A Few Notes

It was my day off, so I spent it in my usual way, by going to the heart of Patchogue and visiting the library, the coffee house and the gym.  On my way home, I noticed a couple of things:

The old 112 Video location, which has been abandoned for a few years now, is once again for rent (112 Video is an independent video store; it's still operating but has moved down the road into the next town, Patchogue.  It has survived Blockbuster, pay-per-view on demand and appears to have survived Netflix, but will it survive the new form of Netflix, which is streaming video?  Only time will tell, I guess.)  Anyway, since it vacated its former premises on Route 112 in Medford, it has been rented out by businesses that have come and gone.  It was a cabinet company, first, I think it might have lasted a month.  Then, it was some kind of Turkish grocer and finally, it was a pool lounge.  The latter two did not even open for business before they crumbled.  I have seen this in other places, signs saying that a new business would be "COMING SOON", only to not come at all.  I'm guessing that it's due to the ramifications of the economic crash of '08.  Aspiring small business owners are likely finding it extremely difficult to get financing to open their businesses.  They probably get an initial line of credit, enough to rent out the building and to make up signs, but further lines of credit to buy the other essentials peter out and they end up going bust before making their first dollar.  It's a shame, especially that the billiards place did not come in.  I'm becoming enamored of the game, playing it via video games and would like a place where I could learn it further. 

Another thing I noticed as I was walking home on Horseblock Road (a decidedly unfriendly road for pedestrians, with nothing but ugly strip malls and big-boxes lining the landscape) was that there was a fender bender that appeared to be relatively minor.  It was the side I was headed home on, so I had to cross.  I was looking at it, and saw no less than 2 police cars and 2 emergency vehicles on the scene, for what looked like a typical fender-bender.  This disproportionate response to minor accidents is quite the norm in my community.  I wonder how we will be able to keep this going as our municipal finances keep circling the shitter and as oil prices continue to soar.  I hope that as they do so, our local authorities and safety officers moderate their responses to incidents accordingly, only pulling out the big guns when lives are at stake.