It was a day of smiles as train club held open house
Stefanik is quickly becoming royalty in reality-challenged MAGA-world
It didn't take long to realize it was the members of the Upstate Model Railroaders Club who were having the most fun Sunday.
They couldn't stop smiling during their monthly open house.
Within seconds of arriving at the old Epic Holdings factory in South Glens Falls, Forest Bevins was giving me a tour of the group's three large rooms of model trains.
He couldn’t stop smilling.
Neither could I.
At one point, I suggested the members were living through a second childhood.
Mike White, who built a replica of the Finch Pruyn paper mill during Covid, immediately objected, saying he had never grown up. He had been playing with trains for nearly a half-century.
There was a steady stream of people Sunday afternoon with youngsters young and old in attendance.
They all were smiling, too.
I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't like trains. My former colleague Greg Brownell has continued a lifetime fascination with trains that has continued unabated since his retirement from The Post-Star.
I've found the best part of traveling in Europe is the speed and efficiency of the train system.
But there are people who like trains and there are people like Forest and Mike who LOVE trains.
Forest showed me a backdrop of downtown Glens Falls and its unique buildings and pointing out some of the details the casual observer would miss in the layouts. The latest technology of 3D printers has allowed the train guys to do amazing things with layouts and dioramas
But the group is worried.
Amidst some of the layouts were photographs of past train owners who have since passed away.
Both Mike and Forest lamented there are fewer and fewer younger members.
But that worry is for another day.
For now, it was all smiles.
Enjoy the photos.
You'll be smiling before you finish.
The club will hold its next open house on April 28. Mark your calendar.
Best time of year
The Section II Basketball Tournament has always been a god-send for me.
Just when winter is getting under your skin, the tournament arrives to pump some life into the city.
The atmosphere of playoff high school basketball is something to behold and you should not miss it. Glens Falls, North Warren, Argyle, Fort Edward and Schuylerville will all be sending teams to the Cool Insuring Arena this week.Because of the local teams, this week is sometimes even more exciting than the state tournament in March.
If you want to find me this week, I'll be downtown at the arena where there will be semifinal triple-headers scheduled Monday thru Thursday followed by a championship doubleheader Friday evening and four title games on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
The highlight for me will be the Glens Falls game Wednesday at 5 p.m. If they win there, they will advance to the championship game at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday.
They opened with a convincing victory over Ichabod Crane in the semifinals after a rusty first half due to a three-week break after the end of the regular season.
Stefanik and Hutchinson
Rep. Elise Stefanik was granted rock star status at the Conservative Political Action Committee event in suburban Maryland this past week.
Don't be surprised if she dons a tiara at future events.
This is how New York Magazine writer Ben Jacobs described the scene at CPAC when Stefanik spoke:
Stefanik got one of the most rapturous receptions of any of the day’s speakers. Her big speech was practically an audition to be Donald Trump’s running mate. Attendees stood and cheered her as she boasted that she had turned a district that Obama won twice into one that was now “Trump and Elise Country.” She always invoked the full name of “President Donald J. Trump” and insisted that the real threat to American democracy came from “the radical left and the Democrats.” She celebrated January 6 as a day where she “stood up for the Constitution and election integrity” (she voted against certifying the 2020 election) and took aim at familiar bugbears like Adam Schiff and Liz Cheney. She also made sure to take credit for ousting two Ivy League presidents after grilling them over antisemitism during a House hearing. Still, she could be somewhat stilted, speaking MAGA fluently but with a slight accent. It is not her native language.
For those of us in "Elise country," she should be reminded there were 116,421 who voted against her in the last election also don't speak fluent Trump.
Jacobs went on:
After she spoke in the cavernous hotel conference room on Friday, Stefanik was mobbed. Reporters, attendees, everyone wanted to see her, get a quote from her, get a selfie with her. After finishing a Newsmax interview, and she worked her way slowly through the talk-show hosts who had camped out at the event. An NBC News reporter’s question about Alabama’s ban on IVF was left unacknowledged in the maelstrom but Stefanik eventually answered it by saying, “Like President Trump, I strongly support IVF.”
In downtown Washington, D.C. there was another Republican event this past week, but with a very different message.
Cassidy Hutchinson, the former aide to Mark Meadows when he was Trump's chief of staff, was honored with a "Profiles in Courage Award" from Principles First where she received a standing ovation from anti-Trump conservatives.
The Guardian reported that former Trump staffer Sarah Matthews said, “We’re all lifelong Republicans or lifelong conservatives. We probably all agree with about 70% of Donald Trump’s policies. But I think we’re all very open-eyed to his character."
“What we need to do is practice compassion for people who did fall into (Trump’s) seduction, people who were artificially duped. We have to help educate people out of that belief system. We have to plug them back in,” Hutchinson said.
I wonder if there is a chance to get Hutchinson to move to the North Country.
Queensbury and environment
If you feel strongly about the environment locally, you may want to get involved with the Town of Queensbury's Clean Energy and Climate Smart Community committee which has been meeting since 2017.
Its goal are to implement principles of the state climate law.
Current projects include a composting pilot project, installation of a ReUse shed, retrofit of LED streetlights, a Climate Action Plan and community campaigns promoting solar, electric vehicles and clean heating and cooling.
The next meeting is Thursday. If you want to attend, call the Queensbury supervisor's office at (518) 761-8229.
There will also be an open house to get input on Queensbury's comprehensive land use management plan on Thursday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Queensbury Activity Center on Bay Road. You can also get a Zoom link if you call the supervisor's office at (518) 761-8229.
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"For those of us in "Elise country," she should be reminded there were 116,421 who voted against her in the last election also don't speak fluent Trump."
Thank you, Ken, for pointing out a fact that often gets lost when people describe the political leanings of the residents of a county, region, or state. Sure, a 60/40 or a 70/30 win for a candidate can be a "landslide." But 30-40 percent is a major portion of the electorate that gets unfairly dismissed when we're then described as "Trump Country."
What ever happened to elected Republican officials that actually worked to govern and represent all their constituents?
No thanks Ken, as much as I give Cassidy Hutchinson an enormous amount of respect and applaud her courage, the fact that Republicans still support 70% of Trump's policies is frightening to me. I certainly would like to know which policies the Republicans and Conservatives are so positive for women, the LGTBQ+, our environment and our allies.