Pictured is the pride Azalea of the Back River Road
By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
I’m going to start todays Wrambling With a “Beep Beep” and not a Bleep Bleep, which is a slang term that is used to designate something said untoward or that should be “bleeped” out. Once again, I “got up with the birds” this morning and although I was greeted at 5:30 AM by the Cardinals already at the feeders, what woke me up in the first place was the “Beep Beep” and it wasn’t the Road Runner.
Hitting the Grammar Groan button this early in my Wrambling was not intentional but the motivation for this particular writing was prompted by the construction workers, already on the job, beginning their day’s labors at this ungodly hour. I have written of my displeasure with other aspects of the multitude of road construction projects this year but today’s “takes the cake.”
The “centralized” gravel pit located, and active, across the road from our Scio, Back River Road residence is a curse and has only been beneficial when I need to borrow a little gravel or when my most recent tax evaluation came up. When there are local road construction activities in progress the dump trucks pick up or deposit gravel on a continual basis. When a loading is in the process the Payloader used to fill the trucks has the incessant “Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep” warning bestowed on some vehicles or devices. 5:30 in the morning is a little too early, extremely annoying, and in my opinion downright disrespectful. This doesn’t happen every morning during the construction season, but it happened this morning.
I won’t throw these stones at any one specific agency, but three entities have been involved in this project, and/or the access to the gravel stored there. Involved are the Town of Scio, Allegany County, and a private contractor, the name of which I am not sure as there have been multiple truck signage designations. I don’t recall these local agencies having been this inconsiderate in the past, and I won’t presume it was them this time. They have always been considerate.
I once again got to practice my “hyperlink disappearing trick” in the following paragraph stolen from another reference source. The inserted statement describing the use of Beep, Beep had to be de-linked and the method used last week worked but still only one term at a time. There were several links in the paragraph, and I had to negate them one at a time. The Google Grammar gods did suggest a method by which all of the items could be selected but while the Ctrl A “hotkeys” did select the entire paragraph, Ctrl + Shift + F9 did not work. It’s too early in the morning to learn anything new so I will investigate that with more diligence later.
The stolen link is as follows: “Beep, beep” is onomatopoeia representing a noise, generally of a pair of identical tones (beeps) following one after the other, often generated by a machine or device such as a car horn. It is commonly associated with the Road Runner (commonly interpreted as “meep meep”) in Looney Tunes cartoons featuring the speedy-yet-flightless bird and his constant pursuer, Wile E. Coyote. Beep, Beep is the name of a 1952 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series.”
I love that new word onomatopoeia and it is a marvel as 8 of the 12 letters are vowels. You may not have noticed that but I did as it made the pronunciation of the name very difficult.
This morning’s 5:30 AM outside alarm awaking by the beeping isn’t the first time this week that I have been woken up early by loud outside noises. Earlier in the week I was startled awake at that same 5:30 AM time by the jack hammer “rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat” outside our bedroom window. I have heard it a couple of times since and it is the Red Bellied Wood Pecker, or RBWP, as photographer Dan Jordan would identify it. I mentioned the woodpeckers neck muscles allowing rapid pecking, but I didn’t need any more evidence of it with this latest episode. According to my sources, “Woodpeckers drum on wood, metal, including signs and metal roofs and gutters, and other surfaces for the same reasons other birds sing, and that is to defend their territory and/or attract mates. Beep, Beep, and rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat, will be playing over and over in my head all day.
And, yet the second road construction story comes from another recent Olean trip earlier this week. At another roadwork project on I86 just west of Friendship, NY I came to a Stop sign literally stopping traffic in the middle of the driving lane of that road. It was literally in the middle of that lane and there was no indication of whether it was “stop and go,” or stop for something going on ahead. As I puzzled, I saw a yellow vested road worker hastily walking up to my truck from behind me. I rolled my window down to ask when or if I could go and he mumbled something and waved his arm, indicating that I should go. Later, I thought that perhaps since it was the west bound “pair” of lanes and no east bound traffic on that side, they assumed that we could figure it out. However, I could not depend on that reasoning given their penchant for closing down lanes on each side diverting traffic “across the divide.” Writing that apparel description just now it made me think of a term similar to “rose breasted grosbeak” or “red bellied woodpecker.” I think “yellow vested road attendant” has a nice ring to it.
This was not the only recent “head shaking” moment of roadside sign attendants being non-chalant and not clearly indicating when or if you should stop or continue on or pull around them or drive thru them. I leave the interpretation of that last “them” as to which “them” I refer. Sign or attendant?
Auto “Word” defect doesn’t like my question mark after the word “attendant” but my “Sign or attendant?” was a query, or question, as to which. Also, in that same, apparently grammarly grievous paragraph, it didn’t recognize the dash mark separating the non and chalant breakup in “nonchalant” continuing the next line.
One, yet another additional roadwork or construction comment, and I will Wramble on. Typically, after the winter, the road cleaning of salt and sand is accomplished as a road sweeper is driven or pulled down the road. Ostensibly, this just pushes the residue off to the side, which in and of itself causes problems “down the road,” by building up the edge side of your lawn, adjacent to the shoulder. All too often this sweeping is done with the road surface, with the accompanying dust just dry and blowing in the wind. Occasionally, but apparently not always, the road is “watered” prior to the sweeping which helps to minimize the dust blown into the air, settles in and on anything nearby, including cars and houses.
If you aren’t shaking your head over my “Wrambling” and “wravings” by now you must be a veteran reader used to that. I offer my apologies to a former reader who said that I use too many quote marks in my writings. I admit that I do. Unlike spoken words, while writing words, sentences or phrases you cannot express any sense of emotion or emphasis between written words as you can with an “eye roll” or wink or nod that can accompany a spoken comment.
Earlier today I again took what seems to be my semi-weekly jaunt to Olean needing to pick up an order at Staples, fulfill my wife’s shopping list at Walmart, and hit up Home Depot for some outdoor/deck all weather carpet, which was on sale. Adding a preface to the rest of this topic, having a radio broadcast “scanner,” that I listen to in the background, “tuned in to” traffic and emergency services calls. Quite frequently a traveler will call 911 reporting a fellow driver weaving or wandering “unable to maintain their lane.” I had just such as that opportunity, had my phone been close at hand, on my return trip from Olean. As I traveled eastward on I86 I observed a red pickup truck approaching from behind me. After glancing to my rear view mirror a couple of times I couldn’t tell for sure which lane the approaching truck was in. Views in your rear view are a result of a quick look-see and things like depth perception and angle of approach etc. are difficult to determine. This truck, pulling a pretty good-sized trailer came noticeably close to me as it passed and then pulled back in “almost in front of me.” I say “almost” as I still couldn’t determine exactly which lane the guy driving was in. I guess he couldn’t either as he wandered back and forth between the shoulder “rumble strip” and the passing lane. It wasn’t just a little “wavering” it was downright departure from the proper lane. After a couple of miles of that and the car not pulling further ahead of me very rapidly, I saw a red sports car type vehicle approach from behind me in the passing lane. “This is going to be interesting” I said to myself, and it was. Just as that sports car was set to pass the “wanderer” ahead of us the lead car drifted over into the passing lane forcing the sports car to brake quickly. The sports car was able to complete the pass eventually as he goosed it a little with a lot more speed. The lead “wanderer” looked like he was going to follow as he drifted into the passing lane. He finally out distanced me and as I took the Friendship exit of I86 a state police car pulled onto the east bound ramp and I hoped it was in pursuit following a call-in/report. I don’t think he was as he didn’t have any lights flashing or siren sounding.
I was in hopes of having a poster image to share promoting the upcoming Genesee Valley Chorus Spring/Summer concert scheduled for June 14th. The poster is too large to scan properly so as to do it justice, so I’m waiting for a digital copy of the file. With or without, I will post an additional promotional piece with next week’s Wrambling, or perhaps mid-week if or when I receive the data needed.
I’ll wrap this up by sharing a warm feeling that I received from last night’s Grace United Church “Praise Band” practice. I have been playing my harmonica as an accompaniment with various parts of our songs, sharing time with singing. Last night I played more than I sang. One of the fellow band members commented that it sounded nice and kinda “like an accordion” I’m not a Lawrence Welk musician, nor a “Harmonicat,” but I enjoy playing it, sharing my music, and am thankful for the opportunity to branch out a little bit musically.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns, or suggestions for future Wramblings, please feel free to email me at IM.Wiserdad@gmail.com.
