tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post1965450480857612034..comments2024-03-28T12:46:54.004-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/28/24: Flashback 2001: A bike messenger as thinkerNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-16651045885422495912020-10-11T14:54:59.397-05:002020-10-11T14:54:59.397-05:00Not all that surprised that Culley lives in Boulde...Not all that surprised that Culley lives in Boulder. So what does he do for money while he is working on a third book? He describes himself as "an environmental activist, a literacy advocate, and a survivor of clergy abuse." How does all that translate into a decent-paying job? Boulder is a very affluent and upscale place, and it has been for a long time. It's no longer the hippie mecca I knew in '71.<br /><br />Clergy abuse? At first that made me think that his father was a clergyman...some kind of minister...who abused him. Reviews of Culley's books mentioned a history of parental mistreatment. Then I woke up, and realized what the term meant. He has my deepest sympathies, but I'm not sure I'd care to read about all that right now. There's already more than enough misery in the world, just a mouse click or a remote button away.<br /><br />Culley says he'd like to return to Chicago someday, and maybe work for the city. Having "environmental activist and literacy advocate" on his resume might get him a job interview with Streets and Sanitation, or the Chicago Public Schools. But he doesn't sound like he'd be very happy on a garbage truck, or as a tutor in a grammar school. <br /><br />Then there's the age discrimination card. He's no starry-eyed kid anymore--he's pushing fifty. And the job market is pretty terrible right now. Chicago ain't all that inexpensive, either. He might be a lot better off in Boulder. Especially in these uncertain times.Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-39069832933686979222020-10-11T14:43:10.146-05:002020-10-11T14:43:10.146-05:00Remarkable that of all the places he might be livi...Remarkable that of all the places he might be living, it's Boulder, which I believe our EGD host is very familiar with. Not surprising, as he probably fits in there very well, but an interesting coincidence. I'm mostly curious as to why he just friended you on Facebook at this late date, given your past association.<br /><br />As for the bicycle culture, my new pet peeve is the "shared streets" popping up in various spots throughout the city. I'm primarily a pedestrian, though we own a car which we drive fairly often, though not to commute, and I enjoy cycling during nice weather. (Like now!) So, I've experienced shared streets via each of those modes. To put it simply, they suck. I understand that the utopian vision referred to by Neil above would involve no automobiles and we'd all be skipping down the middle of a broad avenue arm-in-arm, pretending that Chicago is a 17th-century village. Unfortunately, we're not very close to that ideal, nor are shared streets going to get us closer, IMHO. <br /><br />We're not all 24-year-old bicycle messengers and some people use cars to, you know, do stuff, often with a family. The ever-increasing number of delivery vehicles need streets via which to access their customers. Closing off half a street with an orange barrel or wooden gate and then haphazardly strewing barrels down the length of the street, in my estimation, makes it more dangerous for everyone. As a pedestrian, there's a thing called a "sidewalk" that seems to work well for its purpose. Though I've spent more time walking in streets since March than I'd ever have imagined, getting closer to cars driving by has not been my goal. Turning a side street into a slalom course doesn't make people better drivers, and cuts down on logical places for the ubiquitous delivery vehicles to double-park. Squeezing the street makes bicycling worse, actually, which I experienced last night, approaching a barrel and having to wait for a car to go by, when the street itself is plenty wide enough for a car to pass a cyclist safely in normal use. The traffic in this city is bad enough without purposely handicapping the infrastructure that's already in place. Again, IMHO.<br /><br />This comment is already too long, so I'll stop at that random point. I'm sure one gets the idea. ; )Jakashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-33642453179193747422020-10-11T13:42:47.865-05:002020-10-11T13:42:47.865-05:00Not surprisingly, I always felt exactly the opposi...Not surprisingly, I always felt exactly the opposite. In fact, I wrote a front page feature about bicycles messengers far earlier than these stories; I think I'll dig it out for tomorrow, since my column got held, for space. Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-68002206389459443192020-10-11T10:40:56.238-05:002020-10-11T10:40:56.238-05:00Great column(s). I think Boulder Colorado sounds ...Great column(s). I think Boulder Colorado sounds like a natural landing place for him. Very interesting. Thanks for the update.Connellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18406704590565406630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-57591338906767823852020-10-11T09:21:11.660-05:002020-10-11T09:21:11.660-05:00I have always felt bike messengers were a particul...I have always felt bike messengers were a particular type of hipocritical jerk. Rushing around with reckless disregard for others while complaining loudly about any perceived disregard they encounter no matter how slight. Get out of my way asshole must be their motto. <br /><br />Their rugged iconoclast persona wrapped in disdain for straight society while all the while their chosen vocation primarily in service to the financial industry and other corporate entities that can't wait longer than a few minutes for documents no doubt intended to gain some advantage in the market place. <br /><br />Surprised that the offer of free advice would entice anyone to engage a stranger.maybe it's those calf muscles. FMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06829632906445535928noreply@blogger.com