Pope's Visit: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Philadelphia: where to stay, 2013)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by rotodome

I think it's definitely easier to make light of this stuff when one is retired.

I hope you are not suggesting here that, somehow, lots of retired people, like me, didn't have PLENTY of monumental situations(professionally and personally) to deal with in their careers.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

And still one more:

Yes, all of these sound like dire circumstances, but seriously: do you really believe a ton of people will be fired because they can't get to work next month or who arrive a bit later due to the clusterpope?

What do you want, a list of names and addresses of people I know? I don't quite understand - yeah, I'm trying to be a little vague because I'm talking about people that I've talked to who don't want to be talked about online and are worried about how they are going to get to work and what the consequences of not being able to do so will be. So why would I post identifiable information?

I know if I show up for work, at the very least I'll have to wait over 2 hours after my shift is over until trains start running "in my direction" after my shift is over or walk over 20 blocks to catch my bus. I don't have it as bad as other people - especially since I'm young and can walk the 25 blocks no problem and I don't have to worry about childcare. My wife used to work at an upscale hotel downtown, and she is extremely glad that she no longer works downtown, because she has no idea how she she could pull this off.

I don't think a ton of people will be fired. I think a lot of people will lose money and get into trouble and face retaliation from management that is either not understanding or under pressure from above to lay down teh law. Sounds like you've worked for some decent places. I have too, and I've worked for some not good ones. You do sound quite out of touch with most larger food, retail, and hospitality places.

Not pope specific - but maybe a story will enlighten you to low wage work environments is when I used to work in chain food service - they have something called "labor percentages" that managers often have to meet. Long story short, I remember labor being too high and being told by management to "clock out" and sit in the dining room but not to leave the premises in case it got busy, because they'd need me to clock back in again if it got busy. And just sit there in the dining room until I was needed again. At work, unable to leave, but not getting paid.

Everyone should have to work crap jobs in their life, just to help them understand how the world works.

[kyb01]

FBR, what happens with people who are employed in these jobs when there are weather emergencies and Septa stops significant bus service? What do they do? Septa has stopped bus service with no notice. Enough snow on ground? Buses stop. Yes, the MFL and BSL are usually running but if you need a bus connection to them?

We can pretty much count on the RT 100 shutting down, past Bryn Mawr, in bad snow storms or their aftermath with little notice. Plenty of service people use it. What do they do when that occurs?

And what did they have they done during Septa strikes? Certainly some of these people lived through strikes. Did they get rides? Did they walk? Did they bike?

Yes, I know the Pope weekend is different but I'm still wondering how people managed in other limited pub trans situations.

[Pine to Vine]

FBR - I worked for a moving company, as a dishwasher in a nursing home, flipping burgers, painting an apartment building, as an after hours custodian, and as a deck hand on a tug boat in my high school and college days. In graduate school, I earned my stipend putting out agricultural chemicals and counting insects in the peanuts fields in southeast Virginia for two hot and sticky consecutive summers for my professor's research grant. My father worked for over 30 years standing on the concrete floors of a nylon plant in Delaware. I have at least a passing experience with hard work, and know a bit about the lives of working class people. All of this spurred me to obtain an education that would allow me to earn my keep with my head instead of my back.

I am sorry that you will need to wait an additional two hours for a train one day next month. Try and keep a stiff upper lip and endure the injustice.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by rotodome

I think it's definitely easier to make light of this stuff when one is retired.

I am retired. Retirement means I know longer earn money by working for my former employer. It doesn't mean that I have given up work. I volunteer my time for three different organizations.

Most retired folks I know are out there giving back to the community. Not sure what you think we are doing.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by kyb01

I hope you are not suggesting here that, somehow, lots of retired people, like me, didn't have PLENTY of monumental situations(professionally and personally) to deal with in their careers.

When I worked in Houston, a Category 4 hurricane plowed through in 2008. We did not have electricity at our house for 10 days. Some endured longer. Traffic light were out for days. The streets were strewn with trees and other debris. Businesses were not only closed - they were lost. Homes were lost. And in fact, lives were lost.

I am certain that many service industry workers would have been thrilled if their only inconvience would have been infrequent PT for a 72 hour period.

[selhars]

Yes, I know the Pope weekend is different

Different enough to not even be relevant......
When there's no Septa....cabs are still an option...and someone -- a relative or coworker could still drive them to work.
Same with snow in most cases.

We get it you wonder why people are making such a big deal of it.
You also apparently don't have to get to work in the closed off area.

Kyb01 and Pine to Vine:

How are the people you know who need to get to work downtown going to get there -- and how far will they needs to travel?
Do you even know ANYONE who will have to get there to WORK....not to just see what's happening and whether "it's cool or not...but have to be at work by a given time to be on time.? If so I'm sure sharing how the people you know are going to get to work will help others.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

FBR - I worked for a moving company, as a dishwasher in a nursing home, flipping burgers, painting an apartment building, as an after hours custodian, and as a deck hand on a tug boat in my high school and college days. In graduate school, I earned my stipend putting out agricultural chemicals and counting insects in the peanuts fields in southeast Virginia for two hot and sticky consecutive summers for my professor's research grant. My father worked for over 30 years standing on the concrete floors of a nylon plant in Delaware. I have at least a passing experience with hard work, and know a bit about the lives of working class people. All of this spurred me to obtain an education that would allow me to earn my keep with my head instead of my back.

I am sorry that you will need to wait an additional two hours for a train one day next month. Try and keep a stiff upper lip and endure the injustice.

Yes, uh huh.... assuming that other posters, as FBR does, can't relate to working class people when some of us had that life and/or still do, seems a bit off-putting. My parents had to endure real Jim Crow style racial discrimination and they never made the kind of wages, as college graduates( which they both were), that they should have. So I know all about what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck growing up. And I did it myself for a very long time.

I'd still like to know how some of the people FBR is talking about handle some unexpected pub trans problems. Outages on regional rail. Bus detours. Signal problems on the BSL.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by selhars

Different enough to not even be relevant......
When there's no Septa....cabs are still an option...and someone -- a relative or coworker could still drive them to work.
Same with snow in most cases.

We get it you wonder why people are making such a big deal of it.
You also apparently don't have to get to work in the closed off area.

Kyb01 and Pine to Vine:

How are the people you know who need to get to work downtown going to get there -- and how far will they needs to travel?
Do you even know ANYONE who will have to get there to WORK....not to just see what's happening and whether "it's cool or not...but have to be at work by a given time to be on time.? If so I'm sure sharing how the people you know are going to get to work will help others.

Yes! People in my family. People who are friends.

[thedirtypirate]

I am excited for the pope coming. I don't understand the negativity what so ever. Deal with it people. I am not worried.