Wiser’s Wramblings-Vetting of Veterans or Vets

Above average wrambling, from military talk to grammar groans

By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels

Despite the fact that I’ve started this article in the wee hours of my un-official day of Wrambling’s, the silliness of the title came to mind mid-day yesterday as I was driving home from Wellsville Computers. I needed assistance de-bugging a self-inflicted problem with my new laptop. At the end of this writing, I will share the schedule and accompanying links for up-coming Allegany County Veteran’s Agency programs.

Owner/Editor Andrew Harris commented to me the other day about my having found a new topic which has become near and dear to my heart (my words) and gives me a topic that is extremely important to me and thousands of other veterans in the area.

Eventually I was able to renew my “mechanical drawing” interests, having earlier spent my career in the Navy as a Gunfire Control Technician. This was primarily an electronics-based Military Operational Specialty (MOS), with considerable emphasis on the fundamental radio “vacuum tube” type of computer control devices. Computers were in their infancy.

Side stepping a little; My exposure to electronics, my first career interest and goal, enlightened me as to one major advantage that working with mechanical things offers, as opposed to electronics components. I now often explain my career path change as being motivated by my learning that “if something was broken mechanically you could see it and fix it, but if something electronic wasn’t working properly, or at all, you couldn’t see it or know exactly where the problem was.

I would like to add my congratulations to Kris Green having recently been promoted to Vice President at Jones Memorial Hospital. Kris was a former student of mine during my teaching days at Alfred State College (ASC). After the one semester class of mine he took, I didn’t see him again but didn’t really notice, as students from various curricula took that class. Fast forward a few years and while attending my son Shawns promotion to an Air Force Master Sergeant position, Kris happened to be in that same “promotional” class. I don’t recall exactly how we re-connected but perhaps he re-introduced himself to me before or after the ceremony. Upon re-connecting, I told him that he had made a great career choice change and seemed well suited to his Air Force career. All of these years later it is obvious that he made the right, and timely, personal choice, recognizing that perhaps Engineering Technology wasn’t meant for him. I interrupt to add that Spell Checker didn’t catch spelling sergeant as sargeant, but it didn’t look right in proofing.

I have to apologize to Angelica residents as I mistakenly placed Cartwrights Maple Tree Inn as being in Canaseraga. I guess I always thought that cut-over road was in Canaseraga as it wended its way between the Short Tract Road and County Rte. 16 on Rte. 15A. At first, a little embarrassed, I soon realized that my closing invitation for readers to reach out to me with comments served its purpose. I won’t identify my “clarifier,” but am grateful for the reach-out.

I’m a little puzzled about something related to construction site work near me. Work replacing or re-routing a major water line has been going on in what I refer to as the “Allegany County Scio Gravel Pit.” Apparently, there is a major road re-construction project soon to be going on somewhere near me. The incessant “beep”, “beep”, signifying that a work vehicle is in reverse mode is very irritating. But, I guess some of our roads are in dire need of repair. What causes the puzzlement is the seeming lack of any kind of warning signs about “Construction in the area,” or “Men Working” with continual intermittent dump truck traffic passing by on both the Back River Road and County Rte. 31. True, the actual construction is not in or on the roads but there is a nearly constant flow of intermittent construction vehicle traffic, not only in the Gravel Pit, but on both roads leading to and past it. I have to admit that I’m a little disappointed that the grassy areas that I normally mow adjacent to the “turn around” areas, have been completely destroyed and likely will never be renewed. Before I started my “care-taking” operations, that area, at least half of which was grass, Sumac trees and weeds, was an eyesore. I started cutting the brush and sumac trees and started mowing. The grass on all sides of the perimeter looked significantly better than it had previously. I often received “thanks” from area people that recognized what I was doing. Some were even some former Allegany County employees from the area.

What I presume was a “typo” in the Olean Times Herald recently reported some individuals that had been arrested or charged with crimes. I was puzzled as only one person was named and the other two weren’t. Their respective listed ages were “19, 18 and 1 years old.”  

Swinging the topic back to today’s Wrambling title, and mention of various entities that start with, the suffix, of “Vet”, I considered the three uses mentioned as Vet, Veteran, and Vetted. The corny side of me would tie them together by saying that a vet vetted the veterans (If they were animals). The noun Vet is short for either Veteran (of the Armed Forces) or Veterinarian (animal doctor).

As a verb, Vet means “to carefully examine beforehand.” That particular use or form of the word can be either “Vet,” as in “to vet,” “Vetted,” as in past tense , and “Vetting,” as in currently being vetted. If I had fulfilled my earlier young man’s dream, I would be driving a “Vette.”

The other day I laid a book on the surface of a kitchen countertop. After placing it I tapped it to align its edge so it was parallel with the edge of the counter. Having been aware that I more or less always do that when placing items. If I stack books, I align the edges. If I hang something on the wall I adjust it so that the top edge is parallel with the ceiling or if it’s beside something else, like a picture, I make sure their respective edges are parallel. If my wife hangs a picture I endanger myself by pointing out to her that it is not “squared up.” I guess in some regard you would consider me “obsessive.” I’m not sure what innate sense in my requires things to be “plumb” or parallel or “in line with.” But it drives me nuts to look up and see a picture hung at an angle.

I recently changed my Facebook picture adding one of my favorite personal photos. If I remember to advise owner /editor Andrew, that picture will adorn this Wrambling. Despite liking that picture taken outside my parents trailer in Friendship, it reminded me of a minor physical appearance deformity. Many people who already know me well will question if I have a grease spot or something on my forehead. If you look at the left side of my head, you may notice what many have. Actually, it’s a deformity not born in, but “beat into” me. Early in my youth we were living with my aunt and uncle Claire and Hank Miles on Elm Street in Friendship, NY. Having typed that, I guess I might have been a couple of inches, or bat swings, shy of the Murder on Elm Street: A True-Life Crime Story by Jeremy L Luberts.

Actually, we were playing baseball in the yard adjoining the Austins (who also moved to Nile at about the same time we did,) With sister Sue (Sylvia Halsaver-Booth) at bat I was the catcher. Kneeling behind her. Since I was only 4 or 5 years old I don’t remember exactly what made me do it but I stood up as she was swinging the bat. Yep! I’ll bet that you anticipated the outcome. Knocked me flat on my “keester.” (Also known as the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on, or more bluntly, “my ass”). As a disclaimer that last word was used in my Google Search answer so I will excuse its use as poetic license.

I was disappointed the other day to have only found 12 lost golf balls as I walked the ditch parallel to the roadside of the Serenity Hill golf course in Friendship, NY. A couple of days prior to that as I passed by travelling County Rte. 31 on my semi-weekly shopping trip to Walmart, I noticed there were several balls on the ditch bank, easily in view. For many, many years I have gone “ball hawking” there, and have returned hundreds of balls back to the course owners for them to sell as re-claimed golf balls. I try to get there as soon as the winter snows melt in March, or earlier if fortunate, with a January thaw. Drat! Someone had beaten me to them.

I will end with Grammar Puzzlement as opposed to Groans in today’s writhings. I recently read an article wherein the author used resigns and resigns, with both separate meanings in the same paragraph. A Grace United Church song we are singing uses the seldom used “Lamentations”

Following is a short list of the upcoming Allegany County Veterans Agency