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Orange is the New Red

“We are going to put American-produced steel back into the backbone of our country. This alone will create massive numbers of jobs.” Donald J. Trump in Monessen, PA, June 2016[1]

Today at approximately 12:00 noon, Donald J. Trump will become the 45th POTUS.  His mode of operation is quite different than those who have served as POTUS since I arrived on the scene.  However, he does share one thing in common with them.  Like others who preceded him, he has made a number of campaign promises, some of which I personally think are “Mission Impossible.”

One of the major reasons he won the election was his appeal to the those in the Rust Belt who have been seen their way of life and standard of living decline as a result of globalization and automation.  Many of these folks are depending on his promise to bring back manufacturing jobs and open up the coal mines.

Pittsburgh Steel, Monessen, PAI grew up in a Rust Belt town back in the days when the local steel mill was a 24×7 operation and the river was dotted with boats hauling barges loaded with coal.  The steel mill is long gone and so are the coal mines that filled the barges.  And the once booming downtown is filled with dilapidated, boarded-up buildings rather than shops and businesses.

Good Luck President Trump.  I hope your promise to “Make America Great Again” includes Monessen, PA and all the other down and out towns in the Mid-Mon Valley.

The Leak

We had a natural gas leak in our front yard.  We called Washington Gas and they dispatched a technician to check it out.  He verified that there was indeed a leak emitting a small amount gas that was being dissipated into the air and therefore not capable of turning our neighborhood into a blazing inferno.  He said he would put in a work order to have it repaired.  A few weeks passed with no feedback or activity by Washington Gas so we decided to call the Fire Department and ask them to check the gas line and make sure the leak hadn’t gotten any worse, and hopefully “light a fire” under Washington Gas.  The firemen checked the entire gas line, including the meter and the internal feed to the furnace and water heater.  They considered it serious enough to make a call to Washington Gas to send a technician to check it out and to stick around to observe what he did and said.  A second technician arrived who essentially told the same story as the first guy and put in another work order to have it fixed.  It seems the first work order was either lost or perhaps never entered into their system.  The technician also said that the work order would go to the end of the queue as the leak was so small.  About a week later “Miss Utility” showed up and marked all the gas and electric feeds.  A few days later a Washington Gas crew showed up and repaired the leak.  They found that the leak had been caused by a tree root pressing against the pipe and stressing it enough to cause the pipe to crack.  Guess it was just coincidental that the fire department made the call and the repair was effected shortly thereafter.

The Millennial Way

I think I just got one more sign that the Millennials are about to take over.

My grandson is a member of his high school’s varsity swim team.  Each year the team conducts a pre-season fundraiser.  In the past, this was done in the time-honored way. That is, the kid brings home a packet of paper that includes a blurb about the need for funds and envelopes for use in mailing checks to whoever is running the fundraiser.

However, this year was a bit different.  An SMS message from my grandson popped up on my smartphone asking me to “Please visit “http://…” to help our 2016 Swimming Challenge. Thank You.”

No surprise…the link was to one of the many Crowdfunding sites out there on the Internet.  Good thing I’m one of those few old folks who actually know how to use these here computers.

Election 2016 – Part VII

ivoted20161108Today, those of us who are US Citizens get to choose who will sit in the Oval Office for the next four years.  And what a choice it is this time around!  On one hand, if it is indeed true that one POTUS candidate is worthy of indictment and conviction on an endless litany of criminal actions, we may have a “Felon-in Waiting” keeping the seat warm in the Oval Office.  On the other hand, if the other POTUS candidate is indeed an uninformed, bigoted megalomaniac, we may be about to witness “Making America Break.”