TracyLee

Yes ECSCU is a clusterf--k. My husband has had to retain a lawyer not once but twice in the last 5 years to fix their their screwups. The first time they mistakenly came to the conclusion that he was in arrears and doubled up his support payments so that they were taking $540 a week out of his check. Took three months to get them to stop! They also put a judgement against him. It was their mistake but it cost us well over $1000 in lawyer fees to straighten it out. Of course he didn't have to pay for awhile after that but they are notoriously slow in getting up to speed. ECSCU is all about the mother, they really could care less about the father. Obviously his ex-wife was laughing all the way to the bank at the time but it all eventually came out in the wash. The second time was when he was laid off from his job and his support was supposed to be reduced to 25% (2 kids) of his unemployment benefits during brief periods of lay-offs. Well, they still managed to screw that up as well and kept right on taking $270 (was only supposed to be $100) a week straight out of his unemployment check. Which left him with I think $135 a week. Eventually that got straightened out as well but at the cost of more lawyer fees ($500) and more aggravation. No way should anyone have to hire a lawyer because of ECSCU's incompetence. It's been a nightmare for my husband in dealing with them. I, on the other hand also get my child support payments for my son through ECSCU, and I have never had a problem in the ten years that I've been dealing with them. But then again, his dad and I haven't been to court in ten years either. My husband's ex takes him to court every spring for cola, so the potential for screwups is heightened. We've come to expect nothing less from ECSCU .

Syd Barrett. Founder, original frontman and inspiration of Pink Floyd. Sad stories. For me it would have to be "The Wall" (lots of Syd inspiration there!).

It's legit. I just did mine online about two weeks ago and I already have it on my windshield. Not happy that it cost me $75 for 2 years but what're ya gonna do?

Thomas Vanek picks up two assists and finishes the game with ten shots on goal. I can't wait to see him play for the Sabres. He has been just incredible in the AHL racking up 42 goals (good for second overall) and leading the league in power-play goals with 25. Not too shabby for a rookie!

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050415/1069763.asp Just another example of how China hurts US manufacturing, not the unions.

Damn squirrels. They wreck everything. I can usually keep them out of the bird feeders with the pepper mix, but man they dig up my front and back lawns all day long burying their nuts. Damn squirrels. They get into all my potted plants too. Kick dirt out everywhere. Dig tunnels into the mulch in my landscaping too. Damn squirrels. Can't keep anything nice. Damn squirrels. They're everywhere, there's a million of them. I can look out my window and see ten of them all at once easily. They're not shy either, you can almost walk right up them and stomp on them. Almost. I think they like to taunt me. Worst part about it is my freaking neighbor feeds them peanuts! What she doesn't know is that her redneck husband shoots at them with a bb gun when she's not home. I've heard of this from another neighbor as I've never actually seen him do this myself, nor do I condone it, but I do understand his dislike of squirrels. Damn squirrels. Okay, I'm done ranting.

Of course its fun, when you're happy in your situation, great memories are made and loads of fun can be had. But it can also be extremely serious, like when your team makes it to finals or advances to states. You don't see anyone on the bench laughing and joking. They're not having 'fun', they're dead serious, they're watching the clock and the score. They have a goal all season long and there's no greater joy than having something to play for at the end of the season. When they're playing for all the marbles and they win, its unbelievably awesome. If they lose, you'll see more than one kid standing there with tears streaming down his face. Losing is never fun, but thats a part of the game. You're right, it is a game but when you play a game and you're on a team, your 'position' becomes your 'job'. If you don't do your 'job' or if someone ese outplays you and does it better it's no longer 'your' job or your 'position'. Its survival of the fittest and it can be very cut-throat. It happens at all levels and not just to 'professionals'.

Who ever said "it's supposed to be for fun" is lying thru their teeth! I've seen parents who lose their cool and freak out at the coach (oftentimes justifiably) only to have their kid ultimately pay the price with even less playing time. I've seen firsthand how some coaches won't pick a particular kid at tryouts (no matter how good he is) simply because of the parents. It pays to bite your tongue in the long run, lest you get a reputation for being 'difficult', and your kid is the one who suffers.. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that they are only required to give each kid a minimum of two plays. It's awful I know, but I think that's how it is in my step-son's little loop football league. As far as the money you invest (and I can tell you I'd be living in a bigger house if my son didn't play hockey year round!), it's all about winning with most coaches. They have extremely large egos. In hockey, a third or fourth liner isn't going to get nearly as much icetime as a first or second liner. Doesn't mean they get to pay less. There is no such thing as equal time for all players. Besides you're not going to be thinking about how much it all cost in 20 years when you're looking at his football pictures. I'm glad he's not giving up, and I hope you'll get a better coach this time around. My son had a horrible travel coach last year and the year before, and came within a hair of walking away from hockey for good. He gave it another shot when he tried out for high school and all it took was one good coach to turn it around for him. Now it's all he talks about. It doesn't get easier as they get older. It gets more competitive. What I tell my son is just to do the very best he can and to treat his position like it's his job and give 110% every time he steps on the ice because there will always be someone coming up behind him and trying to take his job, especially in high school. I think it stopped being about "fun" when he was about 8 years old! But hey, there's no place else I'd rather be.

It's simply politics. What you described goes on everywhere, in every sport. My 15 yr old son has been playing ice hockey for 9 years and I've seen it in one form or another every single year. I could tell you a hundred different wrongs that I've seen done to kids. It doesn't matter how bad the coaches son sucks, he will always get the most icetime / playing time and he will never be benched. What I always found to be ridiculous was the number of guys on any given coaching staff. For instance, a couple years back my son played for a coach who had 3 assistants! And of course they all had kids on the team and they all sucked. But of course they got the most icetime. Needless to say, they didn't win very many games. My son came close to walking away from hockey more than once. Bad coaching can definately damage a kid's desire to play. The best possible thing you can do is to find a coach that does not have a kid on the team. Last fall my son made his H.S. varsity hockey team as a freshman. The coach has no kids on the team, neither does the asst. coach. They made it to the championship game but lost by a goal. This same coach has a midget travel team which is comprised of 88 & 87 birth years. My son is a 90 but insisted on trying out for his H.S. coaches team. He also insisted that this was the best coach he's ever had. He made the team. I have to say that in the last decade of my son's hockey, this is only the second time I have ever come across a bona fide decent coach and asst. coach. They are all about 'team', and they demand respect for themselves and towards each other. Do some research and try to find out about the coaches before you tryout for a team. Good coaches are definately hard to find because most coaches are in it for one reason and one reason only, their son. Oh, and by the way, my son was also playing bantam travel at the same time as he was playing h.s. hockey. His bantam coach forced him to choose between the two teams because he demanded his complete loyalty, even tho' these two teams had nothing to do with one another. Weren't even on the same level. My son said adios ****.

Speaking of the Yankees, it's almost time to..............PLAY BALL!!!

I don't 'work' for a union. I do benefit from union representation though, if that's what you were trying to say.

Yeah, I think I just read somewhere else on these boards that only 13% of the US workforce is union represented. So that leaves leaves an 87% non-union workforce. It's comical for some on here to blame everything that's wrong in labor on 13% of the workforce. Maybe it's just 'union envy' eh? I for one, am glad to be one of the lucky few .

I think it's a great idea. Still 6 feet post to post (don't have to change the peg holes). Just adds 3 inches on each side (at the widest point) and 6 inches (at the highest point) where 'momma hides the cookes'. The other idea is to add 2 inches all the way around, which would require rinks around the world to relocate the post holes.

That was pretty cool. I typed in my son's b-day and he got a real kick out of the Top 40 guage. He's 15 and he listens to all the music that I grew up listening to (AC-DC, Ozzy, Triumph, Van Halen, The Who, Styx, Journey etc, etc). Seeing that Stevie Nicks is 41 years older and David Lee Roth is 34 years older than him just kinda blows him away. I can't tell you how many times I walk into his room and hear a song that I forgot existed and still remember all the words to. Its pretty cool being able to enjoy the same kind of music with your kid.

I call it "Union Envy" .

So you think we should revert back to that "golden age" eh? We'll never be able to compete with nickle an hour wages, even without unions.

Really? So it has nothing to do with silly little things like free trade or outsourcing etc.? Tell me again how long unions have been around? Do you honestly believe that unions are the sole reason for the slow demise of our manufacturing sector?

I wonder if in Freudian theory all of this union anger is really repressed desire. It would probably be known as "union envy" .

I think the broom-pusher would probably tell you to bend over.

If anti-union Joe Schmoe loses his current non-union job that paid $16.50 an hour and is out looking for a new job and knows a trade and is offered a great paying job @ $32.50 an hour with fantastic benefits in a union shop, how many of you honestly think he would say "no thanks"? It ain't gonna happen. Especially if he has mouths to feed. I wonder how many anti-unionites would change their tune if they ever found themselves in this situation. I'm willing to bet more than would admit. Contrary to popular belief around here, not all unions are bad. A lot of you seem to forget that contracts are negotiated by both parties. Yes, there have been some notoriously stupid concessions made on both sides of the coin, but remember, it takes two to tango.

Are we gonna beat a dead horse?

You're really reaching with that one........ .

That may be so, but Republican Joel Giambra is the biggest inventor of patronage jobs in this current local government. He deserves most of the blame for the patronage problem in the current system.

Actually, County Executive Joel Giambra, by far the runaway leader of patronage positions doled out, is a republican.

Yeah, he pitched them to a Little League World Series Championship. In hockey, he also won the Hobey Baker, the Calder Trophy and a Stanley Cup to boot. How'd he end up in Buffalo ?