COLUMBUS _ The dogs stirred
at the sound of a truck pulling
down the driveway, and when
Uncle Chet came in the back door,
Della jumped up to greet him.
``Down!’’ I commanded.
``I’ll take care of her.’’ He knelt
by the black Lab pup, encouraged
her to sit and stroked her thick coat.
He looked into her dark brown
eyes. ``Are you housebroken yet?’’
``Jury’s out on that,’’ I said. ``She
hasn’t made a mistake in while,
anyway.’’
``Good for you,’’ he said to the
dog, then straightened up with a
groan. ``I brought the wood splitter.’’
``OK. Want coffee
first?’’
``Sure,’’ he
said as Hon came
downstairs.
``What’s this I
hear about coffee?’’
``I made a pot,’’
I said.
``I’ll take a
cup,’’ she said.
``Any luck with
the phone?’’ I
asked.
``No. The only
way to get the
photos off it is to
e-mail them, and
that costs 75 cents
apiece.’’
``Crooked soand-
sos,’’ I said. ``They stick a digital
camera on the cell phone, then
they won’t let you upload photos to
your computer.’’
``And we took all our beach photos
with the cell phone,’’ she said.
``Let’s get a different phone,’’ I
said.
``But what about these photos?’’
She showed me one of Buddy and
me in a little boat, rowing out in
Long Island Sound.
``We’ve got to have that one,’’ I
said.
``Let me see that,’’ said Uncle
Chet as we sat down for coffee. He
scrolled through the photos, found
several of us, him and Alice and the
kids _ the little miscreant verging
on 16 and her 8-year-old brother.
``You mean you can’t share these
photos without paying, even though
you bought the phone?’’ he said.
``I’ll try Google next,’’ she said.
``There are probably a million
people with this problem. There
must be some way around it.’’
Just then, a girl’s voice at the top
of the stairs said, ``Ooohh, gross!
Dad, the dog’s sick.’’
``Clean it up,’’ I said.
``No way.’’ She shrank at the
thought.
``Looks like she’s doing a pretty
good job herself,’’ said Uncle Chet.
``That’s disgusting!’’ the girl said.
``Dogs do that; that’s how they
feed their young in the wild,’’ said
Hon, going for a mop.
``This isn’t the wild,’’ said her
daughter.
``Sometimes I wonder,’’ I said.
``You’re lucky this is happening
now,’’ said Uncle Chet. ``Under
Obama’s health plan, if that dog
pukes next year, you’ll have to
euthanize it.’’
``That’s not true,’’ his niece
scolded.
``I heard it at a tea party,’’ he
said. ``And that anyone over 80 with
a medical problem is going to be
put down, too.’’
``As long as it’s not anyone over
60.’’ I sipped coffee.
``You’re next,’’ he said. ``Your
children are going to turn on you
if they keep listening to the black
president.’’
``Now that, I have heard, but not
the black part,’’ I said.
``Do you think they hate him
because he’s black, or because he’s
standing up to the rich?’’ asked
Hon.
``Both. The insurance tycoons
and the drug tycoons are protecting
their turf, and there’s plenty of
racist stuff on the Internet,’’ said
Uncle Chet. ``Isn’t that what this
birther movement is all about?
Aren’t they really saying, `he ain’t
like you and me?’”
``Seems it,’’ I said.
``You have to remember how the
old Confederacy, heart of the beast,
became Republican,’’ said Uncle
Chet. ``After the Democrats finally
took up the civil-rights banner, in
the ’60s, the racists had to switch
parties. Before that, they called it
the `Solid South’ because it was so
reliable for Democrats, but then it
flip-flopped.’’
``That was an angry time.’’ I rose
to take out the dog, although she
seemed fine now.
``It was,’’ said Uncle Chet, and
brought his coffee to the door. ``Reminds
me a lot of now.’’
___
Cooperstown News Bureau Reporter
Tom Grace is traveling with
his Uncle Chet, who he says is imaginary.
Grace’s column appears every
other week.
Columns
Travels with Uncle Chet: Time of anger has returned
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
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Safety Patrol D.C. visits never get old
I asked Cam Morris, head of Eastern Travel/Oneonta Bus Lines, how many years her company has been handling the Safety Patrol trip to Washington, D.C.
Continued ... - My pal Brucie, savior of Sidney's hospital
- Catching a whiff of 'Vermont Vapor'
- Selections from the virtual mailbag
- Recalling days of 'Doughnut King'
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Safety Patrol D.C. visits never get old
- Cary Brunswick
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We've become our own worst enemies
The past month has been marked by a seeming unprecedented number of man-made tragedies, as distinct from those caused by violent outbursts of the natural world, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.
Continued ... - Plenty of blame to go around for Bangladesh horror
- Obama is going against his word on Social Security
- Reflecting on a Florida trip
- Those magnificent spies in their flying machines
-
We've become our own worst enemies
- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
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A closer look at the Oneonta town survey
The Town of Oneonta conducted a survey of town residents during February and March of this year. The survey indicated that generally town residents are satisfied with the quality of services provided and they are happy to live here. They want to balance the quiet, rural way of life we have with additional commercial development and environmentally sound practices.
Continued ... - Farmers markets are in full bloom
- Records seizure is an insult to free press
- The evangelical view of same-sex marriage
- Manor's fate will be Otsego board's legacy
-
A closer look at the Oneonta town survey
- Lisa Miller
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A view from above
Fire towers in the Catskill Mountains have always been destination points, built to capture some of the region’s best views. These sentinel stations served an important role for the earliest possible sightings of forest fires in the remote mountain ranges. But the fire towers and those who manned them fulfilled a multitude of other roles as well.
Continued ... - Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
-
A view from above
- Mark Simonson
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Blackmail scheme failed to hurt Richfield Springs resort season in 1888
The timing simply couldn't have been worse. Thousands of visitors were making plans for their summer vacations to Richfield Springs in 1888 when a bombshell of a newspaper article hit the newsstands of New York City. The article appeared in The New York Sun that stated typhoid fever and diphtheria had a "heavy presence" in the resort village, known and respected worldwide for its cleanliness and good health.
Continued ... - General Clinton Canoe Regatta got a new home in 1972
- Sunday movies in Oneonta finally shown in 1934
- Politics, fitness and landmarks dominated local news in May 1968
- Local people sought income in many ways in 1933
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Blackmail scheme failed to hurt Richfield Springs resort season in 1888
- Rick Brockway
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Waterfalls are even better when you keep them to yourself
Millions of people flock to see the great waterfalls of the world. They watch the millions of gallons of water wash over Niagara Falls or see the water come out of spectacular mountains to fall hundreds of feet into the valleys below. Waterfalls are truly some of nature's most beautiful sights.
- Kids have sparkle in their eyes
- People make the outdoors even better
- Turkey season has ups and downs
- Spring air isn't always the freshest
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Waterfalls are even better when you keep them to yourself
- Sam Pollak
- William Masters
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
As the time to vote draws near, we need to remember how money can run politics more than we can. Raising funds is a prominent (if not the dominant) task of getting elected. Raising issues is also crucial, but those efforts are subject to distortion and fear-mongering.
- Republicans feelentitled to allthey can garner An entitlement is a legal benefit available from the government to individuals who are within a defined category of recipients, such as needing insurance for unemployment or health services.
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Romney focuses on self; Obama emphasizes unity
Mitt Romney criticizes President Obama for saying a person's success is rooted in his community, and is not all his alone. Romney belittles this with his belief in individual initiative. He is better at the put-down than the push-up.
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Romney shows little regard for common man
The Republicans in Congress have voted over and over, 33 times, redundantly and uselessly, to rescind what they call Obamacare.
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Scouts' gay ban creates problem where none exists
The Boy Scouts of America's "emphatic reaffirmation" of its vow to exclude any and all homosexuals from its hallowed ranks is ill-considered and pathetic, especially in view of its having reviewed the matter for two years.
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues



