Our pediatrician didn't think that Kit needs an early second dose (it's usually given at age four), but has started vaccinating babies before their first birthday to give them some protection. And when I get my annual physical, I'm going to ask them to verify my measles immunity status, because some people my age only got one shot rather than two.

[sovay]

I was really pleased to see crownheights.info also taking a strong stance in favor of vaccination.

I hadn't seen that! Cool.

And when I get my annual physical, I'm going to ask them to verify my measles immunity status, because some people my age only got one shot rather than two.

Good call. spatch and I got reupped on our MMR in 2014 when we discovered I was still immune to measles, but not mumps or rubella. My parents are not recommended for booster shots because they have the immunity of childhood survivors of all three diseases. They agree they would rather have had vaccines.

[rosefox]

They just posted this open letter from a group of Chabad medical professionals and all their news pieces about the outbreak have also included background info on how awful the disease is and how important it is to be vaccinated. They also posted a very blunt op-ed from a doctor that describes measles symptoms in detail and concludes, "For the uneducated or the supposedly-educated parents who assume the privilege of not vaccinating their kids until now, know this... When someone loses their life to this, it will not be on the head of the medical community; it will be on yours. You will have to answer for this on your day of reckoning." They are not fucking around.

I know we all got TDaP boosters when we were planning to have Kit; I just can't remember whether we got MMRs as well.

[movingfinger]

I was very happy to hear my mother say that she wouldn't be going to the Stop & Shop (nearest store to her), although she knows and loves all the cashiers (who know her too) and worries about them. It's only feasible because there are so many other grocery stores around her, though (including Market Basket).

That editorial is very strongly worded! I hope it is read and taken to heart by those it is addressing.

[sovay]

It's only feasible because there are so many other grocery stores around her, though (including Market Basket).

I'm glad it's feasible and I hope the strike will help the cashiers she worries about.

That editorial is very strongly worded! I hope it is read and taken to heart by those it is addressing.

Same. I do not usually ever agree with Satmar rabbis, but I approved.

[strange_complex]

I'm sorry to hear about Lucien. :-(

[sovay]

I'm sorry to hear about Lucien.

Thank you. He was not even my cat, and I miss him.

[a_reasonable_man]

Happy belated birthday to your father!

[sovay]

Happy belated birthday to your father!

Not belated at all! He says thank you!

[gwynnega]

"Gonna drive past the Stop & Shop, because the workers are on strike." (Okay, that doesn't quite scan.)

[sovay]

"Gonna drive past the Stop & Shop, because the workers are on strike." (Okay, that doesn't quite scan.)

It doesn't, but I don't care. (Besides, scansion in that song is kind of "Well, the highway was my only girlfriend 'cause I went by so quick / And some urban trees were out there / And consequently, it smelled like heaven" optional anyway.)

[kenjari]

I'm supporting the Stop & shop strikers, even if boycotting is a bit of moot point for me, since there isn't really a convenient one near me. I'm pretty solidly in the Market Basket camp anyway.

[sovay]

I'm supporting the Stop & shop strikers, even if boycotting is a bit of moot point for me, since there isn't really a convenient one near me.

That's fair. Our nearest supermarket is a Stop & Shop, so it does make a difference to our grocery habits.

T on a holiday weekend

[lauradi7dw]

The Red Line was in essence shut down from a little before 10 this morning until 20-25 minutes later due to "police action at Alewife and Shawmut." I spent part of the time explaining the T map to a Texas family here for the marathon, which devolved into a conversation about Megabus among the people standing near us in the train.
I'm sorry about your bus. I had the opposite experience this afternoon, standing at the #1 stop on Mass Ave by the Hynes green line stop. We could *see* the bus in the distance, but the automotive traffic was so dense that it took it 10 minutes for it to go from Symphony to about Berklee, during which time the dozens of us waiting had observed a cop pull someone over for an illegal left turn, or something, and then a driver getting out of his car to yell at another driver blocking his lane, followed by his companion yelling at him for. The bus driver may not have been able to avoid that schedule violation...

Re: T on a holiday weekend

[sovay]

but the automotive traffic was so dense that it took it 10 minutes for it to go from Symphony to about Berklee, during which time the dozens of us waiting had observed a cop pull someone over for an illegal left turn, or something, and then a driver getting out of his car to yell at another driver blocking his lane, followed by his companion yelling at him for.

That sounds dramatic but unpleasant for everyone, including the bus driver. Did you get where you were going?

Re: T on a holiday weekend

[lauradi7dw]

(yay for cell phones), I called Arthur and we rearranged our plan so that I met him at Clover near Kendall station, rather than 77 Mass Ave. Then I ducked into the subway. Despite Red Sox crowds, I think it was faster than waiting for the fraction of a mile/hour bus. I suddenly remembered that the trip from Boylston to Park via proto-Green line was faster than going by Tremont street, because even then, there was so much traffic on the street that it only crept along.

[sara]

That's a great editorial and I also like how it sounds like Yiddish in translation or the post-Yiddish English of the Jews I am fond of when they are wroth.

[sovay]

That's a great editorial and I also like how it sounds like Yiddish in translation or the post-Yiddish English of the Jews I am fond of when they are wroth.

It is definitely English af Yidish and it works for me.

[moon_custafer]

Related to two links above: I see at least one local Rabbi has sent out an email that groceries purchased from scabs are NOT Kosher for Passover: https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Jews-face-having-to-find-Passover-foods-without-13763250.php

[sovay]

I see at least one local Rabbi has sent out an email that groceries purchased from scabs are NOT Kosher for Passover

Also nice! And, yes, I'm glad we have matzah already.

[thisbluespirit]

I'm just really, really, really tired. Normal service will resume when . . . something.

<3

[sovay]

<3

*hugs*

[choco_frosh]

:(

[choco_frosh]

Except about your father's birthday. Happy Birthday, Your Father!

[sovay]

Happy Birthday, Your Father!

Thank you! I think he had a nice one. We gave him books and music and made him burgers and cake.

[nineweaving]

Give your father my belated birthday wishes. I'm glad it was happy.

That is a righteous editorial!

Nine

[sovay]

Give your father my belated birthday wishes. I'm glad it was happy.

I will! It was a nice time.

That is a righteous editorial!

In all senses! rosefox and moon_custafer have further links in comments.