Out the Office Window...

I work on the 11th floor of my building and the windows face south. We overlook a valley and when it's foggy, the entire view (from the far south mountains) is hardly visable. All day long, the view changes and it is truly the best view of the building. Seasonably, it is spectacular. From the first tint of spring green, the full-on green of the summer leaves, the fall riots of crimson, russet and ochre to the bare sculptural trees and white of winter, we are treated to a museum quality daily painting...out the window.

(The first two pictures were taken from my office window the end of June)





(I took the following pictures this afternoon. Cool clouds, huh? As a painter, I have a habit of looking at clouds...they amaze me...)


(The big arched roof in these pictures is the roof of the War Memorial which is across the street from my office. They hold all kinds of shows in there and it is the home of the Syracuse Crunch hockey team.)

(The squarish buildings in the picture above is the Everson Museum of Art. One of my paintings has been hung in that building.)

(Looking down at the War Memorial.)

What do you see 'out the window'?

Survivor.... it was a surprise celebration

It wasn't a celebration that was planned for months...more it was a couple of weeks. I alluded to this fact in a previous post. Our Commissioner at the Department of Transportation (Donnelly is his name) had his one year anniversary.

Now, as mundane and usual as you might think this is, I have to give you a little background. Our department's staff have made service and dedication to our community their life. My department is made up of several different types of work. We are the people that keep the roadways clear of all the snow and ice in the winter. (In this part of the country, that is no easy task as we usually make the national news for our snowfall totals several times a year.) We are also charged with the task of building and maintaining the roadworks system in the county. The engineers, survey crew, fiscal and office staff are located in the administrative office downtown (my office) and then there are four additional sites, located in the four quadrants in the county. The additional sites are where the trucks, equipment and the talented men and women who wrangle that equipment work.

Having said all of that, I must explain that most people that work in our department, especially those in my office, have many years on the job. It is 'usual' that someone would have more than 25 years in service and one guy has more than 40 years! Needless to say, we are a family and work together as one. So, to have a new boss come in that has no history in our department is unusual. That means he had no first-hand experience as to what he was getting into! He would have had no idea how often he and his family's life would be interrupted to have to deal with all kinds of weather related crisis, 24 hours a day and at any given moment (any time of year) and he would have to trust that our people knew what to do in the situation. It would have been hard for him and his family to imagine.

Well, he hit his one-year anniversary yesterday. He didn't get voted off O.C.D.O.T. Island. He made it through an entire year of snow, wind, ice, rebuilding bridges and roads. He sat through many hours of county legislature sessions to fight for us and the money we needed to ensure that we could keep the residents and visitors in our county safe and secure. It called for a celebration of his anniversary and let's face it, we needed a reason for a party...

So, we chipped in, ordered breakfast pizza, and as usual, some brought delectable dishes to pass. We invited his family and his boss to join in this SURVIVOR's celebration! We even designed special attire for him to remember the event.

The torch was passed to signify his anniversary...

The shirt was safety-yellow and had the

O.C.D.O.T. Survivor logo on the pocket and on the back.

CONGRATS BOSS!