Page 559 - Demo

EditorialsCarey For GovernorThe ch oice in the race for Governor is clear: we urge voters to reelect Hugh L. Carey. The G overnor has provided New York S tatew ith resourceful and rational leadership, balancing its publico b lig atio n s to the poor and the elderly w ith sound fiscalm anagem ent. That the S tate could m aintain such a high creditrating throughout New York C ity %u2019s fiscal troubles can be directlyrelated to the G overnor%u2019s handling of the fiscal crisis. He has alsoshow courage in opposing the death penalty and in protecting aw o m an%u2019s rig h t%u2014 J l w om en, rich or poor%u2014 to decide for herselfw hether or not to have an abortion. At this tim e, N ew York can n o tafford to lose an elected official who has proven him self effective.W e urge our readers to re-elect Carey Governor.Coping By Judy LinscotfAbrams for Attorney General,Goldin for ComptrollerRobert Abram s, as Bronx Borough President, has dem onstrated astrong advocacy for consum er interests, and has proven to be aneffective adm inistrator. Both qualities are necessary in theAttorney G en eral%u2019s office in Albany. W e urge voters to elect RobertAbram s. W e also endorse Harrison J. G oldin as S tate C om ptroller.In Local Races...In other races on the Tuesday election ballot next w eek, weendorse the follow ing: Fred Richm ond for C ongress in the 14thDistrict (W est Brooklyn); Vander Beatty for State S enate in the 23rdDistrict, M artin Connor for State Senate in the 25th District;JohnCarroll for State Senate in the 21st District; M elvin M iller forAssem bly in the 44th District; Joe Ferris for A ssem bly in the 51stDistrict; M ichael Pesce for A ssem bly in the 52nd District; W oodrowLe^wis for A ssem bly in the 53rd D istrict, and Harvey Strelzin forAssem bly.in the 57th District.There are certain things a person does in life that are somehow both inevitable and, at the same time, seemingly unnecessary. Like getting a cold. Like the furnace breaking down. Or like moving.According to my observations , as well as more scientific and trustworthy gauges, Americans are moving around more than ever these days. This phenomenon is accounted for, I suspect by certain dubious motivations%u2014like evading a four-year gas bill or avoiding proximity to an ex-wife and her vindictive friends%u2014as well by more positive if just as illusory desires, like that old %u201c upward mobility.%u201d The theory being that when you trade up in salary and title you%u2019d better damn well trade up in the bathroom count, too.Me, I move for other reasons. They have more to do with the boredom factor, which only means that having grown up in a house with lots of yard space, any four walls and a fire escape landing lose their charm pretty fast.Upward mobility has had nothing to do with my moves, except that in one move 1 managed to go from a basement to a top floor. The price went upward pretty mobily, too, but in fact the living space, as well as the amenities (like doors and a freezer that keeps things frozen) went, in a manner of speaking, out the window.This is not unusual for me. With every move 1 seem to pay more and get less. This wouldn%u2019t bother me so much if it weren%u2019t for the fact that it%u2019s something that I%u2019m not supposed to be bothered about. It%u2019s like having a cold or the furnace breaking down: nobody else really cares. And why should they? They%u2019ve been there themselves.In the old days, moving amounted to throwing everything into ten thousand boxes and plastic bags and a few ratty suitcases, wrapping up the breakables in back issues of the Sunday Times (which hafe to be moved, too, because you haven%u2019t read them yet), tapping a friend for the use of his van and then tapping him and 48 other vague acquaintances to %u201c help.%u201d %u201c Helping,%u201d of course, means doing the job, which always runs a good six hours longer than anticipated, includes at least one strained back and several viciousarguments and a firmly sworn testimony that you%u2019ll never do this again. But the horror inevitably ended with everyone sitting on the floor eating pizza and saying to one another that it wasn%u2019t so bad after all. Everyone said it because everyone knew that the next time he wanted to move he was going to lean on hefty numbers of those present. It was in a collective interest to leave a general impression of having spent something approximating a recreational and entertaining afternoon of it.Trouble is, I looked around this time I had to move and realized that nobody%u2019s moving that way anymore. They don%u2019t owe me; I still owe them. Here I was living in a fantasy land of vans and pizzas when in fact the world around me has switched to professional movers. Which says something about my upward mobility as compared to most of my colleagues, who seem to move these days from four rooms to six or from a rental unit to a coop, or, God forbid, from the Village to Westchester. But that%u2019s another story.So professional movers it is. Which ought to be easy, right?Well, right. In a manner of speaking. One thing you have to do with professional movers, I quickly discover to my horror, is plan for them. They don%u2019t come on Saturday or at midnight, when you%u2019re ready for them. They send a %u201c moving consultant,%u201d a kind of advance man, to study the situation first. The %u201cconsultant%u201d needs to know ahead of time what you%u2019re taking and leaving and throwing out. That you hadn%u2019t thought about it yet and hadn%u2019t planned on thinking about it until looking down the long abyss of the empty moving ' van is of no interest to him. He needs a list. And he needs it before anything starts.A list you give him, hoping that you%u2019ll have a vague recollection of the promises you%u2019ve made. Innumerable official looking documents are produced and signed. Liability is something you never thought of, except for assuming that a few accidents are part of the game. In fact, you have factored them into reducing the load so that what now constitutes three rooms of stuff will be reduced to the requisite two by the time you ge^there. You realize that you and the consultant have two very different notions of the word %u201c plan.%u201d It does you no good to assure him that you%u2019ve made it intact your way every other time. He doesn%u2019t care.The moving consultant, who has now kept you from work for an afternoon, leaves with his lists and hands over a little booklet entitled %u201c You and Your Move.%u201d It is distressingly reminiscent of doctor%u2019s booklets handed over in the same deceptively casual manner in your early teens. They are trying too hard to make it all look feasy and fun. You are immediately suspicious.For good reason, as it turns out. The booklet cautions you not to wrap or pack anything; if it breaks and you've packed it, then it%u2019s your fault under their system. Get the kids out of toiyp for the day. Put the stuff in the van in the order that you want it unloaded. If you%u2019ll need the toaster before they get therfe, don%u2019t send it. Untack the rugs but don%u2019t roll them. Clear everything off table tops and bureaus. Don%u2019t take anything off the walls and if you%u2019re going to pack books, don't use flimsy boxes. The collective image is one of ten bruisers barrelling in and sweeping through your nice clean little place like the advance contingent of an invading army looking to set up clean headquarters by the time the general arrives.In the old days, moving amounted to throwingeverything into ten thousand boxes, plastic bagsand a few ratty suitcases.In k lin g s By Bunu SuchmaYou reassure yourself by looking at the nice picture in the little book; by thinking that these guys are professionals. They have families and knick-knacks too, you think. You think of all the nice sensitive movers you have known in your life. The little book tells you that maybe you%u2019ll want to pack a little picnic lunch to take on your trip. You think that they are probably telling you this because they will never get there and they don%u2019t want you to starve waiting for them. You decide not to move after all.But you do. You pay someone else to sit in the house and direct traffic, since you can%u2019t bear to watch. Throughout the day, you hear reports of minor accidents. Like a box of books stuck idly on an antique table, which proceeds to crumble. The company will replace it, says the nice moving consultant. You wearily tell him to put the pieces in the truck and you%u2019ll talk about it. After you%u2019ve gone back to survey the damage.Which is, in fact, minimal. Although they didn%u2019t tell you that they%u2019d leave behind 200 packing boxes and ten tons of wrapping sheets and a few rolls of wire. In case you decide to move the linoleum out?Meanwhile, of course, the stuff is sitting piled in the %u201cother place,%u201d since you didn%u2019t plan and have no idea what goes where. One glance is sufficient to tell yo that it just won%u2019t work, and that you have moved from a veritable palace to a small closet. There has obviously been no heat in here for a decade, which doesn%u2019t matter much since you can%u2019t find the radiator anyway. And you forgot to call Con Ed and can%u2019t find the candles and the telephone, man says he can%u2019t come for another week, when he will show up %u201csometime between nine and five.%u201d He doesn%u2019t come on Saturdays, but the phone comjpany will make every effort to be otherwise accomodating. You know what that means; you%u2019ve been through this before.You decide to go out and get a kerosene lamp in order to see if that nice little booklet about moving doesn%u2019t have an epilogue with sound advice on what to do now. It doesn%u2019t; you%u2019re on your own once again.PR lM eA(kh(M BfcDtce Off TAUCSuhth iHe 6&vptu\\k)sAMO 5 A ID T H 6 V U)O uYfte s 'jK C ukjl6 s s ?%u00a3e