I‘m a little nervous about dog bites and/or being shot in the eye. But what really worries me is using this iPhone. And now, my whole career as an enumerator is counting on me using it. I’ve never become inextricably attached to my phones; I can’t toss off texts on the fly, book a hotel…
Lest you think my induction into censushood would be a walk in the park – or neighborhood — let me say it ain’t so. Go knock on some doors, check a few boxes, accomplish something and get a paycheck? Nah, nothing (I hate to even say this) is easy, or, well, simple. Especially when it…
I was really looking forward to the training for this job. I had high hopes – perhaps unrealistic expectations – for how enlightened I would be once trained. I can only imagine what the collective insight is from census takers, who have been knocking on doors since ]this started in 1790. They must have seen…
When last we spoke (typed/read), I was heading out to a regional center to become an official census taker. This is a journey of sorts, and I have learned a few things about journeys during my career as a travel writer: You shouldn’t have expectations You may imagine what you will encounter, but in general…
Today I will become a census-taker. I got hired for the job just as COVID was revving up in New York. The census operation was suspended — like most everything everywhere — for months. When last I reported in on the job status, I’d been called in to Office Depot — mask and gloves at…
I love walls. I look at them close-up – the bits of paper left from long-ago flyers and posters. The layers of battered paint and wood, making inadvertently perfect backdrops for passersby. And the messages – the writing on the walls. (Hey, the expression came from somewhere.) You never know where a wall with a…
Bet it’s already started in your neighborhood. The BOOM of freedom. Or at least of the traditional day of permission to MAKE LOUD SOUNDS and to PLAY WITH FIRE AND EXPLOSIVES. Apparently this is a blockbuster — or -boomer — year for fireworks. With COVID nixing so many public fireworks displays, more private citizens have…
Today felt a lot like Christmas. Except Santa came bearing scissors and hair color. Yes, today I got to see Kristen, at Color Me Krazy. Today I got a haircut. More precisely, I guess, I got my hair de-COVID’ed. The angst began building since shortly after lockdown (um, pun intended, if just realized). I began…
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