Talk of too-high taxes, too many regs, and too-small cars
Many of the Old Men of the Mountain took advantage of the weather break and slept in a tad; however, they dressed in a hurry, putting on some of the clothes they wore yesterday, but they made it by about 6:30 a.m. to Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh.
As usual, the restaurant was ready for the OMOTM, so on a rainy Tuesday morning, July 23, the OMOTM were set for another normal day. They were full of stories that didn’t amount to a hill of beans; nonetheless, the OFs were ready for whatever came their way during the day.
Old news first. In a recent OMOTM column, there was a picture of a 1932 Model A hotrod owned by one of the OMOTM. This vehicle was taken to the large car show at Lansing Manor at the Gilboa power station where it won another trophy. This vehicle has to be seen to be appreciated. Congratulations are in order!
Overtaxed
An early conversation was on taxes, and how they are getting out of hand in New York State. This, coupled with the salaries that our elected officials make in New York, have the OFs thinking that both taxes and the amount the legislators make are becoming disparagingly large in comparison to all the other states in the country.
One OF suggested that a smaller portion of the population of the state is taking care of a larger portion of the state that does nothing to support them, and that includes those that sit in those fancy buildings in Albany.
One OF said that he does not know what they are thinking; they are killing the farmer in New York with regulations and taxes. This OF said, “Just look at all the fallow land in our area from farms that have gone under due to the weight of all the laws and taxes piled on by the State of New York.”
Another OF suggested the big farms might prosper because they can hire people to navigate the system. But yet another OF added that he knows farms that were large to him, for instance, two- to five-hundred head of cattle, having problems, and these farms are also going under.
Those who fly away during the winter commented on what it is like in other states, not only taxes but power bills, the price of gas, and things like that. One OF asked why don’t those who fly away just stay where they fly to.
The reasons were many; after sorting it out, it came down to basically doctors, family, and friends — not dollars and cents.
Enhanced license is tough to get
Somehow, tied in to traveling to other places, the talk centered on getting the new enhanced licenses. Not one OF had the right information when he first went to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
One OF said he went with a wad of papers to prove he was who he said he was, and he was still missing one bit of information. Another OF said he did the same thing, and had the same situation, only his problem was that he had the wrong copy.
Still another OF showed up and he said he knew the girl waiting on him and his paperwork was still not right. He commented that the person waiting on him knew who he was, but according to the DMV he couldn’t prove it.
One OF said he didn’t know why he was getting one of those fancy licenses because he is not planning on going anywhere. Right now a trip to Cobleskill or Catskill is a trip for him, but who knows?
The OF said, “Maybe an opportunity might pop up and I will get a chance to go to a ballgame in Montreal. Still,” the OF continued, “I’m 87, and the license is good until I’m 95, if I make it to that number. I doubt I will still be driving … then again, there is that ‘maybe’ word, and I have the money now, so why not go for it? I get my picture taken to boot!”
“You, in front of a camera and having your picture taken voluntarily, are a hoot. You should have 40 or 50 copies made and give one to each of us,” an OF interjected, “We could pin it on our OMOTM hats and it would scare all the fleas, flies, mosquitoes, and ticks away.”
With friends like this, the OF certainly does not need any enemies.
Small cars
As usual, the topic of vehicles came up; this can be counted on by this scribe as a Tuesday-morning conversation every Tuesday. This past Tuesday morning, the talk was about vehicles so small that they approach the size of upholstered roller skates.
The OFs at our end of the table said they would not feel safe in one of those cars that are the size of one tire on a tractor trailer.
One OF used this as an analogy. Just imagine sitting at a red light with a semi trailer truck right next to you, and, when you look out the side window, all you see is valve stem. The OF said, “If the tractor was bob-tailing and took off in a hurry, it would suck your little car right under it.”
“Not for me,” the OF said.
For those lacking knowledge of the term “valve stem,” Wikipedia tells us that it is a self-contained valve that opens to admit gas to a chamber (such as air to inflate a tire), and is then automatically closed and kept sealed by the pressure in the chamber, or a spring, or both, to prevent the gas from escaping. You’re welcome.
However, that does not preclude that some of the OFs do own electric cars, but these vehicles are regular cars, not salesman samples.
The Old Men of the Mountain who made it to the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh in vehicles of their choice were: Roger Chapman, Paul Nelson, George Washburn, John Rossmann, Bill Lichliter, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Don Guest, (Don is headed overseas to compete in a triathlon) (many of the OMOTM’s total exercise is getting out of bed, and getting dressed, so the reader can tell Don Guest is a guest), Bill Bartholomew, David Williams, Pete Whitbeck, Roger Shafer, Joe Rack, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Otis Lawyer, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Art Frament, Rich Donnelly, Ken Parks, Marty Herzog, Russ Pokorny, Warren Willsey, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Mace Porter, Gerry Irwin, Herb Bahrmann, Elwood Vanderbilt, Allen DeFazzo, Mike Willsey, Gerry Chartier, Ray Kennedy, Harold Grippen, and me.