OT: Suffolk murders

Oddly enough, our daughter, Jane, who lives a mile from where the last three bodies were found, just phoned to say that she and Peter went for a walk and found some clothing, close by. The Police just left her house. I just hope it helps.

Pat

The same as Saint Rodney of King. The initial stories portrayed him as an angelic innocent, but then things started to leak out that he had a long history of trouble with the law, and had not been cooperative on that occasion, and suddenly it became apparent that he wasn't quite what we had been told at first.

What teenager is?

I noticed that the press when mentioning her in connection with the recent murders have been careful to say that she was not a prostitute.

The BBC are annoying me with the use of the term 'sex worker' in place of what they believe to be politically incorrect 'prostitute'.

Funny, but... Having travelled in Asia, and Europe the driving standards are so different. Crowded, crazy in many places. In some there are virtually no traffic laws followed - just some kind of standard practice. But, WRT the ox cart - the thing is that traffic will have many lanes of different vehicles moving at differing rates. So, what seems a crazy mess - in some ways sorts its way out. And the people in the cars that seem to be speeding around - well, you finally realize they're at most going 20 mph - often less - at least in Asia. The problem is while people who've driven in crazy traffic in someplace like many cities in India come here - they still seem to drive with that same lack of regard for lanes, and the style of wide turning cutting all the corners - but here they're going 45 mph in a neighborhood posted 25, as opposed to 20 when they can. And so forth.

That's pretty true. Anyhow - it's not me being a bigot. It's just a huge problem in this area. There had been a rash of accidents in the summer with commercial vehicles - driven by workers without a DL at all - I don't care about their immigration status - but, hey - no DL, let alone a Commercial DL.

I grew up in places with lots of tourists - you learn to be careful of lost people in tourist season. Around DC in the summer fortunately in July/August a lot of the natives bail when the tourists are storming around. But, I tell you, during any of the holidays, spring break, etc - it's very crazy and you've got to watch for confused out of staters everywhere. Given this is a metro area with one of the worst (1st or 2nd) traffic situations in the country - it's a mess. So, I'm just tired of it. What can I say.

ellice

I really feel sorry for the poor girls, their families , and i hope the murderer will soon caught and put away for life. mirjam

ellice wrote: Around DC in the summer fortunately in

I think it sure doesn't help that DC is such a weird city to get around...all those circles are *so* confusing and challenging! I'm told that the overall "plan" makes great sense and is easy to understand, but I've never conquered it. And it was never intended for the sheer quantity of traffic it has to deal with.

sue

Very true. It's the 13 spokes which are for the original colonies that radiate out from the capitol, then additional states are in there. Imagine then superimposing a 4 quadrant grid - streets running north to south so the numbers change as you go east-west, and lettered streets running east to west. The state names are the Avenues. And then, well, there are the one-ways, and the tunnels, and the part where Virginia took back it's section sometime in the 19th century, IIRC - so it was laid out as a Diamond

- tips at N-S-E-W but now is missing the SW corner in a jagged way coinciding with the Potomac. There is a little park in downtown Falls Church which has the marker for the original DC boundary point.

IME, people either do or don't drive in DC regularly, successfully. I know lots of people that never drive there, and other like us who do so all the time. It's a get it or you don't . Thankfully the Metro, and now the local Circulator buses (around the Federal triangle/Mall area) really help.

ellice

I'm curious. How many people who don't live in Washington have gotten lost going in or around the circular streets? I know we did, more than once.

Lucille

I cannot tell you how many who live in the area get lost as well. Last year I did a wedding, with ceremony in Old Town Alexandria. The couple live in Arlington - a very easy place - direct from town - Constitution Ave turns into Rt 50 , cross the TR bridge, and then follow 50 - literally to turn right onto their street in about 5 miles. Because some of those who lived here, still lived here - including in upper NW, and/or used to live here were seeing something in Chinatown or some place. 2 of these folks were so turned around - one ended up in lower SE by the waterfront, the other completely about 5 miles the wrong way following one of the spokes! The state streets are like spokes of a wheel which radiate from the Capitol. I just tell people that you need a good map. All the time. It's just one of those cities that a basic won't do if you're here much. If you're just touristing downtown then just a good downtown , mall area will do it.

People lost all the time - especially if they have not a good understanding of compass directions - because if you're going the wrong way you need to be able to follow the NW vs SE vs NE - it makes a difference.

Funniest thing I remember - when DH and I got married the ceremony was at the Jefferson Memorial (complete with Japanese tourists in paddle boats pulling up to watch and applaud). My DB brought my Dniece with him - she was just graduated from High School. We all were staying down at the waterfront (reception was on a lovely boat cruising the Potomac) and we weren't about to drive after seriuosly partying. So, they were here for a few days pre, and one post. DB asked what they should do one day - before he came over to help. We were going to pick him up, and then give them one of our cars for the duration. We said to just head over to the mall - there's always something new at one of the museums - and from the hotel it's an easy cab ride (kind of long walk in a DC summer). So, when they got there, and were starting to walk around - my Dniece says "I know we're at the Mall - but where are the stores?" My DB was hysterical - "The National MALL" - to which she responded something along the lines of "so where are the stores????"

Ah, well - anyone comes to visit we're always happy to play tour guides.

ellice

I've always heard similar traffic tales of woe in Brooklyn. The streets are laid out in rather a haphazard fashion there and people are always getting confused. For example, there is an intersection where Kings Highway crosses Kings Highway and it's not a mistake. Then there's a street called Ditmas Avenue that stops dead and then picks up again 10 blocks to the south and one block over.

We also have Rockaway Parkway and Rockaway Avenue which creates confusion. But the winner of the confusion race is that I lived at 1454 East 88th Street in the South part of Brooklyn in the Canarsie secion. Way at the other end in the Bay Ridge section there is an address>that reads 1454 88th Street. Even when area codes came into being, we were constantly getting mixed up mail, all for want of a little E.

Although I lived in Brooklyn for the major part of my life, and drove a car there for many years, I was always discovering new to me streets that were 1 block long, with strange names that no one knew of except those people who lived there.

Lucille

A friend once tried to explain to me the A-Z of one syllable names, then the flower names, and the generals' names....and my brain exploded! I think you have to live there for some length of time to get to that level.

sue

I read about Brooklyn history the other day - it was composed of five (I think) original separate towns. Each had its own road layout and I also think the roads were designed to not link or hook up well with each other. When the towns merged into Brooklyn we got stuck with the varying road systems. I was driving around Mill Basin and Canarsie last night with friends to look at the holiday lights. For the first time we saw one of those large blowup bears with a large blowup dreidl! In fact we saw 2! The problem with driving without a map in that part of town is that often the roads dead-end in water.

Alison

Changed the header for you !!!

Pat

Yes, a man (Tom Stephens) HAS been arrested. Definitely a wierdo. We`re not getting too complacent, neither are the Police as there is a lot about him that indicates that he might possibly be one of those "attention seekers". We shall see. He lives no more than fifty yards from John`s sister, so it`s impossible for us to go to see her, with all the Police activity and reoad blocks there, and when they have to go out they have to profuce ID to get through! It`s been nothing other than helicopters and police cars rushing around all day, and it`s likely to go on for at least a week. The forensic team is in the house, of course.

Meanwhile the Police are still following other enquiries. As I say, we shall just have to wait and see, and still be careful.

Pat

Radio just annoced they arrested somebody in connection with this murders ,,,,, mirjam