Save Me From The Livery	by Steve Russell

Save me from the livery.

I’m not trapped under a beam inside the crumbling building. The livery does have me stuck, however. Up until now I never knew some of the simple luxuries in my life that I took for granted. Thanks to the mosquito-in-ear type buzz surrounding the decrepit building two doors down, those luxuries have been brought to my attention as I no longer enjoy them.

I used to get angry when I had to go move my car to the other side of the street every Wednesday and Sunday at four oclock. Today I don’t have that problem. Today I park two blocks away from my street. I miss getting upset over having to move my car from the far side of the street to the near side right in front of my house. Oh, the good ol’ days.

Even if I were to find an available parking space on my street, I would be reluctant to take advantage of such a golden opportunity. My street is a one-way street. Because of the huge metal fence blocking the entire street from my house all the way to the end, my street is a one-way dead end. If I parked in front of my house, I would either be reversing a block or two the wrong way or pulling dangerous three-point turns then driving the wrong way up a one-way street, both while dodging other cars, road closed signs, and protesters.

So I choose to take the short hike across the neighborhood to my car, leaving five to 10 minutes early so I get to work on time. I am a busy man. An hour of free time in one day is a rare occasion. Ten minutes may not seem like much time to the pro-protesters of the world. Maybe if we blacked out the final ten minutes of Deal or No Deal tonight they would understand. I cherish the time I have here on earth, and frankly I get pissed off when I’m unable to enjoy my allotted free time because of some “activists.” If they were out doing something active, and maybe even productive, they wouldn’t be bored enough to feel the need to push a tear out for a wounded building.

When I do squeeze some relaxation into my busy schedule it is usually in the form of sitting on my front porch in the hot Buffalo sunshine, drinking a cold beer, and thinking about nothing. For the past couple weeks if I went on my front porch I was greeted by the wonderfully friendly activists looking back at me as if I was the one who isn’t normally in the neighborhood. Sometimes a brave one will approach me with a clipboard in hand. I pretend not to notice. “No, thanks” I tell myself, “I’d rather not put my name on your petition to keep my neighbors out of their house for as long as possible.”

My (not so) poor neighbors just bought a very nice house adjacent to the livery a few months ago. They are a very nice young couple who are taking care of an elderly woman who also lives there. Err…lived there. They were all forced out of their comfortable home for the time being. They are currently seeking shelter in a sweat box apartment until the gas gets turned back on in their home of choice.

I do not know what the future holds for the livery. I do not care whether it gets torn down or if we “save the livery.” I choose whatever option is faster. I understand that I am young and fairly new to the city, but sometimes you just have to let things go. It is an old building that already gave up on life. Half of it has collapsed already. Let it go. If this were Central Terminal or the Buffalo State Psychiatric Hospital then by all means preserve the architecture. But this is just a little old brick building that is ready to pass on. Let us not fret, for we live in a city full of wonderful architecture.

Move on, little protesters, and go enjoy the other great historic buildings of the city before their time is up. Because whether you want to believe it or not, they won’t last forever. Run along now.

Give us our street back.

P.S. Directions for activists who are leaving: To get out, reverse the wrong way back up the brick alley, pull out onto the one-way street, follow that to the end around the block and you will be on Richmond.

Don’t forget your ugly “Make him pay” skull signs.

Save me from the livery.

Steve Russell
Jersey Street resident, Buffalo

Artvoice reserves the right to edit letters for content and length. Shorter letters have a better chance at being published in their entirety. Please include your name, hometown, and contact number. E-mail letters to: editorial@artvoice.com or write to: Artvoice Letters, 810 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202