Sean Adkins: October 2009 Archives

By now, many people have heard that a U.S. Commerce Department's report has found that the national economy grew by 3.5 percent in the third quarter, heralding the end of the Great Recession.

But is the recession really over? It depends who you ask.

An economist might put up numbers and charts to support that the recession has ended.

But, what about the 8.6 percent of unemployed residents living in York County? What do you think their answer might be?

When I read that the government had started to tout nation's economic recovery, an image of a frazzled police officer with arms held high yelling into a riot that "there's nothing to see here" popped into my head.

What do you think? Is the recession really over?

Growing up in New York, I never had to learn a new language to simply place a food order at a restaurant.

The same can't be said for York County.

Nine years after moving here, I'm still struggling to pick up on all the sayings.

Last week, I ordered breakfast in a local diner and the waitress asked my if I wanted by eggs dippy. I looked at my wife, hoping to snag a marital lifeline. She's from New York too, and I had no idea what dippy meant in relation to eggs.

I asked the waitress what she meant. She frowned and explained that dippy meant that the yolk would remain soft.

But I'm not totally lost in the maze of York County lingo. I have figured out that when a waitress asks me if I would like my drink a while, the answer is not: "No, I would like it right now."

What she means is if I would like my drink in the meantime, while I read the menu. But you already knew that.

I have to believe that residents are doing double takes as they cruise past local gas stations.

In the past week, the average price of regular gas has jumped 17 cents from $2.416 to $2.59 per gallon, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Driving to work this morning, I spotted a few stations that had bumped prices to $2.65 per gallon.

What's up with that? I have a theory.

The value of the dollar, thanks to stimulus money and bailouts, has tanked and remains at its lowest point in more than a year. To make up for that shortfall, investors have turned to oil and gold for their monetary ventures.

That leaves the rest of us pump poor. I wonder how high gas prices will go this time? Are we looking at $4 a gallon, again?

I have two dogs and, while they're fun to be around, they can destructive.

My Cocker Spaniel, Luke, has taken to clawing the door frame that leads into my mudroom. I assume he's under the impression that, by digging into wood, he'll get to me faster when I pull into the garage.

My question is, how do fix the frame? Like most people, I don't have a bunch of cash to dump on a project like this. I just don't like looking at deep claw marks in a door frame.

My brother-in-law suggested I use white wood filler/putty. A friend said I should replace the frame.

Any suggestions? Let me know.

On Wednesday, two 510-ton steam generators arrived at Three Mile Island after roughly two months on land and sea travel.

And hundreds of people were planted on the side of Route 441 to witness the big show.

What struck me odd was the number of people who had dragged out lawn chairs to ensure themselves a spot among an audience in awe of transporters that moved at a blistering 3 mph.

I'm of the belief that area residents store lawn chairs in their trunks, much like Batman keeps a grappling hook on his utility belt.

Picture a family of three driving west on Route 30 in West Manchester Township. The dad catches site of a 1932 Ford. Moments later, the mom glimpses a 1957 Chevrolet.

The couple look at each other and realize that it's National Street Rod weekend. After brief moment of fear, the couple calms down.

They nearly forgot the lawn chairs in the trunk, right next to the jumper cables and bottled water.

A quick turn and the family pulls into the Burger King on Loucks Road. Within minutes, the chairs are set up and the family is ready to watch the street rods pass, just like they did last year.