Recent PostsOver the River CVIII
May 26, 2026
Highlights and lowlights from my 108th two-wheeled trek to the Great State of New York:
1. Upon arrival at the downtown bus terminal, a rent-a-cop was shooing away a community resident bum, who was camped out alongside a vacant building along with all of his worldly possessions. As she was walking away, the community resident bum followed the rent-a-cop, shouting, “What’s your name?” and “I just want your name!” After the rent-a-cop returned to her car, she called the real cops, who arrived minutes later and dealt with the community resident bum. This must all be part of the new “Welcoming Streets Initiative” the Marxists on city council and the SCDA municipal arm of the NDP are crowing about, I thought. “Fixing” problems they created.
2. While waiting for the Falls-bound regional bus, I was answering questions from another guy who was also headed for the Morrison-Dorchester hub. He was of the same opinion regarding these service changes at Niagara Transit which have made things so much worse. As I told him, if only the Falls-bound GO bus ran earlier, I’d have taken that one instead and not fart around with have to change to multiple buses.
3. Stop snitching . . .
4. New on the shields inside the Niagara Transit buses were stickers with the slogan, “Our service runs on respect.” Not to the passenger, it doesn’t. See above point regarding the service changes. In addition, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to complain in order to get the drivers to stop playing loud music.
5. If you need to be told all of this, you really shouldn’t be out on two wheels . . .
6. While waiting for the Discover Niagara Shuttle, a couple from Indiana with a couple of bikes strapped to the back of their black pickup truck was asking me where the falls were. After I told them, they said they had been exploring the trails in Massachusetts.
7. With the Memorial Day holiday in the US, I took advantage of the Discover Niagara Shuttle, which actually a) showed up and b) had a bike rack. I felt like offering some sarcastic applause. But though they normally go as far as Fort Niagara, on this day, they were only running up to the Power Vista because of the parade in Lewiston. Last year at this time, however, they simply took a different route through Lewiston and continued north.
8. On board the shuttle, I was adding all sorts of missing details, including information on nearby trails and bus terminals, as the driver was giving tips to a trainee seated across the aisle. Once again, I seem to be more knowledgeable about getting around WNY than those who live there and are paid to know better.
9. After I had mentioned that I was originally from Winnipeg, the trainee said her husband had learned to drive in Winnipeg. I was just shocked that she had even heard of Winnipeg.
10. Approaching the Niagara Falls Library, the driver told the trainee that this was the “lie-berry” stop.
11. As we moved on, the trainee, who used to drive a school bus, was asking me if Quebec City was cyclist-friendly as she was planning a trip there. But most of her trips to Canada, she said, involved just going to YYZ, since there are so many more direct flights out of there than out of Buffalo.
12. After mentioning to the trainee that they will speak English to you in Quebec, albeit reluctantly, she said, “They’re very proud of their culture.” “No, they’re just obnoxious,” I replied.
13. For the first time, I used this new trail to get down the escarpment. There are signs asking cyclists to walk their bikes down, and on account of the winding path, it’s sage advice. Still, it’s a nice pathway, and it ends up near Academy Park, the same place the trail along the Niagara Scenic Parkway takes you.
14. On the sidewalk on Center Street was a Niagara County Sheriff with a dog sniffing out everything along the parade route. Were they expecting a terrorist attack in little Lewiston? I wondered. That is one thing about Americans that bugs me. They seem to think there’s a terrorist on every street corner.
15. Juice and Emily’s public display of affection at the Lewiston Waterfront . . .
16. Go away!
17. The Democrat bumper stickers are a strong indication that the driver’s handicap is not physical, but mental.
18. This deck of cards in the window of a store along Center Street couldn’t help but remind me of a former colleague who would randomly fart around the office . . .
19. At the Tim Hortons in Lewiston (I still have a gift card to blow through), I took a seat near three older guys who were involved in an animated conversation. “No wonder why the cities are screwed up,” one of them said. “The kids have no work ethic.”
“Do you remember Donald Mentsinger, the former principal?” he asked his buddies. “He had a phone in his office where the kid would have to call his parents if they acted up.”
One of his buddies then gave the details of an incident when his two boys weren’t doing their homework. “I called the cops,” he said. “That made an impression.”
“How did they turn out?” one of them asked.
“Today, one is a lawyer and the other has a 3.8 GPA,” he replied.
The first guy then told a story about how he asked some kid to come back in a half hour. “It’s not difficult,” he said to the kid. “Just look at the clock. When the big hand moves over to the other side in the opposite position.”
“I can only read digital time,” the kid replied.
“How can you get through life that way?” the guy asked his buddies. “How did you get through 12 grades?”
“It’s not the kids. It’s the teachers,” said Call the Cops guy before relaying the details of another incident in which one kid at Niagara Falls High School didn’t want to give up his phone. So they called security, and the security guard took the chair out from underneath the kid. The kid sued and came back in with a neck brace.
The third guy, silent thus far, then mentioned about a time when they were talking about decimals in school and one of the kids raised his hand and asked, “What’s a decimal?”
That got Call the Cops guy going. He mentioned one time when his Thruway toll came to 65 cents and he flipped the kid $1.15. “You owe me two quarters,” he said. The kid was flummoxed and it seemed to be a revelation to him when the light came on. Then there was another time when his toll came to $16. He gave $21 and the woman at the toll booth gave him $10 in change. He had to argue with her. “No, you only owe me $5,” he said.
20. Elsewhere in the restaurant, there was a sign stating that they were proud to be Canada’s favorite coffee. Why would Americans care?
21. On the return trip, along the trail north of Devil’s Hole was a teenager wearing a T-shirt with the message, “Gender of the day.”
22. Along Old Falls Street, just outside the state park, was a vendor selling corn dogs for $7. I wouldn’t take one if they paid me $7.
23. Spotted in the state park was an Indian family whose daughter was wearing a dipshit mask. Outside.
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