--- IMHO-NH
I was looking for a tax abatements workshop meeting at the community center. I took one of the empty seats in Room 201 as a gaunt, middle-aged man walked up to the lectern. When he stared speaking, I realized I was in the wrong meeting.
"Hi. My name is Jeff (not his real name), and I'm a Red Sox fan." The rest of the attendees showed their approval with soft applause. "I have been living a double life," the gaunt man continued, "hiding the truth from my friends and family."
He stopped to suppress a tremble in his voice. I decided that this meeting sounded a ton more interesting than any tax abatement workshop. Slyly, I switched on the voice recorder in my jacket pocket, leaned back and put on my best "you poor thing" face.
"Everyone thinks I'm this 'okay' guy...not all obsessed with sports like all other guys." His head dropped as if he could no longer bear eye contact. "But I'm not okay. I had no idea I was a LBF (later explained to me as a Latent Baseball Fan). No idea! I grew up in a state with no baseball pride. No one ever talked about it."
"My wife boasts that I'm not like her friends' husbands. My kids think it's cool to have a dad with time give horsey rides. All that changed when we moved to New England a few years ago."
"The truth of my...condition, started to show up in the late summer of 2004. I caught myself listening to my co-workers talk about the Sox at the water cooler. At first, I could walk away. But then the Sox made it to the playoffs. Would they make it? I was curious. My slide into ruin had begun."
"I pretended to make photo copies just so I could stand near the water cooler longer. My will power totally crumbled when the Sox were so far behind in the championships that they were almost out of it. Would the next game eliminate them -- again? Was this curse thing real? I had to know. I was hooked."
"The night of Game 4, I told my wife that I needed some batteries. Truth was, I snuck off to Wal-Mart and watched that fateful comeback game in their TV department. They came back to win it in the 9th! They were still alive! In my dancing around, I knocked over a big display of video tapes. It was embarrassing, but it did give me a plausible excuse to tell my wife for why it took me three hours to buy a pack of double-As. That was close. I knew I had to be much more careful."
"I thought that after the Sox won the Series, and the curse broken, that my...problem...would be over. I wouldn't care anymore. I figured I could quit then. I was wrong. I followed the Sox in their 2005 season too. I used to throw away the Sports Section. Now I would leave it lying on the table awhile so I could steal glances at the Sox stories. I would listen to Red Sox radio in car on the way home from work, but change the station back as I got home. I was determined that no one knew."
"My wife would be angry. My kids would be disappointed. My boss, a Yankees fan, would give me all the stinker projects. My career would be ruined. I had to live a lie. Don't you see? I had to!"
"During the '05 playoffs, I would pretend to bring work home to do on the computer. Under the spreadsheet I had an ESPN web page. I was forever glancing over my shoulder. I even put a Victoria's Secret website up to hide the ESPN, so if my wife caught me quickly clicking back to the spreadsheet and wondered what I was up to, she could catch me in a more acceptable sin."
"I was reading everything I could about the Sox during the off season. I wanted to know what happened to Theo. Why didn't they sign Johnny? Would Curt ever be the hero he once was? I had to know. Yet, I continued to hide and pretend."
He shook his fists in rage. "I'm living a lie, I tell you!" Finally, he slumped, the picture of total despair. He spoke softly, as if only to himself. "Opening day is almost here. I don't know how much longer I can hide it. They'll discover my secret. I know they will. I'll be forced to sleep in the garage. My kids will wear paper bags on their heads. I'll be jobless, outcast." His voice trailed off to mutters.
One of the others gently led Jeff back to his seat. The rest of them circled around him, giving reassuring pats on his head and shoulders. I took that moment to slip out of the room.
Who would have known? He looked so normal.
3.15.2006
The "Right to Film" Law
-- by Ed Naile
To follow up on a story about JJ Valera of Windsor who was forced to go to Hillsborough Superior Court, North to get “permission” from the Town of Windsor to film the Annual Meeting there – we “won”!
Judge Conboy, with several sets of film crews (one was our guys) in the courtroom, made a personal plea to everyone that they all understand that cameras are allowed in public meetings. Her subsequent order followed that lead with the total amount of costs incurred by Mr. Valera be awarded to him with an extra blessing — the Town of Windsor has TEN days to pay!
That Saturday, the independent film crew which was the center of this controversy attended the Coalition of NH Taxpayers Directors Meeting at our office in Concord and filmed about an hour or so of the CNHT Directors discussing the issue from beginning to end.
Our CNHT Directors are all well aware of the Right to Know Law, RSA 91-A, from Part I Article 8 of the NH Constitution, right up to current legislation, HB 626, designed to gut it.
How timely of this out-of-state crew to show up and document what average taxpayers go through when trying to attend their own town meeting or get simple documents from elected or appointed officials.
HB 626 is in the hands of the State Senate as I write. The bill was drafted with much input by the state's most anti-taxpayer organization, (funded with tax dollars of course) The NH Municipal Association.
A proposed new section for 91-A allows for “outside meetings” after which attendees must report at the “next meeting” what happened at the “outside meeting.”
Of course if the “next meeting” is another “outside meeting”...you get the picture.
No wait, you won't.
To follow up on a story about JJ Valera of Windsor who was forced to go to Hillsborough Superior Court, North to get “permission” from the Town of Windsor to film the Annual Meeting there – we “won”!
Judge Conboy, with several sets of film crews (one was our guys) in the courtroom, made a personal plea to everyone that they all understand that cameras are allowed in public meetings. Her subsequent order followed that lead with the total amount of costs incurred by Mr. Valera be awarded to him with an extra blessing — the Town of Windsor has TEN days to pay!
That Saturday, the independent film crew which was the center of this controversy attended the Coalition of NH Taxpayers Directors Meeting at our office in Concord and filmed about an hour or so of the CNHT Directors discussing the issue from beginning to end.
Our CNHT Directors are all well aware of the Right to Know Law, RSA 91-A, from Part I Article 8 of the NH Constitution, right up to current legislation, HB 626, designed to gut it.
How timely of this out-of-state crew to show up and document what average taxpayers go through when trying to attend their own town meeting or get simple documents from elected or appointed officials.
HB 626 is in the hands of the State Senate as I write. The bill was drafted with much input by the state's most anti-taxpayer organization, (funded with tax dollars of course) The NH Municipal Association.
A proposed new section for 91-A allows for “outside meetings” after which attendees must report at the “next meeting” what happened at the “outside meeting.”
Of course if the “next meeting” is another “outside meeting”...you get the picture.
No wait, you won't.
3.08.2006
RSA 91-A is The Right To Know - Who's Nuts?
-- by Ed Naile
Last week I was called by one of our members J.J.Valera of Windsor about some issues in his town. One that hit the papers March 7 was the story about an independent film crew who wanted to film the Windsor Town Meeting on March 14.
J.J was told in rather salty language by the town moderator that no ----ing way would a ----ing camera be allowed in the ----ing Windsor Town meeting.
So J.J called our pal at the AG's office “Bud” Fitch who gave this advice: Go get a court order. So off to Hillsborough Superior North we went Monday, at 10 am - with the film crew.
The 'pro se' petition was hand written in the courtroom hallway while my wife Debbie and I went and got cash for the petition filing fee, as the Valeras thought a check was sufficient and did not bring $145.00 cash.
All this was done with the film crew in tow. Talk about getting handed an issue!
As this was unfolding, down the court house hallway comes State Representative Jordan G. Ulery of Hudson on business of his own. I flagged him down and Rep. Ulery, looking quite the part of the NH State Rep. with a white sea captain's beard, business suit and all, gave us a brief but interesting history of the Right to Know Law in NH. If the film crew was looking to make a grass-roots film they had just hit the motherlode.
And then came the Manchester paper's reporter who was watching all this from a few feet away. She wanted to know what was going on and was given the whole story from J.J about the Windsor Town Moderator while being introduced to the film crew – a story in itself. That was Monday. Tuesday it hit the papers.
Also on Tuesday I found out that a Windsor Selectman has given Mr. Valera a letter stating there will be no opposition by Windsor officials to the Town Meeting being filmed.
So why did a long time Town Moderator not understand he was in a no win position trying to stop public access?
Why didn't the now Deputy AG Fitch just call the Town of Windsor and tell then get on with it?
Was it necessary to advise the Valeras' a court order was needed to enforce this clearly basic law?
When asked for a quick solution, why didn't a Superior Court judge just grant an order and skip holding a hearing? Don't they have serious business to attend to?
Will the Valeras' get their $145.00 back?
Film at 11:00PM.
Not this next 11:00PM or the one after that. But stay tuned!
Last week I was called by one of our members J.J.Valera of Windsor about some issues in his town. One that hit the papers March 7 was the story about an independent film crew who wanted to film the Windsor Town Meeting on March 14.
J.J was told in rather salty language by the town moderator that no ----ing way would a ----ing camera be allowed in the ----ing Windsor Town meeting.
So J.J called our pal at the AG's office “Bud” Fitch who gave this advice: Go get a court order. So off to Hillsborough Superior North we went Monday, at 10 am - with the film crew.
The 'pro se' petition was hand written in the courtroom hallway while my wife Debbie and I went and got cash for the petition filing fee, as the Valeras thought a check was sufficient and did not bring $145.00 cash.
All this was done with the film crew in tow. Talk about getting handed an issue!
As this was unfolding, down the court house hallway comes State Representative Jordan G. Ulery of Hudson on business of his own. I flagged him down and Rep. Ulery, looking quite the part of the NH State Rep. with a white sea captain's beard, business suit and all, gave us a brief but interesting history of the Right to Know Law in NH. If the film crew was looking to make a grass-roots film they had just hit the motherlode.
And then came the Manchester paper's reporter who was watching all this from a few feet away. She wanted to know what was going on and was given the whole story from J.J about the Windsor Town Moderator while being introduced to the film crew – a story in itself. That was Monday. Tuesday it hit the papers.
Also on Tuesday I found out that a Windsor Selectman has given Mr. Valera a letter stating there will be no opposition by Windsor officials to the Town Meeting being filmed.
So why did a long time Town Moderator not understand he was in a no win position trying to stop public access?
Why didn't the now Deputy AG Fitch just call the Town of Windsor and tell then get on with it?
Was it necessary to advise the Valeras' a court order was needed to enforce this clearly basic law?
When asked for a quick solution, why didn't a Superior Court judge just grant an order and skip holding a hearing? Don't they have serious business to attend to?
Will the Valeras' get their $145.00 back?
Film at 11:00PM.
Not this next 11:00PM or the one after that. But stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)